Top 10 Guilty Pleasure 2000s Songs
#10: “A Thousand Miles” (2002) Vanessa Carlton
Top 20 Guilty Pleasure Songs
If you’ve never sung “A Thousand Miles” at the top of your lungs while cruising in your BMW convertible with your besties, you’ve yet to truly live. [White Chicks broll] This Vanessa Carlton track is by no means a bad song. It peaked at #5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 2002 and was nominated for three Grammy Awards. One award the song did win was in VH1’s Can't Get You Out of My Head category. And therein lies the issue. “A Thousand Miles” was inescapable when it was initially released, causing many to quickly grow tired of it. Today, the song is nostalgia incarnate, but in the early 2000s many of us would have been quick to turn off the radio when it inevitably came on.
#9: “Stars Are Blind” (2006) Paris Hilton
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This delightful piece of reggae fusion was Paris Hilton’s attempt to break into the pop music scene in the mid-2000s - and honestly, if she’d released it under a pseudonym, it probably would have reached #1 on the Billboard charts. The song received positive reviews from critics and debuted at #18 on the charts, but many were unable to divorce the reality TV star’s antics from her music. Which is a shame, because “Stars Are Blind” is actually quite good. Perhaps Ernest Baker, in Complex’s list of the 50 Awesome Guilty Pleasure Songs We're Ashamed to Like (But Not Really), said it best when he wrote “'Stars Are Blind' was a flash in the pan, a fluke, but an incredible one. We'll never get something like this from Paris Hilton again.”
#8: “Toxic” (2004) Britney Spears
Britney Spears Toxic (MDT Lockdown Cover)
Many have a special place in their hearts for this Britney Spears track, and we think it has something to do with the fact that it was pretty much the last mega-single she released prior to her now infamous stretch of controversial behavior. “Toxic” is a banger, plain and simple. It’s the kind of track that gets everyone on the dance floor regardless of whether they’re a Britney fan or not. While some may discount it as just another in a long line of pop tracks that all sound identical, anyone who lived through the 2000s knows that “Toxic” is special. And when it comes to the music video, we wouldn’t be surprised to learn that stewardess applications reached an all-time following its release.
#7: “Fergalicious” (2006) Fergie feat. will.i.am
Fergie’s debut solo album “The Dutchess” featured no shortage of stellar tracks. From “London Bridge” to “Glamorous”, the former Black Eyed Pea simultaneously tore up the charts and impressed critics with her catchy lyrics and top notch musical production. However, few could argue that it was “Fergalicious” that put the album over the top. The electronic dance track features a beat that just won’t quit, and lyrics that are fun, playful, and a joy to sign along to. Similar to “A Thousand Miles”, “Fergalicious” was a victim of its own success, with many simply getting fed up of hearing it everywhere they went. Still, we dare you to keep your head from bobbing along to its captivating beat the next time you hear it.
#6: “Pop” (2001) NSYNC
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This is by no means NSYNC’s most popular song. In fact, we doubt it would crack most people’s Top 5. It was released one year before their “hiatus” - yeah, still waiting for that to end - and is often overshadowed by hits from earlier in their career. Still, you’d be hard pressed to argue that “Pop” is less catchy than "I Want You Back" or "Bye Bye Bye". Maybe the title was too on the nose for one of the most popular pop groups in the world? Or perhaps people were beginning to grow tired of boy bands altogether? Whatever the reason, “Pop” doesn’t get the love it truly deserves, and will forever fall into the Guilty Pleasure category, as opposed to the Iconic category.
#5: “He Said She Said” (2007) Ashley Tisdale
Top 10 Guilty Pleasure Songs
The “High School Musical” film series made stars out of a number of its actors, and at the pinnacle of the franchise’s success, Ashley Tisdale released “He Said She Said”. The song might’ve only peaked at #58 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it was pretty much unavoidable. Unfortunately for the up and coming artist, it wasn’t exactly beloved by music critics, with one quipping that it “fails to capitalize on Tisdale's onscreen charisma.” Still, it’s hard to deny the song’s addictive qualities. It was once the quintessential dance track for girls between the ages of 12 and 21, and now those same girls can’t quite resist turning up the speaker whenever they hear it. Okay, us too.
#4: “So Yesterday” (2003) Hilary Duff
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Here we have another 2000s actress who decided to capitalize on her small screen fame in order to kickstart a music career. Hilary Duff’s transition from “Lizzie McGuire” to full-fledged pop star can be attributed to this song. “So Yesterday” was the lead single off of Duff’s aophomore album “Metamorphosis”, and it proved to many of the doubters that Duff was not just another wannabe pop princess. Is the song high art deserving of a Grammy? No. Is it inspiring, catchy, and emblematic of the pop scene at the time? You better believe it. “So Yesterday” is not how we’d categorize this song when it comes to whether or not we’re still banging it in our cars!
#3: “Bootylicious” (2001) Destiny’s Child
Of all the songs on our list, “Bootylicious” is the only one sung by someone who is more popular today than they were in the 2000s. No disrespect to Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, but we all know that Beyonce was the star of the show even then. “Bootylicious” straight up slaps. You can play it in the club. You can play it in the car. You can play it while you’re getting ready with the girls. It’s one of Destiny’s Child’s most versatile tracks - a chart-topping banger everyone can get on board with. This song will live-rent free on our playlist till the end of time!
#2: “Girlfriend” (2007) Avril Lavigne
One of the keys to the pop-punk revival of the late 90s and early 2000s was Avril Lavigne’s debut album “Let Go”. However, Lavigne was fully in the mainstream by the time she released “Girlfriend” in 2007. As such, the song is rarely discussed with the same reverence of her earlier work. Still, we’d argue that “Girlfriend” is one of the Canadian artist’s best tracks. Thanks to its ridiculously catchy beat and easy to digest lyrics, the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, but has been mostly forgotten since. Which is a shame, because “Girlfriend” is awesome. We have zero issue bumping this song in our headphones, and neither should you! Before we unveil our number one pick, here are some honorable mentions: “Bad Day” (2005), Daniel Powter We’ve All Needed This Song at One Point or Another “Over” (2004), Lindsay Lohan Oh, What Might’ve Been “Tik Tok” (2009), Kesha Admit It: You Still Love This Song “Who Let the Dogs Out” (2000), Baha Men So Bad It's Good “Beautiful Girls” (2007), Sean Kingston Remember When This Song Was Literally Everywhere?
#1: “Potential Breakup Song” (2007) Aly & AJ
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If the definition of a guilty pleasure song is that it’s a “piece of media that someone enjoys but would be embarrassed by if other people found out about it,” “Potential Breakup Song” more than fits the bill. It’s got all the right ingredients. It’s sung by the mostly forgotten sibling duo of Aly & AJ Michalka. It’s got a catchy but admittedly outdated beat. It’s got angst-y lyrics that only teenagers can relate to. And it was released in the 2000s - a decade most would agree is NOT the golden age of music. We love this song to pieces, but you wouldn’t catch us playing it in the car with the windows rolled down.
