20 YEARS AGO... "Believe", released on October 19, 1998, was the lead single from Cher's twenty-second album with the same name. The song departed from Cher's pop-rock style of the time for an upbeat dance-pop style. It featured a pioneering use of the audio processor software Auto-Tune as a vocal effect, which became known as the 'Cher effect'. The lyrics describe empowerment and self-sufficiency after a painful breakup. The song contains samples of "Prologue" & "Epilogue", performed by Electric Light Orchestra. "Believe" was the biggest hit of the year 1999 and reached no.1 in many countries, among others in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Spain.

USA
Billboard Report (excerpt)
Ariana Grande claims no.1, 2 & 3 on Billboard Hot 100
Thuesday, February 19, 2019
by Keith Caulfield & Gary Trust, Los Angeles

Ariana Grande’s Thank U, Next storms in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with 360,000 equivalent album sales earned in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 14,

according to Nielsen Music. The set launches with the biggest week for a pop album in over a year and garners Grande her fourth No. 1 -- and second in less than six months. Of Thank U, Next’s starting unit sum, 116,000 were in album sales. Thank U, Next, released on Feb. 8 through Republic Records, is Grande’s fourth Billboard 200 No. 1. It also launches with the biggest streaming week ever for a pop album. Grande’s Fourth No. 1 Album: It follows Sweetener (which debuted atop the list dated Sept. 1, 2018), My Everything (Sept. 13, 2014) and Yours Truly (Sept. 21, 2013). Grande ties Taylor Swift for the second-most No. 1s among women this decade, trailing Lady Gaga, with five leaders since 2010. Thank U, Next has the largest week of any album since Oct. 13, 2018, when Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter V bowed at No. 1 with 480,000 units. Thank U, Next easily sets the record for the largest streaming week for a pop album (beating the debut frame of

Ed Sheeran’s ÷ [Divide] with 126.7 million on-demand audio streams for its songs; March 25, 2017) and the biggest streaming week for an album by a woman (surpassing the debut week of Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy with 202.6 million; April 21, 2018). At No. 2 on the new Billboard 200, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born soundtrack steps 5-2 with 49,000 units (up 31 percent). The set is basking in the glow of Gaga’s performance of the album’s “Shallow” on the Feb. 10 Grammy Awards, where the song also won a pair of trophies (including one presented during the CBS broadcast: best pop duo/group performance). Another soundtrack, Bohemian Rhapsody, rebounds to its peak position on the Billboard 200, as it zooms from No. 11 to No. 3 with 48,000 units (up 84 percent). The album’s parent film of the same name was released on DVD and blu-ray on Feb. 12, thus stirring interest in the movie’s soundtrack with consumers. (The movie was already available on digital home video.) A Boogie Wit da Hoodie’s Hoodie SZN falls to No. 4 on the new Billboard 200 after three nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 with 43,000 units (down 7 percent). Post Malone’s beerbongs & bentleys rises 6-5 with 39,000 units (up 10 percent), Travis Scott’s Astroworld descends 4-6 with 37,000 units (down 3 percent), 21 Savage’s I Am > I Was tumbles 2-7 with nearly 37,000 units (down 8 percent), and Drake’s Scorpion is steady at No. 8 with 35,000 units (up 4 percent). Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour rides its pair of Grammy Award wins on Feb. 10 to a return to the top 10, as the set re-enters the chart straight in at No. 9 with 35,000 units (up 524 percent). Of that sum, 20,000 were in album sales -- a gain of 735 percent. Golden Hour won Grammy Awards for album of the year and best country album, while its songs “Butterflies” and “Space Cowboy” also took home trophies, for best country solo performance and best country song, respectively. Musgraves performed the album’s “Rainbow” on the Grammy Awards broadcast and also took part in an all-star tribute performance to Dolly Parton. (“Rainbow” is now being promoted as Musgraves latest single at country, adult pop and adult contemporary radio stations.) Golden Hour debuted and peaked at No. 4 last April. Closing out the new top 10 on the Billboard 200 is Meek Mill’s Championships, which falls 7-10 with 34,000 units (down 2 percent). Ariana Grande becomes the first artist to hold the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart simultaneously since The Beatles in 1964, as her new album Thank U, Next launches at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums tally. Grande's "7 Rings" rules the Hot 100 (dated Feb. 23) for a fourth week, while "Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" debuts at No. 2 and former seven-week leader "Thank U, Next" rebounds from No. 7 to No. 3. All three songs are from the Thank U, Next album, released on Republic Records. Grande is just the second act in the Hot 100's 60-year history to monopolize the top three in a week. The Beatles earned the honor for five weeks in March and April 1964, even claiming the entire top five on the April 4, 1964-dated chart. "7 Rings" spends a fourth week atop the Hot 100, encompassing its entire run on the chart. "Rings" leads the Streaming Songs chart for a fourth frame, with 63.5 million U.S. streams, up 10 percent, in the week ending Feb. 14, according to Nielsen Music. On Radio Songs, "Rings" rises 10-9, up 23 percent to 61.7 million audience impressions in the week ending Feb. 17, good for the Hot 100's top Airplay Gainer award for a third week. "Break Up" bows at No. 2: New Thank U, Next single "Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" blasts onto the Hot 100 at No. 2 (marking Grande's 13th top 10). It launches at No. 2 on both Streaming Songs (59.2 million) and Digital Song Sales (36,000 sold), while drawing 13.4 million airplay impressions. "Next" up, at No. 3: Meanwhile, the Thank U, Next title track and lead single rebounds 7-3 on the Hot 100, after spending seven weeks at No. 1, beginning with its Nov. 17 debut at the summit. It's powered most heavily by its 36.8 million U.S. streams, up 52 percent, as it surges 14-5 on Streaming Songs and claims the Hot 100's top Streaming Gainer nod. Ariana meets The Beatles: Grande is only the second act in the Hot 100's history to rank at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 simultaneously and the first in nearly 55 years. The Beatles achieved the feat for five weeks in 1964, that March 14, 21 and 28 and April 4 and 25; on April 4, 1964, the group claimed the entire top five.  COMPLETE CHARTS