The Ten Best Selling Songs in Austria in 1990
Welcome to a new series, in which I’ll take a look at the most successful songs in Austria in the last 30 years, to honor the songs that formed the pop culture I grew up with (I was born in 1996, and of course the early 90s also influenced the years to come). I already dedicated a couple of lists to number one hits, but sometimes the best selling song of the year aren’t the best selling ones of a particular week and the other way around, although usually all of them will stick around for the years to come. A song that’s hyped for a week may top the charts for that 7 days and then dramatically drop off, while another song continuously stays within the top ten for the entire year without ever reaching number 1. There were 10 number 1 hits in 1990, 4 of them were among the ten best selling songs of the year.
Yup, this song is dope. It has energy and a really cool symbiosis of rock and synth pop that's extremely enjoyable, and I don't really get why some call this schlager, simply because it's German.
Peak position: 1
Having spent 12 weeks on top of the charts, the German pop rock song was also the biggest number 1 hit of the year.
Need I say anything about this masterpiece? It shows how different two approaches by different artists can be. I love Prince, but The Family's version is an average experience, while the rough emotion of O'Connor's singing and the power of her production turn this into an unforgettable song.
1990 really sounded like a mix of the 80s and 90s. It's where synth pop and eurodance clashed and coexisted with each other. This song is clearly still rooted in 80s synth pop, and of course, like most hits of this era, it's great pop.
A wonderfully soulful song by Snap!, which was unfortunately somewhat forgotten over the years, while "The Power" and "Rhythm is a Dancer", both great themselves, became classics. Check this one out, too.
Eurodance has finally arrived! Watch out! Here's an early example of the genre that in the years to come would dominate the charts. And you probably know how much I love this style.
Not one of my favorites by them. If you want to hear really great songs by Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung, usually called EAV, check out the tunes "Liebe, Tod & Teufel", "Fata Morgana" or "Geld oder Leben". This one is just a normal pop song whose overall melody and feeling doesn't appeal to me as much.
Just plain great, especially the instrumentation with the organ and brass gives an incredible tension. Shockingly good, and sadly, one of the few songs on these lists that didn't stick around. Wouldn't mind hearing it on the radio one day or the other.
This song best marks the transition from synth pop to eurodance as the foremost genre of the masses. It features strong elements of each of the styles, apart from being very memorable in and of itself, especially the sax motif.
I never considered this a Christmas song. Probably because unlike other Christmas songs - even those that have little to do with Christmas - it plays throughout the year and doesn't have anything typically associated with the holiday. It's just a magnificent ballad by a great band.