# 3 Pop Songs From 1990 That Should Have Been No. 1 Hits

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/3-pop-songs-from-1990-that-should-have-been-no-1-hits/
- Published: 2026-07-18T12:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-21T04:15:11+00:00
- Original publisher: American Songwriter
- Original article: https://americansongwriter.com/3-pop-songs-from-1990-that-should-have-been-no-1-hits/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Three 1990 pop songs the author feels deserved No. 1 status
- MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" hit No. 8, won two Grammys
- Idol's "Cradle Of Love" and Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence" both peaked at No. 2/No. 8

## Summary

An American Songwriter feature revisits three pop songs from 1990 that the author argues deserved to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 but fell short. The piece is a nostalgic, opinion-led retrospective rather than hard news, highlighting tracks that achieved success in other ways—chart-topping abroad, critical acclaim or awards—despite missing the top spot domestically.

The three songs featured are MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" (peaked at No. 8 in the US but topped charts elsewhere and won two Grammy Awards), Billy Idol's "Cradle Of Love" (reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 despite going No. 1 on the Album Rock Tracks chart, with a music video shaped around Idol's crutches after a car accident), and Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence" (peaked at No. 8, with songwriter Martin Gore recalling in an interview how the track evolved from a slow demo into what the band recognised as a hit).

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.