Top 10 Biggest Developments in Music of the Decade

Top 10 Biggest Developments in Music of the Decade

Some people might argue that the decade starts ’00 and ends with ’09 but since I haven’t done a “Decade Review List”, I will start my decade with ’01 – 00.

Below are some of the best moments in the past decade that changed the course of music. These developments stirred music in an altogether different direction and that direction is where we are today.

10. YouTube Makes Everyone a Star (2005)


Andy Warhol famously predicted that everyone in the world would have 15 minutes of fame. YouTube proved that prediction a reality. Suddenly people had fame at their fingertips. The playing field towards stardom became a bit more flattened. With 24 hours of video being uploaded every minute, YouTube is fast becoming the official record keeper of the world.

It is also the home of undiscovered talents and all these talents are waiting for is someone to click play and share.



9. Britney Spears


With her smash 2004 hit “Toxic”, it looked for a moment like Britney Spears had a shot to give Justin Timberlake a run for The Aughts’ Most Accomplished 90s Teen Idol. Then, at the start of 2004, she had that quickie Vegas marriage (just as quickly annulled) with her childhood friend. It signalled the beginning of the worst of her times. She married a dancer, got divorced, took a leave from music, lost her children, lost her sanity, and part of her commercial appeal.

Her story is a telling tale of how the world can destroy someone just as quickly as it can create. It is specially harsh on the young. But with the world’s continuous fascination on finding the next young superstar, it should force the parents of would-be stars to seriously think about how destructions like this can be prevented because along with the priveleges the world extends to the famous are priveleges taken away.



8. The iPod Debuts, Changes the World (2001)


Then came the iPod. Although portable music player is not an altogether new concept, iPod started reaching more people more often. Walkmans and Discmans were unreliable and big so there are is still some limitations on when it can be used. iPod broke down all those boundaries. With each passing year, the sleek device got smaller while their capacities skyrocketed. It became a music player for everyone absolutely anytime.



7. The Music Industry Sings the Praises of Reality Shows (2001)


I wasn’t surprise to see it happening, reality shows meeting the music industry. Kickstarted by Simon Fuller in the UK, “Pop Idol” would spawn a host of other entries in the “Idol” franchise. The most prominent in the US is American Idol and it, for better or for worse, continues to discover talents to give it an honest shot to fame. American Idol has bridged the world to some good artists like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Chris Daughtry.

“Idol” created stars, but most of them are short-lived as they are mediocre but Idol has also contributed into the revival of the public’s interest to many old songs. The interpretation of Idol contestants continue to motivate many people to legally download the songs. As we know, legal downloads pay royalties to artists. In some instances, the new artists are also given a break when theirs songs are chosen.

Idol’s and other reality shows’ impact to the music industry will be judged by history but for now we can’t deny it’s doing “something”.



6. Music Influenced Politics


Music has never been shy of speaking its mind on political and social issues. It has been used time and again to express different political point of views but never has the music industry been able to contribute to the society so much to influence an election to a great degree.

Will.I.Am’s Yes We Can, with the help of many other celebrities, helped the Obama campaign reach the peak of its campaign by giving it a more hip and human approach. More than that, it also affirmed to the world that the entertainment industry’s influence is more than just entertainment.



If you liked this list you should also check out:
Keep Going >>