The year 2006 was truly magical for so many reasons. As much as I hated it in the moment because middle school was absolutely horrible, there were so many things I took for granted. "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" was still on the air, "High School Musical" premiered and the songs on the radio were destined to be classics for years to come. Whenever I hear The Pussycat Dolls or Fergie, I’m immediately brought back to a simpler time when my biggest problems were figuring out what to spend a Limited Too gift card on and being sure to record just the right clip of a song on my flip phone to use as a ringtone. As disturbing as it is processing the fact that 2006 was 10 whole years ago, I encourage you to take a walk down memory lane and listen to these songs that defined my life as a middle-school student.
1. "Promiscuous" -- Nelly Furtado ft. Timbaland
My mom wouldn’t let me buy this song on iTunes because of the title. This caused a large rift between me and my parents.
2. "Hips Don't Lie" -- Shakira ft. Wyclef Jean
This is by far my favorite song of 2006. My social studies teacher was in love with Shakira and he let us watch this video in class a few times a week while we did schoolwork. How was that class remotely productive, I do not know.
3. "Unwritten" -- Natasha Bedingfield
This was not only the theme song of "The Hills," but also of 12-year-old me. So inspirational.
4. "Irreplaceable" -- Beyoncé
This is still my favorite Beyoncé song, and I listen to it in my car all the time. When it came out in 2006 it made me want to send my nonexistent boyfriend packing.
5. "SexyBack" -- Justin Timberlake ft. Timbaland
My friend had the explicit version of the "FutureSex / LoveSounds" album and I would listen to it whenever I went over to her house. Being such a rebel was hard work.
6. "Over My Head (Cable Car)" -- The Fray
The first comment on this video on YouTube says, "This song lost the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance to 'My Humps' by the Black Eyed Peas." Let it sink in.
7. "SOS" -- Rihanna
This is the first song I ever bought on iTunes, and the beginning of Rihanna’s reign over pop music. If it doesn’t get you hyped up, then there’s something wrong with you.
8. "London Bridge" -- Fergie
Everyone used to make fun of me for not knowing the explicit version of this song, but even without the curse words I think I got the memo. Figuring out what “my London Bridge” really meant was probably my first time analyzing and interpreting text.
9. "Buttons" -- The Pussycat Dolls
This is yet another song that was wildly inappropriate, yet went right over my head as a child. It reminds me of how much I miss The Pussycat Dolls.
10. "Dirty Little Secret" -- The All-American Rejects
Technically this was released in 2005, but I’m including it because it peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2006. I’m also including it because I’m pretty sure this was played in the beginning of every single teen romantic-comedy of the 2000's.
11. "The Sweet Escape" -- Gwen Stefani ft. Akon
This song, album and video were some of the best things to come out of 2006. The video is further proof that Gwen Stefani does not age.
12. "Smack That" -- Akon ft. Eminem
Every song Akon released in 2006 and 2007 is still a complete jam. These days, he keeps himself busy by being amazing and providing lighting to millions of Africans.
13. "Too Little Too Late" -- JoJo
This song is so angsty, emotional and truly speaks to the soul. What a time to be alive.
14. "I'm N Luv (Wit A Stripper)" -- T-Pain ft. Mike Jones
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This is another song technically released in 2005, but the music video wasn’t released until 2006. I’m also including this because singing this song with my friends was the only thing that got me through gym class.
15. "Bad Day" -- Daniel Powter
I’ll be completely honest and admit that I really hated this song when it came out, and still hate it. However, it was the number one song of 2006, so I felt obligated to include it.
16. "Year 3000" -- Jonas Brothers
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This song marks the beginning of an era, when the Jonas Brothers were the biggest thing in pop music. Iconic.
