Songs That Are Turning 20 In 2006

2006 was a hell of a year for music. Looking back on the songs that came out … 20 years ago … filled me with nostalgia for a simpler time in life but also made me realise how many BOPS came out in a relatively short period of time.

After all, this was the time that Sandi Thom wished she was a punk rocker with flowers in her hair, when Gnarls Barkley was Crazy and when Girls Aloud saw the year out with pop banger Something Kinda Ooh.

Let’s look back in time at this incredible year…

Now that we are officially in a Lily Allen era once again, it’s worth looking back to 2006 when the storytelling singer released two of her biggest tracks: LDN and Smile, the latter of which reached number one in the charts.

This song was EVERYWHERE and was another number one hit in the UK charts in 2006.

Sorry if we’ve put it back in your head after all these years.

My fellow elder emos, this is our time to rise up. Slowly, Don’t want to put our backs out.

Yes, the anthem Welcome To The Black Parade is about to turn 20. It was a real turning point for our modern definition of emo music and shot MCR to success, three albums into their career.

I still remember crying at the original Black Parade tour and swearing to “Carry on”, bless.

Following the release of their self-titled album in 2004, Scissor Sisters came roaring back to the pop scene in 2006 with this bop and actually made it to number one in the charts.

Much to the unbridled joy of boyband lovers across the UK, Take That returned to the charts with their power ballad Patience. It was a very welcomed return for the boys and they’ll be touring the UK in 2026, too.

Turns out their fans just needed a little patience. Sorry.

It’s been 20 years since this came out and I still don’t understand why we let him away with this but credit where credit is due, the song did reach number one in the charts in the UK.

The Black Eyed Peas have had some hits and misses but this song, in my opinion, still absolutely slaps. It’s fun, it’s fast and the lyrics are verging on nonsensical. Delightful.

One listen to this and you’ll be joining the hoardes of people begging Rihanna to come back to making music. What a song.

The anthem for many an Indie Cindy, Naive was EVERYWHERE. It’s hard to watch a TV show or film aimed at teens in the 2000s that didn’t include this earworm of a song.

This song and video actually are quintessentially 2006. Indie-pop, incredibly silly and catchy as hell. It’s not as popular these days and tbh, you really did have to be there.

Before this song seemingly belonged to Grey’s Anatomy, it was dominating the airwaves and TV screens here in the UK. It’s arguably the song that Snow Patrol are known for more than any other but bafflingly, it only reached 6 in the charts. Wild.

Similarly, when people think of the late Amy Winehouse, they likely think of her track Rehab. It’s a bittersweet track these days but at the time, singing the repeated “no, no, no” was essential in clubs.

Do we know what “hips don’t lie” means? No. Have we or will we ever care? Absolutely not. A timeless pop classic from one of the most talented pop starlets of our time.

We can’t mention the early 2000′s without at least once mentioning reality tv show The X Factor. Leona Lewis won in 2006 and had a Christmas #1 with her anthem A Moment Like This.

After the success of her (problematic but honestly brilliant) album Love Angel Music Baby, Gwen Stefani came soaring back to the charts with this catchy bop which includes an incredible admission of “acting stink”.

Speaking of Akon, though…

Listen, this song is not classy but it is very catchy and I remember sending it over Bluetooth to my friend because “you just have to listen to it, I promise”. It was a different time, okay?

Fun fact: This was on my running playlists for a good 10 years. The perfect dance track and one that many of us will remember being part of our first ever club experiences.

For real ones, this song is synonymous with the Twilight film series. However, it was also an anthem in its’ own right reaching 4 in the charts and being every Muse fans’ example of how exciting their music can be.

It’s me, I’m the annoying Muse fan.