The Music of 2000

I spent the summer of 2000 in England where I got to enjoy the pop music scene. The British seemed to have the best American songs at the time as well as the hits from throughout Europe. Before I returned to the U.S., I bought “Now That’s What I Call Music Volume 46.” I recently listened to disc #1 and thought I would share some thoughts about the featured artists.

The first song on the CD is “Oops!...I Did it Again” by Britney Spears. Who would have thought that six years later Britney would have two kids, chew gum in national TV interviews and be married to a guy named K-Fed?

Samantha Mumba – Her song actually made it in the U.S. and she was in the movie “The Time Machine” with Guy Pearce, which bombed. Maybe she’s still big in Europe, but I haven’t heard from her in years. At this point of her career, I thought she would be the equivalent of someone like Ashanti or Christina Milian.

Louise – Just one name like Cher or Madonna, only you probably haven’t heard of her. She had a catchy song called “2 Faced” and was also famous for marrying a soccer player named Jamie Redknapp. Think Posh Spice & David Beckham only not famous.

Aaliyah – Now she definitely would have been a superstar. She died much too young.

*NSync / Backstreet Boys – We are all grateful that both groups are not still around. Six years later, I’m going to compare which band was better:
*NSync – Justin Timberlake has one of the top selling albums in the country; JC Chasez dated Eva Longoria; Chris Kirkpatrick got mentioned in an Eminem song; Lance Bass was on the cover on “People” earlier this year and Joey Fatone was in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”
Backstreet Boys – Nick Carter dated Paris Hilton and is the older brother of Aaron Carter who at one point had Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Duff fighting over him. Aaron Carter was also engaged to one of Nick Carter’s former girlfriends but he broke off the engagement. What a nice family! Perfect for a reality TV show! I have no idea who else was in this group.
The winner: *NSync

Kylie Minogue – Besides Steve Irwin, is she the best known Australian? (Before answering this question, please note that Nicole Kidman was born in Honolulu and Russell Crowe was born in New Zealand).

Richard Ashcroft – You may not know the name but he was the lead singer of the Verve. Maybe the band doesn’t sound familiar but you probably know their song “Bittersweet Symphony.” I thought the band would be bigger but that didn’t happen.

Coldplay – There’s a song call “Yellow” on the CD. I wonder what ever happened to them.

Bloodhound Gang – Even when the song “The Bad Touch” came out, you knew they would be a one hit wonder. You may remember this group for the famous lyrics “Let’s do it like they do on the Discovery Channel.” Shocking that they couldn’t come up with another hit.

Other artists on the CD include Moby, Tom Jones, Shania Twain and Mary Mary. It’s a very eclectic CD but great for a road trip.