This Day in Top 40 History: December 27
On Dec. 27, 1988, Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams was born in Meridian, Mississippi. Her band has placed several Top 40 singles on the U.K. Singles Chart and Billboard’s Hot…
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On Dec. 27, 1988, Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams was born in Meridian, Mississippi. Her band has placed several Top 40 singles on the U.K. Singles Chart and Billboard's Hot 100, including "Still Into You," "The Only Exception," and "Ain't It Fun." Williams has also contributed vocals to a few Top 40 songs, including B.o.B's "Airplanes" and Zedd's "Stay the Night." Keep reading to learn about other impactful Top 40 events from this day.
Cultural Milestones
Here are some important cultural events for Top 40 artists from Dec. 27:
- 2013: Britney Spears, who has placed over 25 Top 40 singles on the Hot 100, debuted her Las Vegas concert residency show, Britney: Piece of Me, at the AXIS auditorium. The show was initially scheduled to run for two years, but the artist behind "...Baby One More Time" extended it multiple times due to its success. It ended in December 2017 after almost four years and 248 concerts.
- 2014: Alicia Keys gave 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 the three children with Beatz' former partners, Kasseem Jr., Prince Nasir, and Nicole.
- 2023: Nelly and singer Ashanti got married. Their love story began in 2003 when they first started dating. A decade later, in 2013, the couple broke up, 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 performances from Dec. 27 left a lasting impression within the musical community:
- 1964: The Supremes graced The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time and performed their No. 1 single, "Come See About Me." Dressed in simple clothing and wearing bouffant hairstyles, the group appealed to both the audience and viewers. In the years that followed, they appeared on the show multiple times and sang some of their biggest hits.
- 1982: Billy Joel delivered a mind-blowing performance at Lehigh University's Stabler Arena in Pennsylvania right after then-mayor of Allentown Joseph Daddona awarded Joel the key to the city. He opened and closed the show with his song, "Allentown," which peaked at No. 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 Krush Groove movie also performed during the show, including Run-DMC. This event, however, would dominate the headlines due to the unrest that followed, leaving at least eight people with gunshot and stab wounds.
From groundbreaking performances to marriages and births, Dec. 27 has seen many moments that make it an important day in Top 40 history.
Dawn Palmer-QuaifeWriter
