Top 10 2000s Pop Stars: Where Are They Now?

Nelly Furtado caught everyone's attention with "I'm Like a Bird" back in 2000, and slowly racked up plenty of major hits. Following her debut, a string of hits with Timbaland like "Promiscuous" and "Say It Right" saw her become one of THE biggest vocalists on the scene going into 2006. But a nervous breakdown on tour forced her to take breaks away from records for as long as five years. While she's claimed to have focused on her mental health and family life in this time, Furtado has supposedly also taken on arts classes and day jobs. Though her recent albums like 2017's "The Ride," haven't sold as well , it’s been nonetheless inspiring to hear her return to the mic.

Remember "Bad Day"? Back in 2005, Daniel Powter's mega-hit was so inescapable that even Coca-Cola was using it. The Canadian singer topped the Billboard Hot 100 too, but "Bad Day" ironically proved to be his biggest windfall. Later singles like "Free Loop" made much smaller splashes, and a lack of big tracks hurt his album sales even more. Since then, Powter has overcome substance abuse and played on recordings released by Marcy Playground. And after a six year lull in his solo career, he put out a full album again in 2018, though it failed to chart. Even more recently he also weirdly fell victim to a celebrity death hoax. He might not be making hits, but Daniel Powter is alive and well.

After leaving Dream Street to go solo and releasing a little song called "Beautiful Soul," Jesse McCartney found himself famous enough to be violently mobbed by fans. His international fame persisted for several years, thanks to plenty of appearances on Disney shows and a steady stream of popular singles. But while McCartney released albums beyond 2010, the hysteria wasn't there anymore; and so McCartney kept busy with multiple voice acting gigs like "Young Justice”; ; he also had a recurring role on ABC's "Young & Hungry." More recently, McCartney returned to music with more of an indie-pop sound and goofier videos. Given that he's gotten engaged as well, McCartney's personal life has flourished as much as his art.

There was a true media empire angle to S Club 7 that pushed them beyond merely hit singles like "Bring It All Back" and "S Club Party." With the global following for their "Miami 7" show, the group had the potential to keep going for years. Around the time of their film "Seeing Double" however, turmoil and the departure of Paul Cattermole led the group to break up. After some career pauses though, Bradley McIntosh, Jo O'Meara, Tina Barrett and Paul have spent varying amounts of time with the spinoff group S Club 3. Meanwhile, Hannah Spearritt appeared on shows like "Primeval," and Jon Lee took on musicals like "Jersey Boys." Following the group's 2014 reunion for charity, Rachel Stevens has hinted at more 20th anniversary plans too.

The younger Simpson sibling quickly shot to fame with "Pieces of Me" and her own MTV show, but things spiralled down just as fast. Following an incident on "Saturday Night Live" where she was caught lip synching, media and fans alike turned on the singer. Though Simpson cited health issues at the time of the scandal, its impact soon overshadowed everything she did. Over the years however, she redeemed herself with a recurring role in various productions of "Chicago." Simpson's a mother now as well, and she got married to music royalty Evan Ross. The couple even launched a reality show about making music, but have since cancelled it due to the stress it allegedly placed on their marriage.

“Lizzie McGuire” turned Hilary Duff into a household name and opened the door to numerous other acting opportunities. Duff branched into singing as well, with big tracks like "Come Clean" and "So Yesterday" hitting the charts. But after her show and some additional on-screen appearances, the attention around her work petered out. Though Duff has continued to be involved with music, television and even published a book while working on brand partnerships, it’s her recurring character on "Younger" that’s arguably turned the most heads. She's also kept busy with parenthood and her philanthropic efforts with Save the Children. Most exciting, however, is the news that she’s set to return as a 30-year-old Lizzie McGuire in 2020, along with her animated inner self.

From the tender age of seven, Aaron Carter's life was devoted to stardom. While this led to his hit "Aaron's Party" while he was still young, shady label management seriously hurt the momentum of his career. Though he kept busy with his family's show for a time, his hiatus from releasing albums lasted from 2002 to 2015. It has been a dark journey for the singer too, as arrests and various claims of illness have cast him as being rather troubled. Additional stories about police visits and weapons flaunting haven't improved his popularity either.

Compared to a lot of former superstars, Ashanti successfully kept the ball rolling well beyond her debut with "Foolish" in 2002. Along with multiple features on Ja Rule’s music, Ashanti's commercial triumph also landed her a world record for fastest selling female debut in the R&B genre. Sadly the criminal indictments laid against the heads of Murder Inc Records put the singer's career on the backburner, which left us without a full album for around six years. Since then, Ashanti started her label Written Entertainment, while also appearing in films like "Stuck." And though her tours have struggled to sell consistently since her hiatus, the announcement of a 2020 album shows that she’s taken all the road bumps in stride.

Breaking into the Top 40 at the age of 21, Vanessa Carlton and her track "A Thousand Miles" appeared everywhere. But despite this prominent chart success right out the gate, her later singles failed to take off in the same way. So Carleton bounced between labels for nearly a decade, releasing albums to positive reviews, if not the fanfare she’d previously enjoyed. As Carlton has grown, so too has she learned to navigate this industry. She now retains the rights to her own new material, and so her upcoming 2020 album is certainly coming from a healthy place. Plus her killer role in a Carole King musical has helped boost her street cred and pay the bills in the meantime.

Explosive songs like "Everything" and "Are You Happy Now?" put Michelle Branch on the map right at the turn of the century. Somehow, despite multiple platinum successes however, labels struggled to manage her properly. This resulted in unreleased records like "West Coast Time" and another LP turned EP in 2010. Following the EP and some country songs with The Wreckers, Branch kept at songwriting without putting out any albums. A chance encounter with the Black Keys' Patrick Carney helped push her to release "Hopeless Romantic" in 2017. Their chemistry also led to marriage and a baby too! So after years of career frustration, Michelle Branch seems to have found happiness, both professional and personal.