10 Songs Turning 20 in 2020

By: Julia Prendergast

You won’t believe some of the tracks on this list – they’re still bangers today!

1. ‘Bye Bye Bye’ by NSYNC

This was NSYNC’s first single from the band’s second album, No Strings Attached. Billboard announced in 2009 that No Strings Attached was the best-selling album of the 2000s in the United States (it sold over 10 million copies!)

2. ‘Say My Name’ by Destiny’s Child

This song won two Grammys in 2000, one for the Best R&B Song and one for the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group. In a 2008 interview, Kelly Rowland stated that this is her favourite Destiny’s Child song!

3. ‘What a Girl Wants’ by Christina Aguilera

‘What a Girl Wants’ was Christina Aguilera’s follow-up to her first single, ‘Genie In A Bottle’. They both climbed to #1!

4. ‘The Real Slim Shady’ by Eminem

Listeners were introduced to Slim Shady (one of Eminem – or Marshall Mathers?’ alter egos) on this track. It was meant to be a parody of stereotypical pop songs!

5. ‘It Wasn’t Me’ by Shaggy ft. Rikrok

Rikrok actually sings most of the lyrics on this track – Shaggy sings only the refrain, ‘it wasn’t me’. He was helping Rikrok out on his first solo album! The album this song was apart of became the #1 best selling album of 2001.

6. ‘Yellow’ by Coldplay

The music video for this song is one continuous shot of the lead singer, Chris Martin, walking on a beach in England. It was filmed at a fast shutter speed to appear in slow motion, so Martin had to lip-sync along at double the speed!

7. ‘Oops!… I Did It Again’ by Britney Spears

Britney was 19 when this song came out, and a record number of radio stations (155) added it to their playlists in the first week it was released.

8. ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’ by Baha Men

The band, Baha Men, have stated that his song is about ‘disrespectful men who hit on women at parties’.

9. ‘Thong Song’ by Sisqo

This is one of the few hits by Sisqo, which was featured in much of the MTV spring break coverage in 2000 – it therefore became the theme song for that summer.

10. ‘Californication’ by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

After this album was released, Flea said that ‘Californication’ is “the best record the Chili Peppers have ever made”.