Prince’s Legendary “1999” Turns 40 Today

Prince's fifth studio LP, the double album 1999, was released 40 years ago on October 27, 1982. 1999 was Prince's exploration of rhythm and blues, funk, rock, and pop, and the success of the album propelled the multitalented and legendary artist to major stardom and paved the way for Prince to outdo himself with his 1984 album Purple Rain.

The album initially peaked at nine on the Billboard chart and featured Prince's first two top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, "Little Red Corvette" and "Delirious," which reached #6 and #8, respectively. The album's title track,  made it to #12, and has become one of his most recognizable and legendary party anthems.

The success of "1999" and "Little Red Corvette" was bolstered by popular music videos that went into heavy rotation on MTV, making Prince among the first Black artists to have clips in heavy rotation on the network. The track "International Lover" was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance category, and Prince's first Grammy nomination. 1999 was also Prince's first album to feature his backing band The Revolution, although he played most of the instruments on the record.

After Prince's death in 2016, his 1999 album returned to the charts, and peaked at #7. The album has been certified four-times Platinum by the RIAA for sales of more than 4 million copies in the United States.

In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked 1999 at #130 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time." The article quotes Prince saying, “I didn’t want to do a double album, but I just kept on writing. It also goes on to say that "it lays out the blueprint for Prince’s next decade"

Here's the full track list of 1999:

Side One:  "1999" "Little Red Corvette" "Delirious"

Side Two:  "Let's Pretend We're Married" "D.M.S.R."

Side Three: "Automatic" "Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)" "Free"

Side Four: "Lady Cab Driver" "All the Critics Love U in New York" "International Lover"

The 2022 American Music Awards will air live on ABC from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, November 20, at 8 p.m. ET. Cardi B hosted last year’s award show; the host of this year’s 50th edition has yet to be announced. The American Music Awards winners are determined entirely by fans. Nominees are based on key fan interactions reflected on the Billboard charts including streaming, album sales, song sales and radio airplay.

Becky G kicked off the nominations by announcing the nominees for New Artist of the Year with Dove Cameron, Latto, GAYLE, Maneskin and Steve Lacy. Everyone but Steve Lacy was available to welcome the announcement. Past winners of New Artist of the Year have been Doja Cat, Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo.

Bad Bunny leads the most nominations with eight, followed by Beyoncé, Drake and Taylor Swift with six. Adele, Harry Styles and The Weeknd earned five nominations each. Take a look at the nominees for the 2022 American Music Awards below:

Elvis
Encanto
Sing 2
Stanger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series, Season 4
Top Gun: Maverick

Diplo
Marshmello
Swedish House Mafia
The Chainsmokers
Tiesto

Beyonce -- Renaissance
Drake -- Honestly, Nevermind
Silk Sonic -- An Evening With Silk Sonic
Summer Walker -- Still Over It
The Weeknd -- Dawn FM

Beyonce -- “BREAK MY SOUL”
Muni Long “Hrs And Hrs”
Silk Sonic -- “Smokin Out The Window”
SZA -- “I Hate U”
WizKid Feat. Tems “Essence”

Adele -- 30
Bad Bunny -- Un Verano Sin Ti
Beyonce -- Renaissance
Harry Style -- Harry's House
Taylor Swift -- Red (Taylor's Version)
The Weeknd -- Dawn FM

Adele -- "Easy On Me"
Encanto Movie -- "We Don't Talk About Bruno"
Harry Styles -- "As It Was"
Lizzo -- "About Damn Time"
The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber -- "STAY"

BTS
COLDPLAY
IMAGINE DRAGONS
MANESKIN
ONE REPUBLIC

DOVE CAMERON
GAYLE
LATTO
MANESKIN
STEVE LACY

Elton John & Dua Lipa -- "Cold Heart - PNAU Remix”
Encanto Movie -- “We Don't Talk About Bruno”
Future Feat. Drake & Tems “WAIT FOR U”
Lil Nas X Feat. Jack Harlow “INDUSTRY BABY”
The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber “STAY”

BAD BUNNY
COLDPLAY
ED SHEERAN
ELTON JOHN
THE ROLLING STONES

Adele -- "Easy On Me"
Bad Bunny Feat. Chencho Corleone -- "Me Porto Bonito"
Harry Styles -- "As It Was"
Lil Nas X Feat. Jack Harlow -- "Industry Baby"
Taylor Swift -- "All Too Well (Taylor's Version)"

BAD BUNNY
DRAKE
ED SHEERAN
HARRY STYLES
THE WEEKND

ADELE
BEYONCE
DOJA CAT
LIZZO
TAYLOR SWIFT

ADELE
BAD BUNNY
BEYONCE
DRAKE
HARRY STYLES
TAYLOR SWIFT
THE WEEKND