Happy New Year! Oh yeah, mine was nice, just chilled. Yours? Lovely, glad to hear it. Anyway, let me bring you back down to Earth by telling you the songs that are turning 20 this year.
Ageing is a privilege and nostalgia can be delicious but let’s be real, hearing that songs you swear came out less than a decade ago are actually turning 20 this year is... incredibly humbling.
Sorry in advance.
The songs turning 20 in 2024
According to the Official Charts, 2004 was a huge year for Britney Spears, Busted, McFly and Usher who all claimed two Number 1s during the year. For Busted, it was the anguished love song ‘Who’s David’ and their double A-side release ;Thunderbirds/3am’ while Britney released the ICONIC pop banger ‘Toxic’ and the devastating ballad ‘Everytime’ because she has what? Range.
2004 was also the year that McFly burst onto the pop scene and reached Number 1 with singles ‘Five Colours in Her Hair’ and ‘Obviously’. Their album ‘Room On The First Floor’ also hit Number 1 in the album charts. Obviously, I feel ancient.
And do you remember the Eamon song ‘Fuck It’ (I Don’t Want You Back) and the response from Frankee ’F.U.R.B (Fuck You Right Back)? Yes, these are also 20 this year. What a time that was.
Would you believe me if I told you that ‘Milkshake’ by Kelis turns 20 this year but it was never a Number one? Somehow, the song that is still in pop culture lexicon to this day didn’t quite bring all the singles sales to the yard and in 2004, it reached Number 2 in charts. Kelis’s track ‘Trick Me’ also reached Number 2 that year.
2004 was also the year that The Killers made their debut onto the Official Singles Chart with ‘Mr Brightside’, a song that has gone on to spend more weeks in the top 100 than any other. I reckon with sales from that song alone, the band will be doing JUST FINE. I’ll see myself out.
Girls Aloud also didn’t quite make it to Number 1 but did reach Number 2 in the charts with two classic pop bangers: ‘The Show’ and ‘Love Machine.’
The final Number 1 of 2004 was ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ By Band Aid 20. This was the third iteration of the supergroup following the original in 1984 and 1989′s Band Aid II. Performers on the 2004 recording included Busted, Sugababes, Dizzee Rascal, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Beverley Knight, Dido, Jamelia, Joss Stone and Will Young. The single spent four weeks at Number 1 in the charts.
You can see the full list of 2004′s top 100 hits on the Official Charts website but for now, I’m off to apply some anti-wrinkle cream.