On December 27, 1988, Paramore’s lead singer Hayley Williams was born in Meridian, Mississippi. His group has placed several singles in the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart and Billboard’s Hot 100, including “Still Into You”, “The Only Exception” and “Ain’t It Fun”. Williams also contributed vocals to a few Top 40 songs, including BoB’s “Airplanes” and Zedd’s “Stay the Night.” Keep reading to learn about other Top 40 highlights from today.
Cultural milestones
Here are some important cultural events for Top 40 artists on December 27:
- 2013: Britney Spears, who has placed more than 25 singles in the Top 40 of the Hot 100, debuted with her Las Vegas residency concert, Britney: A piece of meat the AXIS Auditorium. The show was originally scheduled to run for two years, but the artist behind “…Baby One More Time” extended it several times due to its success. It ended in December 2017 after almost four years and 248 concerts.
- 2014: Alicia Keys has given birth to her second son with Swizz Beatz, Genesis Ali Dean. The couple’s first son, Egypt Daoud Dean, was born in October 2010. They also co-parent all three children with Beatz’s former partners Kasseem Jr., Prince Nasir and Nicole.
- 2023: Nelly and singer Ashanti got married. Their love story began in 2003 when they started dating. A decade later, in 2013, the couple split, only to rekindle their relationship after another decade. In September 2023, the GRAMMY winners confirmed that they had decided to give their love another chance.
Notable recordings and performances
These December 27 performances left a lasting impression on the music community:
- 1964: The Supremes graced the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time and performed their #1 single, “Come See About Me.” Dressed in simple clothing and sporting bouffant hairstyles, the group wowed both the audience and viewers. In the years that followed, they appeared on the show several times and sang some of their biggest hits.
- 1982: Billy Joel delivered a stunning performance at Lehigh University’s Stabler Arena in Pennsylvania just after Allentown Mayor Joseph Daddona presented Joel with the key to the city. He opened and closed the show with his song “Allentown,” which peaked at #17 on the Hot 100.
- 1985: LL Cool J lit up the stage at Madison Square Garden’s first major rap concert, the Krush Groove Christmas Party. Other artists who appeared in the film Krush Groove also performed during the show, including Run-DMC. This event, however, would make headlines due to the unrest that followed, leaving at least eight people with gunshot and stab wounds.
From groundbreaking performances to weddings and births, December 27 saw many moments that make it an important day in Top 40 history.
