How it works
The ’90s produced some of the most instantly recognizable songs in pop history. One line was all it took to flood the room or stop a conversation cold—ten questions, one lyric each. See how many you get before checking the answer.
Each question features one lyric from a ’90s hit. Try to name the song and artist before scrolling to the answer on the next slide.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Question 1
“Am I your fire? Your one desire?”
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Answer
“I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. Written by Swedish producers Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson, the lyrics were famously abstract, and the songwriters admitted the title has no clear meaning. It topped charts in more than 25 countries and landed on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
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Question 2
“Although we’ve come. To the end of the road. Still I can’t let go. It’s unnatural”
Image Credit: Amazon.com.
Answer
“End of the Road” by Boyz II Men. Released with almost no promotion for the 1992 film Boomerang, it went on to spend 13 weeks at number one, breaking a record Elvis Presley had held since 1956.
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Question 3
“If you wanna be with me. I can make your wish come true”
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Answer
“Genie in a Bottle” by Christina Aguilera. Her management suggested the title, as the song was originally called “If You Want to Be With Me.” Despite its suggestive surface, Aguilera insisted it was about self-respect. It spent five weeks at number one and was the best-selling debut single by a female artist that summer.
Image Credit: Bing Image Creator.
Question 4
“I really hate to trip, but I gotta LOC. As they croak, I see myself in the pistol smoke”
Image credit: US Army / Wikimedia Commons
Answer
“Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio featuring L.V. It spent three weeks at number one and won the Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1996.
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Question 5
“And I know you’re shining down on me from Heaven. Like so many friends we’ve lost along the way”
Image Credit: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons.
Answer
“One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men. The result spent 16 weeks at number one, a record that stood for 23 years.
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Question 6
“One day, he goes and takes a glimpse in the mirror. But he doesn’t recognize his own face”
Image Credit: Adrionna2 / Wikimedia Commons.
Answer
“Waterfalls” by TLC. One of the few Top 40 hits of its era to address HIV and drug violence without flinching. The music video cost over one million dollars and remains one of the most visually ambitious of the decade.
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Question 7
“Oh, pretty baby. There’s nothing that I wouldn’t do. That’s not the way I planned it”
Image Credit: WireImage/IMDb
Answer
“…Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears. Originally offered to TLC, which passed. Spears recorded it at 15. It debuted at number one simultaneously in the U.S. and U.K., the first debut single ever to do so.
Image Credit: monkeybusinessimages/istockphoto.
Question 8
“Take back that sad word goodbye. Bring back the joy to my life. Don’t leave me here with these tears”
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Answer
“Unbreak My Heart” by Toni Braxton. Written by Diane Warren in 20 minutes and nearly left off the album. It was released as the lead single and spent 11 weeks at number one, the longest run of 1996.
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Question 9
“Baby, I don’t understand. Just why we can’t be lovers. Things are getting out of hand”
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Answer
“Tearin’ Up My Heart” by NSYNC. Released in 1997, it became their U.S. breakthrough after the group had already built a following in Europe. Produced at Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, the same Swedish pop factory behind hits by the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears, the single helped launch one of the best-selling boy bands in history.
Image Credit: Jacob Wackerhausen/iStockphoto.
Question 10
“And if you say this life ain’t good enough. I would give my world to lift you up”
Image Credit: Amazon.
Answer
“Smooth” by Santana featuring Rob Thomas. Rob Thomas wrote it in 45 minutes. It spent 12 weeks at number one to close out the decade and won three Grammys, including Record of the Year.
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The bottom line
Ten songs, ten stories. If you got them all, your memory is as sharp as the decade was loud.
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Related:
- Quiz: Can you guess the 1971 song from just one lyric?
- Can you guess the 1975 song from just one lyric?
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