Mikey adjusted his headphones. He was twenty-two, wearing a baggy Gap sweater and an undercut that took forty minutes to perfect every morning. He looked down at the script on the console. It was the station's crown jewel for the year: The Top 100 Hits of 1997 .
: The Orlando-based Backstreet Boys secured their first massive US crossover hit. This set off a tidal wave of teen fandom. top 100 hits 1997
Mikey nodded solemnly. "Candle in the Wind 1997" was the elephant in the room. It was the juggernaut. It had sold millions in a matter of weeks. It was a song born of tragedy, a somber anchor in a year that had otherwise been defined by the Macarena and neon bubblegum. Mikey adjusted his headphones
It was a behemoth of a broadcast. Six hours of non-stop music, counting down the songs that had defined the last twelve months. Mikey wasn't just a DJ tonight; he was a timekeeper. It was the station's crown jewel for the
Mikey grabbed his coat, walked out into the biting cold, and got into his '94 Honda Civic. He turned on the engine. The radio was still playing. It was a replay of the #4 hit, I'll Be Missing You . He sat there, shivering, watching his breath fog up the windshield, letting the sounds of 1997 play out one last time before he drove home.