Faith Hill Anniversary
20 years ago three of the top five spots on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart were occupied by women, with Reba McEntire and the Dixie Chicks at Numbers Four and Two, respectively. Seated at Number One, for a sixth consecutive week, however, was a tune that had been released in October 1999, as the first single — and title cut — from Faith Hill’s fourth LP, Breathe.
While Hill had already scored five Number One solo country hits, from her 1993 debut single “Wild One” to her first major crossover smash “This Kiss” in 1998, as well as duets with husband Tim McGraw, “Breathe” would prove to be one of her biggest. It became her first Number One country and pop album at the end of 1999.
In 2002, Hill’s NBC special When the Lights Go Down featured a performance of “Breathe” with guitarist Carlos Santana.
Hill’s Breathe album would earn triple-platinum certification in late March 2000, just after her performance that month at the Oscars, as a last-minute replacement for Whitney Houston.
She would also go on to be crowned CMA Female Vocalist of the Year in October and would earn three Grammys early in 2001, including Best Country Album and Best Female Country Vocal Performance for “Breathe.”
To date, Breathe has sold more than eight million copies.
