If the nineties were the definitive pop low, the noughties were the definitive high. Pop in the noughties was everywhere, doing what it does best, invading the very fabric of our lives on TV, films, adverts and video games, in shopping malls, lifts and pubs, sung in dreary cover versions on TV talent shows and blared by tuneless amateurs in karaoke sessions. Ironically, as the music biz suffered a near fatal collapse, pop returned with a vengeance. There was no escape.
What changed the very nature of pop music and sparked a revolution in consumerism and creativity had nothing to do with any individual group or new genre and everything to do with technology. The invention of the ipod and itunes, Youtube, Spotify and illegal downloading allowed us to access any music, anytime, anyplace, anywhere. No longer brainwashed by conglomerate marketing and corporate radios exclusive playlists, we could listen to whatever we wanted, and with the inevitable demystification of computer software allowing any kid with a PC and a hatful of ideas to create music from the comfort of their own bedroom, there was a helluva lot to listen to.
Amongst all this activity it wasn’t really surprising that no decade defining trend or centre of pop gravity emerged. The one noticeable difference with the seventies, eighties and nineties was the incredible rise of the strong, independent woman, either as a part of manufactured girl groups, or as individuals in their own right. Some were authentically soulful while others were sexed up and auto tuned within an inch of their lives, but then great vocal talent has never been a guarantee of great pop has it?
Like a billion others, I became infatuated, largely through my young daughters own obsession. She was, and still is, going through that pop phase we all have to go through to get to the other side, although ‘Buttons’ or ‘Poker Face’ are infinitely preferable to the ‘Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep’ pop of my pre teens.
For the first time since the early eighties pop began to move away from Secret Pleasure territory, aged scribes and intellectuals trampling over each other to expound its considerable virtues. Suddenly it had become interesting and almost cool proving, as if any proof were needed, that the pop song is still one of the greatest inventions of the modern world. Of course, I know they are only pop songs, but I would argue that bullets are only metal, money is only paper and religion is only old stories. Do y’know what I mean?
One
01 ALL SAINTS / Pure Shores / February 2000
02 WHEATUS / Teenage Dirtbag / July 2000
03 BLUE / All Rise / May 2001
04 BRITNEY SPEARS / I’m A Slave 4 U / September 2001
05 NO DOUBT / Hey Baby / October 2001
06 SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR / Murder On The Dancefloor / December 2001
07 LIBERTY X / Just A Little / May 2002
08 PINK / Just Like A Pill / June 2002
09 KYLIE MINOGUE / Love At First Sight / June 2002
10 MS DYNAMITE / Dy-Na-Mi-Tee / July 2002
11 AVRIL LAVIGNE / Skater Boy / August 2002
12 T.A.T.U. / How Soon Is Now? / October 2002
13 JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE / Like I Love You / November 2002
14 CHRISTINA AGUILERA / Beautiful / March 2003
15 BEYONCE / Naughty Girl / June 2003
16 BLACK EYED PEAS / Where Is The Love / September 2003
17 WILL YOUNG / Leave Right Now / December 2003
18 ANASTACIA / Left Outside Alone / March 2004
19 GWEN STEFANI / What You Waiting For / November 2004
20 SUGABABES / Push The Button / October 2005
Two
01 PUSSYCAT DOLLS / Buttons / May 2006
02 PETER, BJORN & JOHN / Young Folks / June 2006
03 KATE NASH / Foundations / June 2007
04 RIHANNA / Umbrella / June 2007
05 FERGIE / Big Girls Don’t Cry / July 2007
06 MISSY ELLIOT / Shake Your Pom Pom / March 2008
07 GIRLS ALOUD / Hoxton Heroes / March 2008
08 GABRIELLA CILMI / Sweet About Me / June 2008
09 LITTLE JACKIE / The World Should Revolve Around Me / July 2008
10 LADY GAGA / Poker Face / September 2008
11 ADELE / Make You Feel My Love / October 2008
12 DUFFY / Rain On Your Parade / November 2008
13 LILY ALLEN / Fuck You / February 2009
14 JAMIE T / Sticks ‘n’ Stones / June 2009
15 LA ROUX / In For The Kill / June 2009
16 MINI VIVA / Left My Heart In Tokyo / September 2009
17 ONE REPUBLIC / Secrets / November 2009
18 PIXIE LOTT / Cry Me Out / November 2009
19 ALICIA KEYS / Empire State Of Mind Pt II / November 2009
20 LEONA LEWIS / Happy / November 2009
