Being a preteen girl in the early 2000s was undeniably awesome; we bared witness to some of the most iconic pop culture trends of all time. We rushed home everyday to watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch, mastered the art of designing the perfect AIM profile, and wore entirely too much Abercrombie. We worshipped teen-comedic-super-genius Amanda Bynes, devoted our hearts to Troy Bolton, and always rooted for #TeamGordo.
The early 2000s also bred some pretty influential pop princesses whose anthems manifested our special relationship with pop music. We memorized every song, spent hours lip-synching in the mirror, and wasted too much time choreographing dance routines in our rooms. The pop music of the early 2000s so clearly defined our childhood and continues to be as influential today. I can always count on my friends being down to blast a classic throwback playlist and belt out our favorite songs, regardless of our severely different tastes in music now. So get ready to feel old, pre-pubescent nostalgia is about to sink in, these quintessential girly pop albums of the 2000s will awaken the ten-year old buried deep down inside.
Britney Spears: I think anyone under the age of thirty can agree that Britney was by far the most influential pop phenomenon of the early 2000s. I can picture myself screaming every song off …Baby One More Time, Oops! I Did It Again, and Britney into my Barbie karaoke machine, and I can still sing every word to every one of those songs today. I mean with classics like “Crazy,” “Lucky,” and “Stronger,” how can you not know the words?
Christina Aguilera: The ever-evolving pop sensation first appeared with her seemingly wholesome song, “Genie in a Bottle,” that I sang way too often, completely ignorant to the suggestive undertone until later on, (“You gotta rub me the right way.” C’mon Emily, how could you have missed that?) We jammed out to “What a Girl Wants” and “Come On Over Baby” before Christina’s imminent switch to Xtina. The Stripped era gave us hits like “Dirrty,” “Fighter,” and everyone’s favorite crying song: “Beautiful.”
Hilary Duff: When our favorite TV character came out with music of her own, we knew it’d be “What Dreams Are Made Of.” She dropped her album Metamorphosis and Hil transformed from Lizzie McGuire into a bonafide pop icon. She introduced us to classics like “So Yesterday,” “Sweet Sixteen,” and “Wake Up.” And what would Laguna Beach be without “Come Clean?”
Avril Lavigne: A contrasting break from the bubblegum pop of Hilary and Britney, Avril’s skater punk-pop sound had us hooked from the minute she debuted “Complicated” and “Sk8er Boi.” Her whole first album was honestly dynamite, come to think of it. And she totally started the weird emo/goth/alternative style that everyone eventually copied in eighth grade. What a trendsetter.
Kelly Clarkson: The original American Idol and better half of the legendary movie, From Justin to Kelly, Kelly Clarkson gave us so many hits after Idol that there are almost too many to name, but here we go. We have “Miss Independent,” “Since U Been Gone,” “Behind These Hazel Eyes,” “Walk Away,” “Breakaway,” “Never Again,” “Because of You,” and “My Life Would Suck Without You.” Of course there’s her newer stuff too that’s pretty decent, but you can’t compare “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” to “A Moment Like This.”
Ashlee Simpson: Most of civilization forgot about Ashlee Simpson after she was caught lip-synching on SNL and it was totally unfair. I’m sorry but Autobiography might be one of my favorite albums of all time. We have “Pieces of Me,” “La La,” “Surrender,” “Undiscovered,” I mean c’mon, every song was amazing and she should really consider making a comeback.
Lindsay Lohan: Okay, so maybe Linds shouldn’t really be considered a pop star, but she did have some catchy songs that we somehow still know all the words to. Lindsay’s biggest hits like “Ultimate” and “Drama Queen (That Girl)” were born from her movies Freaky Friday and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (total classics in themselves, by the way.) But like any other child star trying to break out from the Disney mold, she released her solo album Speak and graced us with “Rumors.” Lol to this song and whole album, it was a total shit show. Thankfully, she got it together for her second album with “Confessions of a Broken Heart (Daughter to Father.)” Great song, great song, don’t deny it.
Aly and AJ: Thank you Disney for bringing us Aly and AJ, AKA the best sister duo we’ve ever known. I totally resented my brother when they were popular because I wished I had a sister to sing along with. Literal sibling goals. How can we forget classics like “Rush,” “Potential Breakup Song,” and “Like Whoa”? Come back into our lives, Aly and AJ, we miss you.
Vanessa Carlton: Just about anyone can recognize the piano riff from “A Thousand Miles” a thousand miles away. Vanessa blessed us with some of the most influential and relatable songs of our young and awkward preteen lives. From “Ordinary Day” to “White Houses,” she had (and still has) everyone screaming out her lyrics.
Michelle Branch: This girl was literally “Everywhere” during the early 2000s. We were obsessed with Michelle’s cool country-rock vocals on tracks like “All You Wanted,” “Goodbye to You”, “Are You Happy Now?,” and my personal fave “Breathe.”