BoD: Singles

The single experienced a resurgence during the aughts thanks to the constantly decreasing attention spans of the general public. Pop singles dominated the radio and were easily available individually thanks to iTunes. These are 15 singles that have gone on to become almost synonymous with the band that created them, songs that were crazy popular and had a huge impact on the artists’  careers.  

Eminem, "The Real Slim Shady" (2000) – One of the most self-congratulating pieces in recent memory, "The Real Slim Shady" bore Eminem as less of the contrived Slim Shady he had been and more like Eminem as a person, hence the name of the song and the LP containing it. It indeed Eminem at his finest, controversial but candid, slamming fellow celebs with such ease it was mildly disgusting.

Daft Punk, "One More Time" (2000) –  One of the decade’s best celebration songs, Daft Punk’s jangly muffled loop caught fire and became perhaps their most accessible work. The song is no more complex that the concept: listen to music, dance, celebrate, feel free. I don’t know if there’s anyone who can’t buy into that. 

Coldplay, "Yellow" (2000) – Forget what they are now and try to remember Coldplay in the context of “Yellow.”  “Look at the stars / look how they shine for you...”? Really? How could any girl alive not fall in love with Chris Martin’s soft utterance of this sappy yet sometimes eccentric poetry? Though they’ve really evolved since then, “Yellow” gave Coldplay the platform to do so.

Kylie Minouge, "Can't Get You Out My Head" (2001) – Catchy, smooth, seductive, coy – all are great adjectives when attempting to convey the appeal of "Can’t Get You Out Of My Head." The song is ridden with sexual appeal that emphasizes the more subtle aspects of human sexuality and desire that are usually dormant inside people. Kylie didn’t unleash hers per say, but the material made the song inherently relatable and the beat made it ridiculously likeable.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Maps" (2003) – On an album full of raw garage punk and forceful lyricism, a heartfelt reflection about lead singer Karen O’s love life was somewhat unexpected. Though slightly misleading to their sound, it was easily the band’s most well known song. The reluctantly desperate words and heavy guitar gave the song a tough love feel, allowing it to sound more genuine, and quite frankly, become one of the best love songs of our generation.

Green Day, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (2004) – Green Day’s American Idiot album pissed off a lot of fans, but it had a lot of hits and none was bigger or better than "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." With a ravenous guitar sound and awesomely quotable lyrics, "Boulevard" became 21st century Green Day.
 
The Killers, "Somebody Told Me" (2004) – Before "Somebody Told Me," we hadn’t heard anything like it in awhile. The song’s synthetic sound and fervent tempo made it bankable in almost any setting, while frontman Brendan Flower’s lyrics are as audacious as his voice. It was influential too; Somebody Told Me probably turned more mainstream kids into indie rockers than any other this decade.

Kelly Clarkson, "Since U Been Gone" (2004) – This was the song that introduced us to the tenacious girl rocker version of Kelly Clarkson we all love. Soft chorus, scream sing verse; since "Since U Been Gone" there have been countless copies of this style. So to her credit, this song could have easily been terrible, see Pink, 2008, but Kelly was able to pull off the pop punk rock thing flawlessly and won a Grammy to boot.  

Franz Ferdinand, "Take Me Out" (2004) – An indie rock anthem for the 21st century, Franz Ferdinand’s "Take Me Out" was quirky enough to charm much of the mainstream audience but bizarre and rambling enough to polarize the rest. Whether you loved or hated the song, that churning guitar/drum combination, manic feeling and wonderfully stupid music video embedded take me out in everyone’s head, probably for longer than many wanted.

Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy" (2006) – "Crazy" was kind of crazy in it’s own way: an ambiguous message lined with hints of urban romanticism atop a funky soul beat. While critics and inquiring minds weren’t sure quite to make of the song, the public latched on and played the shit out of "Crazy." The song is well respected too; it has been remixed or covered countless times by countless artists since its release.

Rihanna, "Umbrella" (2007) – Anything Jay-Z gives his seal of approval is going to be worth a listen, but who could have expected that? “Little Miss Sunshine” Rihanna announced her arrival on the pop scene with this worldwide number one. From Jay’s introduction to her hypnotic incantation on the chorus, Umbrella was the perfect pop song and it took the world by storm, pun somewhat intended.

OneRepublic featuring Timbaland, "Apologize" (2007) – It’s important to mention the featuring Timbaland part of the song, because without Timbaland, this song probably doesn’t take off. Though he hardly did anything explicit on the track, his influence is evident in this emo song well disguised as a ballad with recognizable piano at first and heavy drums throughout.

MIA, "Paper Planes" (2007) – This was the song that forced the average radio listener to recognize the existence of MIA, one of the decade’s finest artists. Aided by the publicity it received as the theme song for "Pineapple Express," "Paper Planes"’ random noises and funky pop beat helped it spawn way too many remixes and made it easily the biggest success of MIA’s career.
 
Lady Gaga, "Just Dance" (2008) – Since "Just Dance," we’ve witnessed the fruition of the Gage empire, but back then she was just another artist who was a little odd. A simple message consisting of two words and some noises helped everyone forget their troubles if they just listened to those four minutes. But after that no one would forget Lady Gaga.

The Lonely Island featuring T-Pain, "I'm On A Boat" (2009) – I can’t believe I’m saying this, but “I’m On A Boat” might be one of the most underrated crossover hits of the decade. The Dudes use the ubiquitous T-Pain, glorified normalcy and a big sound to put the comedy genre in the consciousness of people everywhere. Weird Al has always been good, but he was never as widely heard as "I’m On A Boat" was. Then again, he was never on a muthafuckin’ boat either.