Twenty-seven years ago today, the world met a sixteen-year-old from Kentwood, Louisiana, and pop music has never been the same.

Britney Spears’ debut single, “…Baby One More Time,” first hit U.S. airwaves on September 28th, 1998, before making its international debut on October 23rd, 1998. With that global release, a new era of pop officially began.

Written and produced with Max Martin at Stockholm’s legendary Cheiron Studios, the song was recorded in May 1998 (my birth month and year, which feels like a full circle!) and captured teenage emotion, confidence, and longing in one breathy, unforgettable hook.

The single was an instant phenomenon. It sold over 10 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling physical singles of all time, and was crowned the best-selling single of 1999 in the U.K. and the second-most successful song globally that year.

When the album …Baby One More Time dropped on January 12th in 1999, it became an instant classic. Certified 14× Platinum (Diamond) by the RIAA, it has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, making it one of (and still) the best-selling albums of all time and the best-selling debut album ever by a teenage female artist.

Even international outlets took notice. Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun wrote in November 1999, “Teen pop idols stage comeback,” highlighting how Britney spearheaded a new wave of global pop power.

In 2020, Rolling Stone named “…Baby One More Time” the Greatest Debut Single of All Time, solidifying its place in pop’s permanent Hall of Fame.

This wasn’t just the start of our queen’s career; it was the moment she redefined what pop could be: youthful, bold, emotional, and completely unstoppable.

Twenty-seven years later, that opening piano note still hits the same. Because when Britney said “Hit me baby one more time,” she didn’t just release a song, she gave us a movement.