On this day in 1999, Savage Garden released ‘I Knew I Loved You’ as the lead single from their second and final studio album, ‘Affirmation’.
The song was born after the group submitted what they thought was the finished ‘Affirmation’ album, and the label president Don Ienner told them it was missing a hit like ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’. Darren Hayes has said it was quickly written to keep the record label happy, but despite how it came about, he really connected with it.
‘I Knew I Loved You’ peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, becoming the group’s second #1 in the US after ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’, and it spent four weeks on top. There have only been 31 songs in history by Australian artists to hit #1 in America, and Savage Garden are one of only six acts to have multiple songs on that list. It was also the most-played song on US radio in the year 2000.
The song still holds the record for the most weeks on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart with 124 weeks (‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’ is second with 123 weeks) and was #1 on the Decade-End Adult Contemporary chart.
It became the group’s third #1 single in Canada and their fifth Top 5 hit in Australia, and charted within the Top 20 in numerous countries around the world. The song has also won numerous awards including Billboard Music Awards, an ASCAP Pop Award, and APRA Awards.
The music video, which featured actress Kirsten Dunst, has amassed over 193 million views despite being blocked in most countries until 2019.
Watch the music video:
Live Acoustic Demo: