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Take a trip down memory lane as we revisit the songs that defined the MySpace era and took the world by storm. From viral dance crazes to emo anthems, these tracks captured the spirit of the 2000s music scene and launched careers into the stratosphere. Get ready to jam to hits that once ruled your playlists and still bring a wave of nostalgia today.
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00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:07And today, we're counting down our picks for throwback tunes that created quite the buzz on MySpace in the 2000s.
00:13For this list, we're focusing on songs whose initial popularity was significantly tied to MySpace.
00:25Number 10, Firefly's Owl City.
00:34This song went crazy in 2009, topping the charts in multiple countries and brightening listeners' moods all over the place.
00:42But the story wouldn't be complete without MySpace.
00:44That's the platform where Adam Young, aka Owl City, developed a significant following and was discovered by major record labels.
00:52While he was somewhat known before the release of Fireflies, particularly thanks to his MySpace following,
00:58Owl City's Fireflies took things to a whole other level.
01:01Did you know that was a hit when you guys, when you came up with that?
01:03With the Fireflies one?
01:04Yeah.
01:04No, I had no idea.
01:05Yeah.
01:06To know that it went to number one in 20-something countries, did I have to like...
01:0926!
01:10Yeah, but he's counting.
01:12It blew up on MySpace, attracting countless new listeners.
01:16The song continued to fly to mainstream pop culture greatness.
01:19Now, it's a throwback that many of us can fondly recall the buzz around.
01:37The buzz kept growing with Lily Allen's demos posted on MySpace in the mid-2000s.
01:42But it was the British singer's 2006 reggae pop song Smile that cemented itself as a MySpace-era defining tune.
01:49That was her debut single.
01:51And after tons of listens on MySpace, it catapulted to a surprising amount of mainstream success.
01:56We're talking a number one hit on the UK charts.
01:59I buzz when I see you cry and makes me smile.
02:05Smile also did quite well in other European nations and Australia.
02:09But the traction was initially gained online.
02:12It took a few months to thrive on radio airwaves.
02:21Number 8.
02:22Lollipop Luxury, Jeffree Star.
02:24This electropop tune from a polarizing singer was sure to attract a bunch of clicks and comments.
02:30Jeffree Star was a very present figure on MySpace in 2007 and 2008.
02:35No one ever did anything.
02:36No one ever made money, went to college, did anything with themselves.
02:39And it was just a crazy childhood.
02:41So I was like, I'm never going to try it.
02:43Now I'm 35.
02:44I'm like, I'm too old to drink.
02:45He wasn't just gaining a large following for his music.
02:48In fact, much of the initial interest in him was based on content about his personal life
02:53and fashion.
03:02But it was his debut single, Lollipop Luxury, that became the most impactful and memorable
03:07part of his MySpace legacy.
03:09The explicit edgy tune came out in November of 2008, causing quite the stir on a still
03:14uber popular MySpace at the time.
03:16You wish you had a slice of me.
03:20I'm a celebrity.
03:22Number 7.
03:24I Write Sins, Not Tragedies.
03:25Panic at the Disco.
03:26This song peaked at number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
03:30But before that, MySpace was a necessary launchpad to get there.
03:34I know it's much better to face things because of things.
03:37But this is a voice and rationality.
03:39Digital sharing was crucial for Panic at the Disco to become as well-known as they did
03:44through their song, I Write Sins, Not Tragedies.
03:46The music video won an award for Video of the Year at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.
03:52This is completely unexpected.
03:55Everyone at APA.
03:57And most of all, Shane Drake for directing our video.
04:00It wouldn't have been possible without him.
04:01And everybody here.
04:02Thank you very much.
04:03Fast forward to 2022, and a Variety article listed I Write Sins, Not Tragedies as one
04:09of the best emo songs ever.
04:11Though many also classify it as pop punk, alternative rock, baroque pop, and pop rock.
04:16Whatever you want to call it, it proves MySpace-driven music can live on.
04:21It's a sense of voice and rationality.
04:33Many people saw this go from their MySpace page to their television screen.
04:37In 2006, Lady Sovereign's Love Me or Hate Me picked up so much steam, thanks in large part
04:43to the online platform, that it ended up on MTV's Total Request Live.
04:49Not only that, but it was the first song by a British artist to ever reach number one on
04:54the show.
04:54She even performed it on The Late Show with David Letterman.
05:03Lady Sovereign once said every artist should have a MySpace page, as it could really foster
05:08growth in the industry.
05:09Oh, how the times have changed.
05:15Number 5.
05:17The Curse of Curves.
05:18Cute is what we aim for.
05:26This song took a pop punk band from MySpace fave to MySpace icon.
05:30The Curse of Curves by Cute is what we aim for came out in April of 2007, as one of
05:35three
05:36singles on the band's debut album.
05:38It lit up MySpace, becoming one of the most popular emo pop punk anthems on the platform.
05:43We all have teeth that you bite underneath.
05:49Sure, the band had already posted multiple different demos that initially got users and labels interested
05:55in them, but The Curse of Curves was the tipping point of full-fledged MySpace superstardom.
06:00You could say the song reached the heights they were aiming for.
06:02We had to do a lot of scenes within a really short amount of time, but the whole crew lets
06:07everybody pull together.
06:08It's amazing.
06:09We had a lot of fun.
06:10It was definitely a memorable experience.
06:13It's not making a video.
06:14It's making love to the camera.
06:16Number 4.
06:17I Love You, Tila Tequila.
06:19I love you, I love you, I love you.
06:22She's perhaps one of the most quintessential MySpace artists, considering she joined the
06:27year it started and proceeded to gain an unparalleled amount of popularity on the platform.
06:31Tila Tequila's song, I Love You, produced by Lil Jon, was released without the help of
06:36a record label in 2007.
06:42But that didn't stop it from taking off online.
06:45It was after Tequila had amassed one and a half million MySpace friends that she really
06:49honed in on her solo career, starting with this debut single.
06:53With that many people already interested in her content on the site, the song had a legit
06:58chance to blow up.
06:59And that it did.
07:00Tila Tequila.
07:01Welcome, Tila.
07:03You have 3.6 million friends on MySpace.
07:06Yes.
07:07Number 3.
07:08Sugar We're Going Down, Fall Out Boy.
07:10This tune was exemplary of MySpace emo vibes.
07:14During the 2000s, Fall Out Boy used MySpace to market their music.
07:17And it was the 2005 tune Sugar We're Going Down that catapulted them from a growing online
07:22presence to the mainstream.
07:30The song eventually found its way inside the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.
07:34The band's Thanks for the Memories is another example of a song that blew up on MySpace and
07:39became a commercial success.
07:47But that was two years after Sugar We're Going Down, so MySpace wasn't as crucial to its success
07:53as it was for their breakout hit.
07:54But that's why Sugar We're Going Down gets the spot here.
07:57I mean, never one with a bullet.
08:00I'm loading your combat stockin' bullet.
08:03Number 2.
08:04Here in your arms.
08:06Hello Goodbye.
08:07Few capture the essence of the heyday of MySpace quite like this song.
08:11There's a reason the British music publication Kerrang!
08:14characterized Hello Goodbye as a MySpace band.
08:16The platform was instrumental to their beginnings.
08:26Here in your arms was the MySpace anthem that really encapsulated their popularity on the platform.
08:32Dear Jamie, Sincerely Me could also make a case, given how popular it became in its own right.
08:41Signed, Sincerely Me.
08:45But we're giving the edge to Here in your arms, as it clearly became the most successful song the band
08:50ever made,
08:51becoming certified platinum in the US.
08:54Oh yeah, and Hello Goodbye even performed it live across the US on the MySpace music tour in 2007.
09:00We don't melt your butt, don't get under the green, don't get in your arms.
09:05Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
09:10Alcohol, Millionaires.
09:11The defining breakthrough tune for the online famous electropop girl group.
09:16Give me the alcohol!
09:22I bet you look good on the dance floor.
09:25Arctic Monkeys.
09:26The band's debut single cemented their MySpace legacy and mainstream potential.
09:35I don't know what you're looking for.
09:38Beautiful Girls, Sean Kingston.
09:40This song became an instant sensation on MySpace and elsewhere in 2007.
09:46Beautiful girls, the only one that do you do.
09:51Feel Good Inc.
09:52Gorillas.
09:53This Grammy-winning tune helped Gorillas later become the most popular band on MySpace.
09:57Love forever, love is freely, turn forever, you and me.
10:05Such Great Heights, the Postal Service.
10:07One of the popular MySpace tracks covered during the site's first ever live webcast.
10:12They will see us waiting when such a great heights come down.
10:17Number 1.
10:19Crank That, Soulja Boy.
10:20Soulja Boy, tell him.
10:21If this isn't MySpace-era nostalgia, we don't know what is.
10:25Soulja Boy's Crank That was played everywhere in the late 2000s.
10:35It's one of the most archetypal, memorable throwback songs, particularly for young people at the time.
10:40It stood atop U.S. charts for seven weeks in the fall of 2007.
10:45Not only was it a smash hit song, it was an incredibly popular dance trend too.
10:50And MySpace had a lot to do with that.
10:52Bam, there you have it.
10:53This Soulja Boy right here checking in, you know what I'm saying?
10:56I just showed y'all the steps to the dance.
10:59So right now we finna do the whole dance and y'all do it with me to make sure y
11:02'all got it.
11:03That's where Soulja Boy first posted the song with dance instructions, inviting people to post videos of themselves dancing along
11:09to the tune.
11:10Boy, did that catch on.
11:12If you still remember the lyrics, dance, or both, you are not alone.
11:17Me Frank, that's all good boy.
11:18It's Superman, that's all that wasn't you.
11:21Frank, that's all that wasn't you.
11:22Frank, that's all that wasn't you.
11:24Which of these MySpace era songs hits you with the most nostalgia?
11:27Let us know in the comments.
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