Every decade is full of artists that made a big impact on the music scene only to suddenly fell off the face of the Earth, never to be heard from again, and the 2000s were certainly no exception. In light of this, I wanted to take a look back at a few forgotten gems from the decade of my youth, and see who here can remember some them.

What Would You Do? -- City High (Peaked on May 26, 2001 at #8 on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LahcSFleKm8

This one has kind of a weird history. Most '10s teens will probably be more familiar with the 2013 cover by Bastille, but, from my biased point of view, you just can't beat the original by City High. "What Would You Do?" originally appeared on the soundtrack for the 1999 film "Life", but it wasn't released as a single until the group's Wycleaf Jean produced self-titled debut in 2001. In addition to hitting #8 on the Hot 100, the song also reached #1 on the Hot Rap Singles chart, and was nominated for a Grammy award. Unfortunately for City High, the talented R&B/Hip-Hop group would only record one more hit (Caramel, which peaked at #18 on the Hot 100) before disbanding in 2003.

No More (Baby I'ma Do a Right) -- 3LW (Peaked on April 7, 2001 at #23 on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drvS9w-lTMc

For a moment in time 3LW was a massively popular group. "No More" may have just cracked the top 25, but the video stayed on the TRL countdown for a month, and peaked at #2. Strife eventually began to tear the group apart, however, with Naturi Naughton leaving 3LW in 2002, and the two remaining members venturing into a side project with The Cheetah Girls. 3LW's last hit was the P. Diddy produced I Do (Wanna Get Close to You) in 2002.

Thong Song -- Sisqó (Peaked on May 20, 2000 at #3 on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oai1V7kaFBk

Many people would be surpised to find out that Sisqó, who's known as one of the '00s biggest one-hit wonders, actually wasn't a one-hit wonder, and that "Thong Song" wasn't even his most popular song. "Incomplete", another Sisqó joint off "Unleash the Dragon", actually peaked at #1 on the Hot 100 charts later in 2000. Oddly, after "Incomplete" hit #1, Sisqó never had another song to even chart.

Teenage Dirtbag -- Wheatus (Peaked on September 9, 2000 at #7 on the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC3y9llDXuM

"Teenage Dirtbag" is without a doubt one of the strangest songs to become a hit in the early '00s. It's success is odd when you consider that it sounded absolutely nothing like any of the three genres that dominated rock at that time (Nu Metal, Post-Grunge, and Pop-Punk). Wheatus pretty much faded into obscurity after "Teenage Dirtbag" had it's moment in the sun, but it was certainly a fun song for the time. Hard to believe it's already 15 years old.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvo3mrzLF9s

I don't know if this was a "hit" per se, but I do consider it somewhat 00s-defining, since it appeared in a lot of Internet videos (especially Flash animations) around 2000-2006.

The Ataris - The Boys of Summer (#20 on Billboard Hot 100)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzIZbd0K2CM
These guys became my favorite band after their Don Henley cover appeared on Now 14.  I listened to their So Long, Astoria album religiously and also discovered their obscure, blink-182-esque Kung Fu Records work in the process.  Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits is actually a significantly better album than blink-182's Enema of the State, having come out a couple months sooner and featuring songs with more variety and better melodic structures, despite still following a similar style as blink.  My soul was crushed when Welcome the Night, the followup to So Long, Astoria, was delayed a year and a half; by the time it was released in February 2007, I had become fully addicted to Super Eurobeat, an Italian-produced Japanese music series that I eventually discovered through my DDR fandom.

Skye Sweetnam - Tangled Up in Me (#37 on US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream chart)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W27v2XdCFA
This song was on the radio a whole lot when I was in 6th grade and also showed up on Now 18.  I didn't fully appreciate it at the time, but looking back, it's one of the catchiest songs that totally screams 2000s.  After Avril Lavigne became famous, there seemed to be a lot of female pop rockers in the mainstream, especially in Canada (which Skye Sweetnam also originated from), and frankly it was quite a breath of fresh air amidst the male-dominated post-grunge genre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvo3mrzLF9s

I don't know if this was a "hit" per se, but I do consider it somewhat 00s-defining, since it appeared in a lot of Internet videos (especially Flash animations) around 2000-2006.


Talk about a blast from the past! Super Mario Bros. Z was just about the first flash video series I ever watched, way back after it first came out in '06 and was only available on Newgrounds. I wonder if we'll ever get another new episode?


The Ataris - The Boys of Summer (#20 on Billboard Hot 100)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzIZbd0K2CM
These guys became my favorite band after their Don Henley cover appeared on Now 14.  I listened to their So Long, Astoria album religiously and also discovered their obscure, blink-182-esque Kung Fu Records work in the process.  Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits is actually a significantly better album than blink-182's Enema of the State, having come out a couple months sooner and featuring songs with more variety and better melodic structures, despite still following a similar style as blink.  My soul was crushed when Welcome the Night, the followup to So Long, Astoria, was delayed a year and a half; by the time it was released in February 2007, I had become fully addicted to Super Eurobeat, an Italian-produced Japanese music series that I eventually discovered through my DDR fandom.

Skye Sweetnam - Tangled Up in Me (#37 on US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream chart)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W27v2XdCFA
This song was on the radio a whole lot when I was in 6th grade and also showed up on Now 18.  I didn't fully appreciate it at the time, but looking back, it's one of the catchiest songs that totally screams 2000s.  After Avril Lavigne became famous, there seemed to be a lot of female pop rockers in the mainstream, especially in Canada (which Skye Sweetnam also originated from), and frankly it was quite a breath of fresh air amidst the male-dominated post-grunge genre.


The version of "Boys of Summer" by The Ataris is actually one of my favorite songs from my high school years. I'll even admit to re-downloading it and adding it to my new iPod just last year. That video is a nostalgia overload as well. I'll always identify it with the Summer of '03 because I remember seeing it for the first time on Fuse in early August 2003, just after I got my drivers license. There's no doubt though that their album being delayed until 2007 is what killed them. Four years is a killer wait anyway, but the fact that they were pigeonholed into the Pop-Punk genre (which was completely dead by '07) certainly didn't help either.

Now Skye Sweetnam is a real trip down memory lane. I had totally forgotten about that song "Tangled Up in Me", and it was kind of an odd flashback hearing it for the first time in over ten years. I was pretty heavily into watching Fuse at the time the video debut in Summer '04, so I'm pretty sure I recall seeing the video a few times. I also didn't realize that Sweetnam was so young. Even though her first album came out way back in 2004, she's actually a few months younger than me.

I can think of a number of songs that came out mainly during the early part of the 2000 decade, that aren't necessarily hits per se (but could be "minor" hits in a sense), but they did get played a lot on the radio (at least where I live)... and are probably "forgotten about" in a sense.

One hit wonders are what make eras fun. Their interesting and create diversity.

Pump It Up by Joe Budden is so forgotten, I forgot it even existed till last year. 

I believe that the 2000s did it best as far as one hit wonders.

I wouldn't consider the Thong Song a forgotten hit.  I think it's one of the more memorable songs of the year 2000.  It was everywhere that year.

Here is a forgotten song.  Anybody remember this from 2003?

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One hit wonders are what make eras fun. Their interesting and create diversity.



For sure. I think the band Nine Days is an example of a 2000s one hit wonder; their only hit was "Absolutely/Story Of A Girl," which was popular in the year 2000.

I don't know if this was a (forgotten) hit from the 2000's, but I'm pretty sure many of y'all folks remember this song, but maybe not everybody does.

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Teenage Dirtbag -- Wheatus (Peaked on September 9, 2000 at #7 on the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC3y9llDXuM

"Teenage Dirtbag" is without a doubt one of the strangest songs to become a hit in the early '00s. It's success is odd when you consider that it sounded absolutely nothing like any of the three genres that dominated rock at that time (Nu Metal, Post-Grunge, and Pop-Punk). Wheatus pretty much faded into obscurity after "Teenage Dirtbag" had it's moment in the sun, but it was certainly a fun song for the time. Hard to believe it's already 15 years old.


I think this song has a very late '90s sound to it, which is appropriate for the year 2000.  This song wasn't a huge hit in the U.S., for reasons I don't know.  Some rock stations played it but it didn't really break into Top 40.

Personally, I think the One Direction remake sounds even better than the original and keeps true to the original sound i.e. it sounds like this could have been on the radio in 1999 or 2000.

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I wouldn't consider the Thong Song a forgotten hit.  I think it's one of the more memorable songs of the year 2000.  It was everywhere that year.


"Thong Song" certainly isn't a forgotten song among people like us that were growing up at that time, but Sisqó pretty much faded into oblivion after 2000, so I doubt many kids and teens of today would remember it.

Here's some other "forgotten" '00s gems:

Liquid Dreams -- O-Town (Peaked on January 6, 2001 at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7RPvOOjCvE

Before The Voice, or even American Idol, there was Making the Band. The boy band that spawned forth from the ABC show's first season in 2000 was O-Town, who would go on to find a decent amount of success in 2001. "Liquid Dreams" was not O-Town's biggest hit (that was "All or Nothing", which peaked at #3 later that summer), but it is nevertheless the band's "signature" song. Despite a promising future, O-Town's famed proved short lived, and after 2002, the band never again reached the charts.

Wherever You Will Go -- The Calling (Peaked on March 16, 2002 at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAP9AF6DCu4

Also remembered as the Post-Grunge band with a lead singer that looked fourteen but sounded thirty, The Calling scored a huge hit in 2001-2002 with "Wherever You Will Go". They are also the prime example of a "you had to be there" kind of band because their moment in the spotlight was so short, if you weren't into music in the early '00s, you've likely never heard of them.

A Thousand Miles -- Vanessa Carlton (Peaked on May 18, 2002 at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwkej79U3ek

Now I'm sure every early '00s kid will remember this song, because it was literally everywhere in 2002. At the time, Vanessa Carlton seemed poised to be the "next big thing", but, for whatever reason, her subsequent singles couldn't even come close to matching the success of "A Thousand Miles". As hard as it would've been to believe back then, Carlton hasn't had a single song reach the Hot 100 since 2004, despite releasing five albums during that time.

Hanging By a Moment -- Lifehouse (Peaked on June 16, 2001 at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPnK39ax_AM

I know that Lifehouse isn't really a "forgotten" band (in fact, they've had 8 other songs to chart on the Hot 100 since '01), but they're not nearly as hot a commodity as they were back in the early '00s, when this song was played on MTV almost hourly. Mostly, I just wanted to put it here because it gives me a huge nostalgia rush. There's nothing that will flash me back to the Summer of 2001 quicker than playing Banjo-Kazooie on the N64 while blaring "Hanging By a Moment" in the background, I can tell you that!

Here's some other "forgotten" '00s gems:

Liquid Dreams -- O-Town (Peaked on January 6, 2001 at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart)

Before The Voice, or even American Idol, there was Making the Band. The boy band that spawned forth from the ABC show's first season in 2000 was O-Town, who would go on to find a decent amount of success in 2001. "Liquid Dreams" was not O-Town's biggest hit (that was "All or Nothing", which peaked at #3 later that summer), but it is nevertheless the band's "signature" song. Despite a promising future, O-Town's famed proved short lived, and after 2002, the band never again reached the charts.

Yep, the early 00s was pretty much their heyday. :-\\




Wherever You Will Go -- The Calling (Peaked on March 16, 2002 at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart)


Also remembered as the Post-Grunge band with a lead singer that looked fourteen but sounded thirty, The Calling scored a huge hit in 2001-2002 with "Wherever You Will Go". They are also the prime example of a "you had to be there" kind of band because their moment in the spotlight was so short, if you weren't into music in the early '00s, you've likely never heard of them.

I remember them. And because this is their best known song, they are likely regarded as a one hit wonder, although they might have had a few "minor" hits (which might've barely scratched the surface of the charts). Still, this was a great song, and I remember enjoying it while it was popular.




A Thousand Miles -- Vanessa Carlton (Peaked on May 18, 2002 at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts)

Now I'm sure every early '00s kid will remember this song, because it was literally everywhere in 2002. At the time, Vanessa Carlton seemed poised to be the "next big thing", but, for whatever reason, her subsequent singles couldn't even come close to matching the success of "A Thousand Miles". As hard as it would've been to believe back then, Carlton hasn't had a single song reach the Hot 100 since 2004, despite releasing five albums during that time.

Yep...another song that was all over the radio back in the day. She also had follow-up hits with "Ordinary Day" and "White Houses", but they didn't come close to the popularity of this one, as you mentioned. Also, I'm only a month older than her.




Hanging By a Moment -- Lifehouse (Peaked on June 16, 2001 at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts)

I know that Lifehouse isn't really a "forgotten" band (in fact, they've had 8 other songs to chart on the Hot 100 since '01), but they're not nearly as hot a commodity as they were back in the early '00s, when this song was played on MTV almost hourly. Mostly, I just wanted to put it here because it gives me a huge nostalgia rush. There's nothing that will flash me back to the Summer of 2001 quicker than playing Banjo-Kazooie on the N64 while blaring "Hanging By a Moment" in the background, I can tell you that!

Yep...I remember this one being "overplayed" too. One of their other big hits was "You And Me" (late 2005), which had a softer sound and was in triple-meter.


Great picks, all of them.

Yeah Hanging By A Moment was probably one of the most overplayed songs of the 2000-01 school year.  By the summer of 2001 it was so overplayed I remember changing the station every time it would come on.

Yeah Hanging By A Moment was probably one of the most overplayed songs of the 2000-01 school year.  By the summer of 2001 it was so overplayed I remember changing the station every time it would come on.

Yep, I remember it started to get lots of radio airplay in the early part of '01, and by the summer it was all over the radio.
Another song that got very overplayed during that time was "Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)" by Train.

Yep, I remember it started to get lots of radio airplay in the early part of '01, and by the summer it was all over the radio.
Another song that got very overplayed during that time was "Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)" by Train.


Dear lord, yes. There was a time back in 2001 when you couldn't go for a ride down the block without hearing "Drops of Jupiter" on the radio twice. That one gets my vote for perhaps the most overplayed song of all time.

How about Lou Bega's Mambo Number 5? ???

How about Lou Bega's Mambo Number 5? ???


That song was from Summer 1999.  It was mostly off the radio by the year 2000.

That song was from Summer 1999.  It was mostly off the radio by the year 2000.


But wasn't it played during the 2000's?

I remember hearing this song on TV shows and commercials during the early 2000s but never really heard it played on the radio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMclGDkhDn0

Same with this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rAOyh7YmEc

I remember this song being overplayed in late 2002 early 2003

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn4wlnwdMAQ

I remember hearing this during the summer of 2003.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljryaTP4YmA


Being 19 years old right now, surprisingly, I can still recall hearing half of those in restaurants or radio stations throughout the early 2000's when I was a little kid! Especially "Basement Jaxx- Where's Your Head At", that one is like yesterday to me too, along with "Who Let the Dogs Out", but everyone knows that one though, it's not forgotten. I'm actually surprised "Where's Your Head At" is considered as forgotten on this thread.

But wasn't it played during the 2000's?


Probably barely.  It peaked in 1999 though so I would consider it a '90s song.  It fell out of rotation fairly quickly in 2000 after peaking during the fall of 1999.  It was probably the last song of the swing revival of the late '90s.

Being 19 years old right now, surprisingly, I can still recall hearing half of those in restaurants or radio stations throughout the early 2000's when I was a little kid! Especially "Basement Jaxx- Where's Your Head At", that one is like yesterday to me too, along with "Who Let the Dogs Out", but everyone knows that one though, it's not forgotten. I'm actually surprised "Where's Your Head At" is considered as forgotten on this thread.


My mistake. I didn't read the thread close enough. Come to think of it...yeah, it's still pretty well remembered.

Would something like this be concidered a "forgotten" hit?  :-\\

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB809oiPE1c

My mistake. I didn't read the thread close enough. Come to think of it...yeah, it's still pretty well remembered.

Would something like this be concidered a "forgotten" hit?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB809oiPE1c


Now that's a good one. Rooney is a really forgotten band these days. Believe it or not, I actually have "Blueside" on my iPod. A few months ago I was going through some of the songs on the soundtrack for "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004" (a game I played all the time back in the day) and came across that one, so I downloaded it.

Dear lord, yes. There was a time back in 2001 when you couldn't go for a ride down the block without hearing "Drops of Jupiter" on the radio twice. That one gets my vote for perhaps the most overplayed song of all time.

Agreed.

Now that's a good one. Rooney is a really forgotten band these days. Believe it or not, I actually have "Blueside" on my iPod. A few months ago I was going through some of the songs on the soundtrack for "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004" (a game I played all the time back in the day) and came across that one, so I downloaded it.


The music of my high school years.  Everything about that video SCREAMS '00s. 

Probably barely.  It peaked in 1999 though so I would consider it a '90s song.  It fell out of rotation fairly quickly in 2000 after peaking during the fall of 1999.  It was probably the last song of the swing revival of the late '90s.


But it still plays on the radio occasionally.

But it still plays on the radio occasionally.

The same can be said for older songs, too.

But it still plays on the radio occasionally.


Not on Top 40.  I think early 2000 was the last time I heard it on a Top 40 station.  You will still hear it occasionally on AC stations that specialize in songs from the 1980s through now.

Not on Top 40.  I think early 2000 was the last time I heard it on a Top 40 station.  You will still hear it occasionally on AC stations that specialize in songs from the 1980s through now.

And I still do over here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMT698ArSfQ
Las Ketchup- The Ketchup Song This song rose to number 54 on the US Billboard charts in 2002.

Crazy Frog - Axel F (2005)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTEKeUrEDjw

Crazy Frog was a massive hit back in 2005. For a short period of time, I remember everyone used to have it as their ringtone on their old Nokias and it was used a lot on TV commercials as well. After a few months, the song pretty much disappeared and fell into obscurity.

^ That one was sort of a revival of an instrumental song from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack.

Bomfunk MC - Freestyler

1999 in Finland. 2000 in the US. And on record charts during the 2000s at #47 in 2000 and #1 in other a lot of other locations.

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Also is anyone else having trouble seeing Youtube linked videos? It seems they aren't showing up correctly for me on this forum. All I see is a standing upright black rectangle.

Bomfunk MC - Freestyler

1999 in Finland. 2000 in the US. And on record charts during the 2000s at #47 in 2000 and #1 in other a lot of other locations.

Also is anyone else having trouble seeing Youtube linked videos? It seems they aren't showing up correctly for me on this forum. All I see is a standing upright black rectangle.


Are you browsing from work? It could be a firewall.

I don't remember hearing that song. It's pretty bop though.

Err, here's my contribution. A summer 2005 classic ;D Peaked at #8 in the US.

The Click Five - Just The Girl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQBu5whSgC4

I personally rarely hear this now, I think it's a forgotten hit, but could be wrong.

These Words - Natasha Bedingfield (2004)
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Nivea-her career stalled after Jive Records decided to work other new artists and didn't promote her 2nd album. She got pregnant during that time after the first single was released. She signed with a record label called "Formula" but her 3rd album was a Japan album release only. Her 3rd album was not released on the US because no US Label wanted the album. I got the following info from "Wikipedia". Last night I read something on Nivea on the internet and I was like I forgot about her.

In my opinion maybe "Don't Mess With My Man" might have only been popular as it was because Bryan and Brandon Casey from the R&B Group
"Jagged Edge" were on the song as guest artists. Jagged Edge were pretty popular in 2000-2001 because their 2nd album was pretty good and it was a hit smash for an R&B Group at that time.

The Wiseguys-I forgot about them too with their song "Start the Commotion" which was on a Mitsubishi Eclipse commercial in the early 2000's

The Ataris - The Boys of Summer (#20 on Billboard Hot 100)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzIZbd0K2CM
These guys became my favorite band after their Don Henley cover appeared on Now 14.  I listened to their So Long, Astoria album religiously and also discovered their obscure, blink-182-esque Kung Fu Records work in the process.  Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits is actually a significantly better album than blink-182's Enema of the State, having come out a couple months sooner and featuring songs with more variety and better melodic structures, despite still following a similar style as blink.  My soul was crushed when Welcome the Night, the followup to So Long, Astoria, was delayed a year and a half; by the time it was released in February 2007, I had become fully addicted to Super Eurobeat, an Italian-produced Japanese music series that I eventually discovered through my DDR fandom.

Skye Sweetnam - Tangled Up in Me (#37 on US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream chart)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W27v2XdCFA
This song was on the radio a whole lot when I was in 6th grade and also showed up on Now 18.  I didn't fully appreciate it at the time, but looking back, it's one of the catchiest songs that totally screams 2000s.  After Avril Lavigne became famous, there seemed to be a lot of female pop rockers in the mainstream, especially in Canada (which Skye Sweetnam also originated from), and frankly it was quite a breath of fresh air amidst the male-dominated post-grunge genre.
Skye is my idol, I've loved her since she came out with that song. She now fronts a hard rock band called Sumo Cyco.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8xpx5RMoZc

"She Hates Me" by Puddle of Mudd. It was a popular hit in Late 2002/Early 2003. I bet this song was probably listed as being a Nirvana song on Limewire. :P

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAocvKHUidg

This song is really underrated. It was released in Late 2001, but charted in 2002. It's a shame, because I think it's heaps better than the songs Nickelback and Creed were releasing at the time.

Are Sweet Escape and Wasting My Time really forgotten? They are very iconic to me.

Are Sweet Escape and Wasting My Time really forgotten? They are very iconic to me.


Nothing by Gwen Stefani is forgotten unfortunately. I don't think anyone forgot about Akon either (except you in that one thread, haha). Wasting My Time is new to me, though! Nice. 0O

I heard this song at the dollar store a few weeks ago, I completely forgot about it. It's the most mid-2000s song ever. If I could make a stereotypical 2005 song to the point of parody,  it would sound exactly like 1 Thing by Amerie.

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Are Sweet Escape and Wasting My Time really forgotten? They are very iconic to me.

"Sweet Escape" by Gwen Stefani (2007) still gets played semi-regularly on the radio where I am.

"Wasting My Time" by Default (2001) seemed to get played a lot on the radio at the time it was popular (late 2001/early 2002), but not so much now. :-\\

I don't think anyone forgot about Akon either (except you in that one thread, haha).


Haha, in my defense I was never really cognizant of him even at the time. I was kinda in my own world: metal, progressive rock, mostly stuff from previous years. So I didn't really become familiar with contemporary popular music until emo was already almost out the window.