As the final year in the oughts, 2009 gave us a fantastic year in pop music. We had Lady Gaga’s reissue of The Fame, which she called The Fame Monster. The album gave us hits like “Alejandro,” “Bad Romance,” and “Telephone.” Gaga gave something new to the pop scene with her out-of-this-world outfits and music video concepts. She was unapologetically herself, and she set the standard for artists to come looking to break molds. The Black Eyed Peas were also doing their own thing in this era, sticking true to being self-proclaimed “weirdos,” making songs that they knew were dope enough to get radio play that they didn’t have to change their sound to adapt. These artists were well ahead of their time, and the fans ate it all up.
Newcomers to the World of Pop
A newcomer to the scene was Ke$ha, who used to sign her name with the dollar sign while working with Dr. Luke. Following her success of being featured on Flo Rida’s 2008 hit, “Right Round,” Ke$ha’s debut single was “TiK ToK.” At this time, wild child Ke$ha was 18 years old, saying the inspiration behind the song came from coming home half-drunk and stumbling after a night out of partying. The song later appeared on her debut album, Animal, featuring heavily autotuned songs that were a staple during this time period. For teenagers growing up at this time, Ke$ha was perfect for partying and emulating that lifestyle. On the other side, Miley Cyrus was closing out her Hanna Montana chapter. With the film release in 2009, the singer and actress provided one of the most beautiful, inspiring ballads that she has ever recorded thus far. “The Climb” was a pivotal moment in Cyrus’ music career, as her voice was developing and reaching new ranges that it hadn’t before.
Take a look below at the six pop songs that have a fifteenth anniversary in 2024:
