 |
| source:ChristinaAguilera.com |
Continued from
where I left off in 1999 with Jessica Simpson's "Sweet Kisses" album, I'm back to share a list of what I consider the best (teeny)pop albums of the first decade of the 21st century. It seems that though
my first dabblings in the world of popular music were far more R&B-tinged, by the time I was settled in my teens, I was happily throwing my parents' hard-earned dollars into the teenybopper pop music pot. Maybe it was a sign of the times. (Maybe not.)
Since 2004 or so, I really haven't been keeping up with pop music, so this list will be skewed in many ways. Again, in chronological order, the list:
"SOONER OR LATER," BBMAK (2000)
BBMak was a blip on the pop music radar. I saw an
interview One Direction did recently when neither Niall nor Zayn could identify BBMak's greatest hit, "Back Here." And BBMak (or at least the only one who really mattered to me) hails from Manchester, England, the general vicinity of Zayn Malik's hometown! (For the record, Niall could readily identify "Step By Step" by the New Kids On The Block, so this has nothing to do with the fact that he was only 7 years old when the album was released.) So I had a crush on Christian Burns (although Mark is looking good to me now), whose birthday was made suspiciously murky at the time. He was probably, like, 32 instead of the 26 or so he claimed to be, but whatevs. They released a surprising number of singles (hits, I'd dare to call them, because most -- if not all -- of them made it onto the "TRL" countdown) in the U.S., 4 or 5. The music was good, and for a second, I even tried to convince my friends that they were not a teenybopper band because they played their own instruments! They wrote their own songs! And they're old(er)! Which was all true, along with the fact that they had a decidedly more acoustic and organic sound than what 'N Sync was coming up with around the time ("Bye Bye Bye" and the like). BBMak broke up in 2003, long after I'd stopped caring about them, but I still pull out "Sooner or Later" every once in a while and give it a listen ... because after 13 years, it's still good.
"SHADES OF PURPLE," M2M (2000)
I know. You're probably thinking, "WTF? The 'Don't Say You Love Me'/'Pokemon' girls?" Yes, they were annoying and their voices whiny. But if you can get over that, they actually made some really decent music. In terms of songwriting, they were on Taylor Swift's level (or better) before Taylor Swift even became a teenager. They followed their debut album "Shades of Purple" with "The Big Room" in 2002, which, as a teen, felt like a lifetime later. Their star had faded a bit by then, and Marit and Marion officially went their separate ways the same year. "The Big Room" was good, but "Shades of Purple" was more satisfying in the way it captured the atmosphere of pop music at the time. They incorporated different flavors into their pop music, most notably R&B, and they did it incredibly effortlessly. I hadn't listened to M2M in about ten years' time when I stumbled upon them again recently and marveled at just how great two teenaged girls' songwriting skills were back in the day. I highly recommend both of their albums if you're into pop music from the late '90s/early '00s.
"BLACK & BLUE," BACKSTREET BOYS (2000)
Bringing it back to the U.S. now ... to me, "Black & Blue," and not "Millennium," is the Backstreet Boys' greatest creation to date. It was ever-so-slightly raunchier than "Millennium," but held steadfastly onto the sound the Backstreet Boys had already created for themselves. They had some angrier tunes on this, like "The Call" and "Not For Me," as well as your typical Backstreet fare, like "More Than That." And while "Shape of My Heart" wasn't a standout for me back in the day, it's become a sort of BSB anthem to me, far more able to draw a visceral feeling of nostalgia from me than the always bland "I Want It That Way." (Sorry.)
"IT WAS ALL A DREAM," DREAM (2001)
Sigh. I felt these girls had so much potential, and they brought to the table something other girl groups hadn't been able to offer -- an urban touch and a playful irreverence. Although none of these girls were probably from anything less than middle-class California, they were signed by P. Diddy (who had JUST changed his name for the umpteenth time) to Bad Boy Records. And because they were so close to me in age, I felt as if I could live my pop star dreams through them vicariously. I'm not entirely sure what happened with them -- I know the eldest member left the group to pursue acting, they recruited a new member and recorded a sophomore album which was never distributed. But I was able to get my hands on it some years down the line and I enjoyed it nearly as much as I enjoyed their debut. What a pity. Looking back at their music videos, it's kind of awkward how girls in their mid-teens are thrust in the spotlight. Maybe what happened to them was a good thing after all.
Sorry for the shoddy quality ... this was my favorite single of theirs
and this is the only "copy" of the music video on YouTube.
"STRIPPED," CHRISTINA AGUILERA (2002)
Do you remember how much controversy surrounded the release of this album? Between the "assless leather chaps," Christina's "dirrty" look, the dark hair and impending weight gain ... blah blah blah. Bottom line is this was an amazing album, and almost an entirely different sound from her equally impressive debut album. I think "Beautiful" is overrated, but there were songs for everyone on this album, and gems like "Impossible," "Underappreciated," "Loving Me 4 Me,""Cruz" ... altogether incredible and probably among her best.
