The early 2000’s are longingly referred to as the ‘simpler times’. A time when everything smelled like cucumber melon and our only accessory was the Livestrong bracelet. This was the pre-selfie era, remember how we all crammed into photo booths with our friends at the mall? Speaking of malls, that was the place to see and be seen. We would hang around the Sam Goody store for hours, looking for the latest and greatest from our favorite artists.

Having a the best CD collection among our friends was a fierce competition! Remember how our only goal for the year was to create that perfect mix CD? So we delved blindly into mysterious world of music downloads off Napster. It would take days, even weeks just to get a full CD! These days we have websites like Spotify and Soundcloud to do it all for us, but if we are honest, we kind of miss the good old days.

If we take one important memory away from this decade, it was definitely a time highlighted by all of those weird and wonderful songs that got stuck on repeat in our heads. Check out these ‘One Hit Wonders’ for a trip back in time. We apologize in advance for any shameless sing along sessions that may ensue.   

MIMS – This is Why I’m Hot

Jamaican rapper Shawn Mims hails from the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. He hit our radar only briefly with his song ‘This is Why I’m Hot’ subsequently sitting at number one on the Billboard for two weeks. These days, Shawn has traded the Hollywood lifestyle for a much different path. He now resides in Silicon Valley, where he pursues a very successful career in technology. He created the award winning iPhone app RecordGram.

Gnarls Barkley- Crazy

The summer of 2006 brought us the irresistible song ‘Crazy’ courtesy of artist  Cee-Lo Green and producer Danger Mouse. This catchy song was definitely a lot of fun to sing along to whenever it was on the radio. Unfortunately, ‘‘Crazy’  only peaked at Number two for a few weeks. We don’t know about you, but we still know all of the words.

Leona Lewis- Bleeding Love

The year 2006  introduced us to British singer, Leona Lewis . She won the third installment of the popular  British reality T.V. show, The X Factor, and was awarded with a contract to Syco Records with Simon Cowell. In 2007 she took the air waves by storm with the power ballad ‘Bleeding Love’. She has since parted ways with the label. We haven’t heard much from the talented songstress, but sources show she is very active with PETA and a spokeswoman for Veganism. She still resides in her native London.

The Calling ‘Wherever You Will Go’

The music video for this unforgettable song was all over our TV screens, courtesy of MTV by the summer of 2001. It reached all the way across to New Zealand, Italy and Poland. The song was  also voted the number one song of the decade by Billboard. A quick glance at the comment section of the band’s YouTube channel still shows a loyal fan base and an undying love for the song.

Daniel Powter ‘ Bad Day’

Canadian pop artist Daniel Powter could not find a record to help him release his song at first, so it was used in a French Coca Cola commercial in 2004. This ultimately led to a contract with Warner Brothers who officially released the song in 2005.  Soon teens across America were in love with this song, labeling it on their ‘anthem’ mix CDs. These days the 45 year old has ditched the iconic beanie and got a haircut. He is now in Los Angeles, hard at work in the studio creating a comeback album. We wish him all the luck, and are looking forward to seeing what emerges.

Bo Bice ‘Inside Your Heaven’

We all remember this long haired rocker from American Idol. With his sweet rendition of ‘Inside Your Heaven’ he sung his way into the hearts of millions.He ended his American Idol stint as runner up next to Carrie Underwood. Although he didn’t win the show, that didn’t stop him from reaching success. These days the 42 year old has his own record label, Sugar Money. He is also the front man to his own band, the jazz slash rock group  Blood, Sweat & Tears.

We hope our list of one hit wonders of this unforgettable era has inspired you to rediscover the artist and see what they are up to now. Go ahead and  dust off those mixtapes you have buried in your closet. There is nothing like remembering the good ‘ol days when pop and rock music held all of our fondest moments. If you play an instrument and want to learn to play some of these timeless pieces yourself, head on over to our site, plug the 2000s into the search bar and snag some sheet music to get started.