Commerical Performance
"Throughout the summer of 1999, Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle" blared from car stereos. The funky pop hit topped the pop charts for weeks, racking up multi-platinum sales. What makes the song's initial success even more astounding is the fact that it topped the charts weeks before an accompanying music video was made. That such unusual success came about through what could be called a casual act makes the song's beginning even more awe-inspiring."
Ed Hogan describing the success of the track.Based on strong airplay and CD sales, "Genie in a Bottle" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, stayed there for five consecutive weeks and became the biggest summer song of 1999. At that point, it had the longest stay at number for the entire year, tying Ricky Martin's "Livin' la Vida Loca" and Jennifer Lopez's "If You Had My Love", although Carlos Santana would later in the year take the single, "Smooth", to number one on the chart with a ten-week run. The success of "Genie in a Bottle" marked the third time that year that a new female artist reached number one on the Hot 100 with her debut single, the first being Britney Spears with "...Baby One More Time" and the second being Lopez with "If You Had My Love". It has sold over 1.4 million physical copies in the U.S., making it Aguilera's best selling physical single. The success and achievement for Spears' and Aguilera's debut singles caused a lot of rivalry and comparisons between the two in the media.
The song also crossed-over successfully to other Billboard charts, topping the Top 40 Mainstream, Top 40 Tracks and Rhythmic Top 40 charts. The song even managed to reach the Adult Top 40, and the Spanish version of the song, "Genio Atrapado" (English: "Trapped Genie"), was a modest hit on the Latin chart. Strong sales assured the single a platinum certification. "Genie in a Bottle" stayed on Billboard Hot 100 for 25 weeks, and 24 weeks in the United Kingdom. Internationally, a similar chart dominance was seen, as the track went to number one in both the United Kingdom and Canada for multiple weeks. It charted within the top five in every country it charted. Overall, the song is Aguilera's second-highest charting single, behind "Lady Marmalade", a collaboration with Lil' Kim, Mýa and Pink. "Genie in a Bottle" was certified platinum in Germany for selling over 500,000 units. The single was also certified platinum in Australia for selling over 70,000 units.
"Genie in a Bottle" became Aguilera's first No. 1 on the Worldwide Singles chart, where it stayed on the charts for 29 weeks and ended up at #3 on the Year-End chart. "Genie in a Bottle" was certified platinum in almost every country it was released in, selling 1.4 million copies in the United States alone. It peaked at No. 7 on the Year-End charts in the United States, and No. 7 on the European Year-End charts. n 2007, the song was ranked #38 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s.
Read more about this topic: Genie In A Bottle
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