List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 1997

Adult Contemporary is a chart published by Billboard magazine ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in the adult contemporary music (AC) market. In 1997, 10 different songs topped the chart in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.^[1]

Toni Braxton (pictured in 2009) spent the first 14 weeks of the year at number one with "Un-Break My Heart".

In the year's first issue of Billboard, "Un-Break My Heart" by Toni Braxton moved up to number one, displacing the final chart-topper of 1996, "When You Love a Woman" by the band Journey.^[2] Braxton's song held the top spot for 14 consecutive weeks, the year's longest unbroken run at number one, before being displaced by Celine Dion's recording of the 1975 song "All by Myself". In May, Bob Carlisle, an artist most associated with the contemporary Christian music scene, achieved an unexpected crossover hit and spent seven weeks at number one on the AC chart with "Butterfly Kisses",^[3] his first song to appear on the listing.^[4] Despite being very successful on both AC and pop music radio, the song did not appear at all on Billboard's pop chart, the Hot 100, because it received only a limited release in specialist bookstores as a physical single, which made it ineligible for the listing under the rules in place at the time.^[5][6]

Beginning in September, LeAnn Rimes spent 11 weeks at number one with "How Do I Live", the second-longest run at number one in 1997.^[4] The song had been written for the soundtrack of the film Con Air, but after Rimes had recorded her version of the song, film company executives changed their minds and asked Trisha Yearwood to record it for the soundtrack instead.^[7] Rimes and her record label decided to release her version as a single anyway, with the result that both versions of the song went on sale at the same time in May 1997.^[7] While Yearwood's recording achieved some success, it was eclipsed by the version recorded by Rimes, which went on to sell more than 3 million copies.^[8] The year's final Adult Contemporary chart-topper was "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" by Elton John, which reached number one in the issue of Billboard dated November 22 and held the top spot for the remainder of the year. The song was released as a double A-sided single with "Candle in the Wind 1997", the singer's tribute to his close friend Diana, Princess of Wales, who had died in August of the same year.^[9] Because the Adult Contemporary chart is based on airplay of individual songs, the two tracks charted separately and "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" went all the way to number one while "Candle in the Wind 1997" peaked at number two.^[4] The double-sided release went on to become one of the biggest-selling singles of all time, with recorded sales of over 30 million copies.^[10][11]

Chart history

"Sunny Came Home" was a chart-topper for Shawn Colvin.

"How Do I Live" by LeAnn Rimes spent 11 consecutive weeks at number one.

American singer Michael Bolton’s song "Go the Distance" spent a total of three weeks at number one on the chart.

Elton John ended the year atop the chart with "Something About the Way You Look Tonight".

Issue date	Title	Artist(s)	Ref.
January 4	"Un-Break My Heart"	Toni Braxton	[2]
January 11			[12]
January 18			[13]
January 25			[14]
February 1			[15]
February 8			[16]
February 15			[17]
February 22			[18]
March 1			[19]
March 8			[20]
March 15			[21]
March 22			[22]
March 29			[23]
April 5			[24]
April 12	"All by Myself"	Celine Dion	[25]
April 19			[26]
April 26			[27]
May 3	"For the First Time"	Kenny Loggins	[28]
May 10			[29]
May 17	"You Were Meant for Me"	Jewel	[30]
May 24	"Butterfly Kisses"	Bob Carlisle	[31]
May 31			[32]
June 7			[33]
June 14			[34]
June 21			[35]
June 28			[36]
July 5			[37]
July 12	"Here in My Heart"	Chicago	[38]
July 19	"Go the Distance"	Michael Bolton	[39]
July 26			[40]
August 2			[41]
August 9	"Sunny Came Home"	Shawn Colvin	[42]
August 16			[43]
August 23			[44]
August 30			[45]
September 6	"How Do I Live"	LeAnn Rimes	[46]
September 13			[47]
September 20			[48]
September 27			[49]
October 4			[50]
October 11			[51]
October 18			[52]
October 25			[53]
November 1			[54]
November 8			[55]
November 15			[56]
November 22	"Something About the Way You Look Tonight"	Elton John	[57]
November 29			[58]
December 6			[59]
December 13			[60]
December 20			[61]
December 27			[62]

See also

• 1997 in music
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart