130 Fun Facts About 2000s Music

Which rapper was the top-selling artist of the 2000s across all genres?

Britney Spears was the decade's best-selling female artist.

Which album broke NSYNC's No Strings Attached first-week US sales record of 2.4 million after 15 years?

Adele's 25 sold 3.38 million in its opening week in 2015.

In the 'Bye Bye Bye' video, NSYNC are portrayed as what, a nod to their legal fight with manager Lou Pearlman?

The album title No Strings Attached made the same point about escaping Pearlman's control.

In the 2000 video for 'Oops!... I Did It Again', the singer dances in a red bodysuit on which planet?

An astronaut hands her the Heart of the Ocean, the blue diamond from Titanic.

'Toxic' (2004) remains the only Grammy-winning single for which pop star?

Its high-pitched strings are sampled from the 1981 Bollywood song 'Tere Mere Beech Mein'.

Eminem's 2000 single 'Stan' samples 'Thank You' by which British singer?

The character's name became a slang word for an obsessive fan and is now in the Oxford English Dictionary.

'Lose Yourself' from 8 Mile was the first hip-hop track to win an Oscar. In which category?

Eminem later opened a Detroit restaurant called Mom's Spaghetti in honour of the song's most quoted lyric.

Under what name did Linkin Park originally form in 1996?

They briefly went by Hybrid Theory itself before settling on Linkin Park; the album has sold around 32 million copies.

Which Linkin Park song won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2002?

'In the End' was the album's highest-charting single but went home empty-handed.

Which band sued Napster in April 2000 after an unreleased demo leaked onto it?

Napster shut its network down in July 2001 to comply with a court injunction.

When Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPod in 2001, its 5 GB hard drive was pitched with what slogan?

Apple sold about 450 million iPods before discontinuing the line in May 2022.

In what year did Apple open the iTunes Store, selling songs for download?

It opened on 28 April 2003, two years after the first iPod.

Which Missy Elliott single, built on a Punjabi tumbi melody, won the 2002 Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance?

Rolling Stone named it the greatest song of the 21st century in 2025.

Nelly's 'Hot in Herre' (2002) was the first Billboard number one for which production duo?

It also won the very first Grammy for Best Male Rap Solo Performance.

Kelly Clarkson won the first American Idol in 2002 with 58% of the vote against which runner-up?

Her 2004 hit 'Since U Been Gone' was written and produced by Max Martin and Dr. Luke.

The bass-like riff of 'Seven Nation Army' (2003) was played on a guitar through what?

Club Brugge fans started singing it at a match in Italy that October, and Italy's national team carried it to the 2006 World Cup.

'Crazy in Love' built its horn hook on a sample of 'Are You My Woman' by which 1970s soul group?

It won two Grammys and is widely credited as the song that made her a solo superstar.

How many members of a fictional band does André 3000 play in the 'Hey Ya!' video?

The song topped the Hot 100 for nine weeks, and Polaroid hired an ad agency to cash in on 'shake it like a Polaroid picture'.

Which Coldplay song, from A Rush of Blood to the Head, won the Grammy for Record of the Year in 2004?

Chris Martin came up with the piano riff late one night in a Liverpool studio.

Brandon Flowers wrote 'Mr. Brightside' after seeing his girlfriend with another man where?

By May 2024 it had become the UK's most successful song ever not to reach number one, passing Oasis's 'Wonderwall'.

Usher's 'Yeah!' (2004) featured Ludacris and which crunk producer-rapper?

Lil Jon dubbed the style 'crunk&B'; the single was knocked off number one by Usher's own 'Burn'.

Green Day's 2004 concept album American Idiot follows an anti-hero with what name?

The band called it a 'punk rock opera'; it became a Broadway musical in 2010.

Which Green Day single won the top Grammy single prize in 2006?

The album itself had won Best Rock Album the year before.

Gwen Stefani's 'Hollaback Girl' (2005) was the first single to pass what US download milestone?

In the video the Harajuku Girls spell out B-A-N-A-N-A-S with cue cards.

On 'Gold Digger' (2005), Jamie Foxx interpolated 'I Got a Woman' by which artist he had just played on film?

West got the idea after watching Ray with his friend John Mayer; the single spent 10 weeks at number one.

Fall Out Boy formed in 2001 in Wilmette, a suburb of which city?

Their 2005 breakthrough 'Sugar, We're Goin Down' reached number eight on the Hot 100.

The Crazy Frog's 2005 hit was a cover of 'Axel F', the theme from which film series?

The character was originally called The Annoying Thing and was built around Daniel Malmedahl's impression of a two-stroke engine.

Shakira's 'Hips Don't Lie' (2006), her first US number one, featured which former Fugee?

They performed it before the 2006 World Cup final in Berlin to a TV audience of over 700 million.

Which single is regarded as the best-selling single of the entire 2000s decade?

It hit number one in 18 countries and was the fastest-selling digital download in the US at the time.

Which single piano note famously opens 'Welcome to the Black Parade'?

Andrew Lloyd Webber remarked that making one note iconic is harder than making a set of chords iconic.

Amy Winehouse's Back to Black (2006) was produced entirely by Salaam Remi and which British DJ-producer?

It sold 20 million copies and became the UK's second best-selling album of the 21st century.

Which Amy Winehouse song swept the two biggest single categories at the 2008 Grammys?

Back to Black itself won Best Pop Vocal Album the same night.

Rihanna's 'Umbrella' (2007) was originally written for which other pop star, whose label passed on it?

It spent 10 straight weeks at UK number one, the longest run of the decade there.

How many consecutive weeks did 'Umbrella' spend at number one on the UK Singles Chart, the longest of any single that decade?

Its stay coincided with an unusually wet British summer, which the tabloids blamed on the song.

Which Fergie single spells out 'F to the E, R, G, the I, the E' and samples J.J. Fad's 'Supersonic'?

Its candy-factory video was inspired by Willy Wonka; the single peaked at number two.

Who took Taylor Swift's record as youngest Album of the Year Grammy winner, at 18?

Fearless was the best-selling US album of 2009 with 3.2 million copies.

Who invited Taylor Swift back on stage to finish after Kanye West's 2009 VMA interruption?

Beyoncé won Video of the Year later that night for 'Single Ladies' and invited Swift back on stage to finish.

Which was Lady Gaga's first US number one single?

'Poker Face' followed it to number one, making her the first new artist since Christina Aguilera to open with two chart-toppers.

Which Lady Gaga single was the world's best-selling single of 2009, with around 9.8 million sales?

Produced by RedOne, it won the Grammy for Best Dance Recording.

The Black Eyed Peas' 'I Gotta Feeling' (2009) was produced by which French DJ?

Together with 'Boom Boom Pow' it kept the group at number one for 26 consecutive weeks.

Green Day's American Idiot sold about 14 million. Which 2001 Blink-182 album matched that?

Blink's self-titled 2003 follow-up took a darker turn before the band went on hiatus.

Roughly how many US copies did Limp Bizkit's Chocolate Starfish (2000) sell in its first week?

That first week set a record for a rock album at the time.

Which critic-mocked Canadian post-grunge band sold over 50 million albums in the 2000s?

'How You Remind Me' was Billboard's number one song of 2002.

Whose Sticky & Sweet Tour became the highest-grossing tour by a female artist at $408 million?

Bon Jovi's Lost Highway Tour was the highest-grossing tour of 2008 overall.

Which singer-actress topped the Billboard 200 in 2001 the same week The Wedding Planner opened at number one?

J.Lo made her the first person to top the album and box-office charts in the same week.

Which Outkast rapper wrote, produced and performed "Hey Ya!"?

Big Boi's "The Way You Move" was the other single from Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.

Where was "Hey Ya!" recorded in December 2002?

He had written the song back in 2000.

Which producers wrote "In da Club" with 50 Cent?

It was 50 Cent's first number-one single, built on an off-beat rhythm.

How many times had 50 Cent been shot before recording Get Rich or Die Tryin'?

He wrote that surviving nine close-range shots made him feel he had a purpose in life.

Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" made UK chart history in 2006 by topping the chart how?

It stayed at number one for nine weeks, then was pulled from stores while still selling downloads.

"Since U Been Gone" was written by Max Martin and which producer?

They first offered it to Pink and Hilary Duff before Kelly Clarkson took it.

Which two artists turned down "Since U Been Gone" before Kelly Clarkson recorded it?

Duff felt she could not reach the high notes; Clarkson added heavier guitars.

Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" started life as which genre before being reworked?

Ne-Yo co-wrote it with Stargate producing; the lyric is about an unfaithful man.

Flo Rida's "Low" was the most downloaded single of the 2000s and appeared on which film's soundtrack?

It topped the Hot 100 for ten weeks and was certified Diamond.

How many consecutive weeks did the Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" top the Hot 100?

Their own "I Gotta Feeling" beat it that year with 14 weeks at number one.

Which album spawned the Black Eyed Peas' five top-ten hits including "Boom Boom Pow"?

It marked their heavy embrace of Auto-Tune and electropop dance.

Justin Timberlake said "SexyBack" was like David Bowie and David Byrne covering whose song?

He sang it in a rock style, not R&B, with his voice distorted.

Where did Lady Gaga premiere "Bad Romance" in October 2009?

It came from The Fame Monster, the reissue of her debut album.

Which producer co-wrote "Bad Romance" with Lady Gaga?

It is an electropop track inspired by German house and techno.

What did Beyoncé name her aggressive onstage alter ego on her 2008 album?

"Single Ladies" was released as a double A-side with "If I Were a Boy".

How many Grammys did "Single Ladies" win in 2010, including Song of the Year?

It topped the Hot 100 for four non-consecutive weeks.

"Empire State of Mind" samples "Love on a Two-Way Street" by which group?

Angela Hunte and Janet Sewell-Ulepic wrote it as a New York tribute; Roc Nation first passed on it.

Which R&B star duets with Jay-Z on "Empire State of Mind"?

It appeared on The Blueprint 3.

U2's "Beautiful Day" opened which 2000 album?

The band debated whether the Edge should return to his 1980s guitar tone.

Which record did "Complicated" break with sixteen weeks atop the Adult Top 40 chart?

It was Avril Lavigne's debut single, written with the Matrix.

How many Grammys did "Fallin'" win in 2002?

They included Song of the Year and Best R&B Song; it was her debut single.

Which OneRepublic frontman co-wrote and produced Leona Lewis's "Bleeding Love"?

Jesse McCartney originally wrote and recorded it.

Coldplay took the title "Viva la Vida" from a final painting by which artist?

The words were inscribed on a watermelon in her painting.

Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" surged in the US after featuring in which TV show's season finale?

It became one of the songs showing the impact of legal downloads on UK sales.

Which country star's 2002 cover of "Hurt" led Trent Reznor to say "that song isn't mine anymore"?

Nine Inch Nails first released "Hurt" on 1994's The Downward Spiral.

Madonna's 2000 single "Music" was co-written with which producer?

It leaked to Napster before release, prompting legal threats from her team.

Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" is widely thought to reference which ex-girlfriend?

It won the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance from his album Justified.

Which producer created "Family Affair", Mary J. Blige's only Hot 100 number one?

It spent six weeks at number one in late 2001.

Destiny's Child's "Independent Women" was the lead single for which film's soundtrack?

It held number one for 11 straight weeks and was Michelle Williams's first single with the group.

The video for Destiny's Child's "Say My Name" introduced which two replacement members?

The song's lineup was still the original one, but the video showed the new members.

Who wrote and produced Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful"?

Aguilera said she put "her heart and soul" into the self-esteem anthem from Stripped.

Shaggy's breakthrough "It Wasn't Me" (2000) featured which singer?

It was the UK's best-selling single of 2001, moving over 1.15 million copies.

Which Radiohead album, released in 2000, came out with no singles or interviews?

They used the internet for promotion and released short animations instead.

Which Strokes album, released in 2001, helped launch the garage-rock revival?

It was recorded with producer Gordon Raphael in New York City.

Which studio hosted the recording of the White Stripes' Elephant?

It produced "Seven Nation Army" and "The Hardest Button to Button".

Which three singles did The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) produce?

It featured Dido on "Stan" and became a landmark of horrorcore-tinged hip-hop.

Outkast recorded Stankonia in a studio they bought in which city?

André 3000 began moving toward a more melodic vocal style during the sessions.

Which up-and-coming producer handled most of Jay-Z's The Blueprint (2001)?

Its release was moved up a week to fight bootlegging; it came out on September 11, 2001.

Roughly how many US copies did Usher's Confessions move in week one?

Its lead single "Yeah!" fused crunk and R&B, coined "crunk&B" by Lil Jon.

What term describes the sped-up sample style of West's 2004 solo debut?

A 2002 car crash that broke his jaw inspired "Through the Wire".

Which two hip-hop stars executive-produced 50 Cent's 2003 debut?

It combined New York gangsta rap with R&B; its lead single was "In da Club".

Which co-writer worked with Taylor Swift on much of Fearless (2008)?

The country-pop album crossed over to pop, folk and rock audiences.

Which three producers primarily worked on Lady Gaga's The Fame?

It was reissued with The Fame Monster in November 2009.

The Killers' debut Hot Fuss (2004) drew mainly on which two genres?

Its singles included "Mr. Brightside" and "Somebody Told Me".

Which Canadian band's 2004 debut Funeral drew on the North American ice storm of 1998?

Its "Neighborhood" suite centres on a town during a winter power outage.

Which 2002 album referenced 9/11 and the war on terror?

It marked a shift away from the frustrations of America's underclass toward fame.

Who founded the file-sharing app Napster, launched in 1999?

At its peak it had about 80 million registered users before shutting down in 2001.

Which band's leaked demo of "I Disappear" triggered its lawsuit against Napster?

Napster relied on a centralised database that indexed every shared song.

On what date did Apple launch the iTunes Store for Mac OS X?

Steve Jobs pitched it as the only legal digital catalogue with all five major labels.

Which company bought MySpace for $580 million in 2005?

By June 2006 it was the most-visited website in the US.

Which company released the Auto-Tune pitch-correction software in 1997?

Cher's 1998 "Believe" popularised the deliberate "Cher effect".

Whose 1998 song "Believe" gave the deliberate Auto-Tune warble its nickname?

T-Pain later revived heavy Auto-Tune use in R&B by 2007.

Which R&B artist is credited with sparking the mainstream Auto-Tune craze in 2007?

The technology spread from hip-hop into pop, R&B and EDM.

The Crazy Frog's chart-topping 2005 hit covered which film theme?

The CGI character was created by Erik Wernquist and marketed by ringtone firm Jamba!

Which musician's 1993 boycott concert helped establish Coachella's Empire Polo Club site?

The first Coachella festival ran over two days in October 1999.

In which California city is the Coachella festival held?

Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of AEG Presents, organises it; a second weekend was added in 2012.

How many consecutive weeks did Usher's "Yeah!" top the Hot 100 in 2004?

It was dethroned by his own follow-up "Burn" and topped the year-end chart.

"Toxic" samples strings from which 1981 Bollywood song?

It won Best Dance Recording, the only Grammy of her career.

Missy Elliott's "Get Ur Freak On" is built on which South Asian musical form?

Its six-note melody is played on a Punjabi tumbi over tabla rhythms.

Which Beyoncé solo album from 2003 became one of the best-selling of the 21st century?

She had made her film debut as Foxxy Cleopatra in Austin Powers in Goldmember.

Which injury inspired "Through the Wire", recorded two weeks later?

He rapped with his jaw still wired shut.

Arctic Monkeys' 2006 record set a UK chart record as the fastest-selling what?

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not also won the Mercury Prize.

Which Coldplay debut single from Parachutes (2000) was their breakthrough?

Parachutes won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.

Michael Jackson's final record Invincible (2001) is notable as what?

He died in 2009 from a propofol overdose while preparing his This Is It concerts.

Which physician administered the propofol that caused Michael Jackson's death in 2009?

Jackson had been preparing his This Is It comeback concerts.

Which 2007 Britney album came out amid a public breakdown?

She was placed under a conservatorship in 2008 that ended in 2021.

On which network did American Idol premiere on June 11, 2002?

It ran 15 seasons there, ending in 2016.

Who were the three original American Idol judges?

They judged seasons one through eight.

Kelly Clarkson's debut "A Moment Like This" achieved what in the US in 2002?

She shifted to pop rock for the hit album Breakaway.

Which two number-one singles came from Destiny's Child's Survivor (2001)?

The group officially disbanded in 2006.

Who is the lead singer and primary songwriter of the Strokes?

Their 2001 debut Is This It launched them from the New York club scene.

Which Fall Out Boy record delivered "Sugar, We're Goin Down" in 2005?

Pete Wentz wrote the lyrics and Patrick Stump composed the music.

Which Blink-182 record sold 14 million copies after its 2001 release?

It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

Which 2004 Green Day concept album followed the anti-hero Jesus of Suburbia?

It sold 14 million copies and won three Grammys.

Which 2001 Radiohead album collected further material from the Kid A sessions?

The two were reissued together in 2021 as Kid A Mnesia.

In which English city did Arctic Monkeys form in 2002?

Their debut later won the Mercury Prize.

Which record label released Arcade Fire's Funeral in September 2004?

Most of it was recorded in a single week at Montreal's Hotel2Tango.

Which UK talent show did Leona Lewis win in 2006, the year before "Bleeding Love"?

The single went on to hit number one in over 35 countries.

Which single first hit number one in over 35 countries, a feat "Bleeding Love" repeated?

Elton John's Diana tribute set the mark a decade earlier.

Which Grammy did the White Stripes' Elephant win at the 2004 ceremony?

A rumour that no post-1963 gear was used was dismissed by the studio's owner as nonsense.

Which production team co-wrote and produced Avril Lavigne's 2002 debut single 'Complicated'?

The trio of Lauren Christy, Scott Spock and Graham Edwards shared the writing credit; the single arrived on Arista in March 2002, ahead of the album Let Go.

Norah Jones's Grammy-winning debut Come Away with Me (2002) was released on which jazz label?

It took Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, and was certified Diamond in 2005 for shipments over ten million.

Evanescence's 'Bring Me to Life' first appeared on the soundtrack of which 2003 superhero film?

Amy Lee wrote it at 19; the male guest vocal came from Paul McCoy of the band 12 Stones, reportedly at the label's insistence.

How many weeks did Soulja Boy's 'Crank That' spend at number one on the Hot 100 in 2007?

Its instructional dance video passed 27 million YouTube views by early 2008, an early sign of how online video could drive a hit.

'Since U Been Gone' (2004) was the lead single from which Kelly Clarkson album?

The single arrived two weeks before the album and became one of the defining pop-rock hits of the decade.