It was the decade that delivered some absolutely iconic – and a few absolutely unexpected – duets. Whether it was for a blockbuster Hollywood film or a musical family reunion, the 90s was the decade where the music industry truly realised the power of the duet.
In this special episode of The 90s with Dannii Minogue, Dannii counts down the Top 10 duets of the 90s:
10. I Wanna Be The Only One – Eternal ft. BeBe Winans
A feel-good favourite! Soul singer BeBe Winans actually wrote I Wanna Be The Only One as a straight-up gospel song, but once he took it to British girl group Eternal, they realised the lyrics could be sung to a partner too.
9. 7 Seconds – Neneh Cherry and Youssou N’Dour
This beautiful duet is trilingual, sung in three different languages – French, English and the West African language Wolof.
8. Whatta Man – Salt N Pepa and En Vogue
Whatta Man actually samples a soul song of the same name from 1968 that was never a big hit, but this remake changed all of that. Full of attitude and funk, it was nominated for a Grammy and remains a stone cold classic.
7. Burning Down the House – Tom Jones and The Cardigans
At the end of the 90s, Tom Jones teamed up with everyone from Robbie Williams to Natalie Imbruglia for his duets album, Reload. Swedish band The Cardigans, who had just had a big hit with Love Fool from Romeo & Juliet, joined Tom for this unexpected (but brilliant) cover of Talking Heads’ Burning Down the House.
6. One Sweet Day – Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
Mariah wrote mammoth hit One Sweet Day after her friend and collaborator David Cole (of C&C Music Factory) passed away. She said the song was a true creative collaboration vocally, and lyrically, with Boyz II Men. You can really hear the chemistry and emotion in the song.
So, who makes the top 5? (Hint, it includes a Spice Girl, P.Diddy, and of course… Kylie!)
Listen to this clip to find out:
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