All-out bling of the 2000s

I often find myself reminiscing about a time, that, in my opinion, is so special on so many levels that we just can’t ignore it.

Two and a half decades ago, an era began. An era full of electrifying energy that is still very much engraved in our memories. Remember how amazing that period sounded? The fast, pumped-up 2000s pop! Britney Spears topping the charts. NSYNC being an absolute banger machine and Eminem blasting through speakers as young lads shared burnt CDs. CDs bring such beautiful memories of our childhood. Don’t they?

 Emoticons and chat rooms were all over the place. The unbreakable Nokia phones and their snake game! Everything seemed so good.

While the West experimented with many new things, Indian pop witnessed the rise of Shreya Ghoshal to behemoth popularity—a popularity that is so eminent that it still doesn’t cease to grow. Her unmatched versatility transformed the Indian music industry for the better. Male singers like Sonu Nigam, Kumar Sanu, and Shaan ruled many hearts.

Even the world of movies and series experienced a beautiful transformation. A different kind of storytelling and screenplay was evidently visible. Lord Of The Rings trilogy, the Harry Potter series, Mean Girls etc are so dear to us. Gen Z or Millenial, you can’t disagree with the immense amount of hype they received. Literally every group in school discussed about these series. Talking about Bollywood, movies like Chak de India, Devdas, 3 Idiots and Swades set new standards in the world of filmmaking. Also, Jab We Met and Koi Mil Gaya were your soft sweet comfort films. 

A plethora of stereotypes were challenged in this decade. Representation of diverse cultures and ethnicities were tried to be showcased, although not perfect, at least an effort was made.

Latin pop rose to global fame. Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, and Ricky Martin were the artists who propelled Latin pop and made it a worldwide phenomenon.

Black artists like Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Usher, and Kanye West used their fame to make Blacks feel empowered and seen. 

Fashion norms were challenged, and the idea of a “perfect body” was not only questioned but also ridiculed. 

Punk and emo bands also brought some gravity to pop music, so now pop wasn’t just some bouncy music you could groove to.

Looking back, the 2000s were a period of denouncing barriers and rejecting preconceived notions about who we should be. Whether in music, fashion, or the media, we witnessed various artists defy preconceptions and reinvent what it meant to be an individual. The 2000s contributed to the creation of a more inclusive, varied, and open-minded culture that we are still developing today. Through entertainment, we found that the only true limitations were those we imposed on ourselves and that by accepting diversity, we could build a far richer, more colourful world. The era is so dear to me that I couldn’t help but recall everything and the wish of taking you guys down the memory lane along, inspired me to write about it with immense interest.