Do you remember 1999? Ricky Martin’s “Livin La Vida Loca” topped the charts, we were scared of the Blair Witch, and Google officially launched.
To celebrate, Google Trends opened its time capsule to see which fads were titanic in 1999. According to the report, adults were watching “The Matrix” and “The Sopranos” while kids were into “Toy Story 2” and “Teletubbies.” People also used the search engine to learn about David Beckham or evaluate their Pokémon cards, and searches for hot sauce set the web ablaze.
Livin La Vida Local
Want to know what life was like in Music City? We dug up some data to help us remember the final year of the 20th century — thanks to some help from a 25-year-old search engine.
- Median family income: $53,700
- City’s population: 506,385
- Estimated cost to buy a home: $157,299 (prices have increased 257.2%)
- Average cost of a gallon of gasoline in Tennessee: $0.704
- The Tennessee Oilers became the Tennessee Titans + Music City welcomed its first Starbucks.
- The Belcourt Theater (then Watkins-Belcourt) closed in January 1999, a shutdown many believed would be permanent. It reopened the following year and continues to thrive today, even featuring a series dedicated to films from 1999.
- Cher made a comeback with her “Do You Believe?” tour at Nashville Arena — now Bridgestone Arena.
- Starwood Amphitheatre was renamed First American Music Center and hosted Black Sabbath, Shania Twain, NSYNC, Willie Nelson, and more.
- Britney Spears sold out the Grand Ole Opry House on her "...Baby One More Time” tour. Revisit the setlist.
