Top 10 2000s Songs That Became Popular Again
#10: “I’m Just a Kid” (2002)
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Simple Plan
In 2002, this Canadian pop punk group scored a platinum record with their first single. Simple Plan’s “I’m Just a Kid” is a classic of the decade, perfectly encapsulating the sound of the era and its brand of teenage millennial angst. That’s probably why it made its way onto so many soundtracks. Like a lot of the songs on this list, “I’m Just a Kid” made the rounds again when it became the soundtrack of a nostalgic TikTok trend. People began using the song over recreations of photos taken when they were younger. For an extra dose of feel-good nostalgia, some parents would recreate childhood photos with their now grown kids.
#9: “Potential Breakup Song” (2007)
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Aly & AJ
First released in 2007, this aptly-titled breakup song reached platinum sales and was praised for its vulnerable and mature lyrics. Considering sisters Aly and AJ Michalka were Disney stars at the time, this was a change of pace, even if it was edited for content and backed by an upbeat synth track. 13 years later, the duo’s “Potential Breakup Song” would find new life on, of course, TikTok. Around 2020, users began filming themselves lip syncing to the track, posing and strutting and probably thinking of all the exes who wronged them. The sisters re-recorded the uncensored version of the song in response.
#8: “Teenagers” (2007)
My Chemical Romance
A perfect blend of the youthful sounds of emo rock and a very relatable fear of the next generation, “Teenagers” is a funny but poignant rumination on growing older. It’s unforgettable chorus about how terrifying teenagers can be became the soundtrack of a TikTok trend of sharing horror stories about parenting teenagers. The fact that the people using it were probably old enough to rock out to the song when it came out only adds an extra layer of irony on top. Not to be outdone, literal teenagers began using the song to boast about how unhinged their behavior is to adults.
#7: “Mockingbird” (2005)
Eminem
Few artists represented the 2000s like Marshall Mathers, a.k.a. Slim Shady, a.k.a. Eminem. A standout from his “Encore” album, “Mockingbird” is an intensely personal track addressed to his daughter, Hailie, that showcases the softer side of Eminem. In 2023, TikTokers began using a sped-up version of the song for their videos. A popular variant of the trend was to illustrate the differences between how they were treated by their biological parents and their found families. This resurgence led to the song reaching a billion streams on Spotify and charting again nearly 20 years after its initial release.
#6: “Smile” (2006)
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Lily Allen
Of all the songs that could be resurrected for a TikTok dance challenge, British pop sensation Lily Allen’s “Smile” seemed as unlikely a candidate as any. But in 2020, TikTok user zockjat reappropriated Allen’s tribute to schadenfreude to celebrate racists facing real-life consequences. He and his choreography subsequently went viral, with thousands of users recreating the dance. It kind of makes sense in a roundabout way. Allen first gained a following on MySpace, becoming a viral sensation before we even really knew what that was. Almost two decades later, she still has the ability to break the Internet.
#5: “Unwritten” (2004)
Natasha Bedingfield
This one was forever cemented in the cultural mindset when it became the theme song to MTV’s “The Hills,” the most 2000s show there ever was. Like her other big hit, “Pocketful of Sunshine,” Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” was immensely popular and was heard in many movies and TV shows of the period. But it wasn’t until its inclusion in the 2023 romcom, “Anyone But You” that it got major nostalgia points with the contemporary crowd. The title of the music video has even been edited on YouTube to make sure listeners know it’s the song from the movie. In a time when hope for the future seems almost tasteless, it’s become a weirdly soothing comfort listen.
#4: “Toxic” (2004)
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Britney Spears
The #FreeBritney movement not only brought attention to the pop star’s conservatorship drama, it also created an opening for a cultural reassessment of her best work through the years. It seems like the Internet has also finally embraced the quality and endless meme potential of songs like “Gimme More.” But it’s “Toxic” that sustains. It still thrills with its innovative blend of genres and styles, and who could forget that vaguely threatening hook? Lately, its popularity has only grown after being featured on the soundtracks of “Promising Young Woman,” “Madame Web,” and oddly enough, the 2022 “Elvis” biopic.
#3: “Misery Business” (2007)
Paramore
There was a time when the pop punk band Paramore vowed never to sing this song again. Their breakthrough hit is an undeniably essential song of the decade, but lead singer and co-writer Hayley Williams said she had outgrown its adolescent lyrics. Then, in 2021, it charted once again. A lot of that probably had to do with the similarities between “Misery Business” and the song “Good 4 U” by Olivia Rodrigo. The latter track actually featured interpolated sections of the Paramore song. Though the details of how that happened and whether the band knew about it are murky, they were later added as co-writer on Rodrigo’s song. If anything, it may have reintroduced the song and the band to a whole new generation.
#2: “Promiscuous” (2006)
Nelly Furtado
This Canadian pop sensation recently saw an uptick in streams when her 2006 hit became the theme of a new dance trend. Nelly Furtado scored most of her biggest hits between 2000 and 2009 before becoming an independent artist, but her biggest songs epitomize the era. “Promiscuous” featuring Timbaland was Furtado’s first number one on American radio, but a TikTok trend catapulted it back onto the hip hop and R&B charts in 2020. “Promiscuous” isn’t her only song to make a killing on the platform. “Say It Right” also got plenty of play after its own dance trend counterpart went viral.
#1: “Murder on the Dancefloor” (2001)
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Sophie Ellis-Bextor
As far as meme fodder and cultural impact goes, “Saltburn” might just be one of the most successful movies of 2023. The dark thriller turned Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi into “babygirls,” made us question the safety of drinking bathwater, and gave us something to watch with our parents over the holidays. But its greatest contribution to humankind is its revival of the previously niche British disco-pop anthem by Sophie Ellis-Bexor. Though we can’t show you the scene it’s used in without getting demonetized, the naked truth is that the song has experienced a huge resurgence. The song got so big, it got Ellis-Bextor her first performance on American TV. For a song that was first released in 2001, that’s a pretty phenomenal feat.
Which of these 2000s hits had you realizing just how old you’d gotten? Tell us in the comments.
