Two big movements that have stemmed from the O.C. are ska punk revival and surf rock. In addition, musicians out of Orange County have excelled in genres like pop, r&b, and more. Here's a sampling of just what they have to offer:

Surf Rock - Dick Dale

Taking from a broad range of influences, Dick Dale is a pioneer in the surf rock genre. While the King of the Surf Guitar was born on the East Coast, he has spent most of his life surfing the waves of the Pacific and hanging out in the Balboa area of Newport Beach. His music can be heard not only over the radio or on disc, but a famous track has been featured on the big screen, at sports stadiums, and even on roller coaster rides.

Alternative Rock - Rage Against the Machine

The political activist/lyricist/vocalist of Rage Against the Machine (RATM), Zack de la Rocha, grew up in Orange County, mostly in Irvine. Band member Tim Commerford also had spent a portion of his childhood their, and this is where the two future bandmates first met. De la Rocha's father was very artistic and it's apparently something that did get passed down in the genes. RATM has rocked huge events such as Lollapalooza and various other festivals.

Punk Rock - The Offspring

Coming out of Garden Grove, Offspring singer and guitarist Dexter Holland is more than just a rocker. Holland has a rather nerdy side, and actually did very well in his school years. The Offspring became popular by experiencing the viral effect of their song, Pretty Fly, which mocks your typical suburban white boy and "wigga" (a person who tries to be hip).

Pop - Gwen Stefani

The jewel of Orange County, and one of it's most famous products, Gwen Stefani has taken the music world by storm. She started off as lead singer in the band No Doubt (see below), and spent the band's down time to launch her own solo career. If your family lives in Anaheim, you're bound to have some sort of connection to Stefani or her family, as she is the girl next door that made it big.

Ska Rock - No Doubt

Featuring a collaboration of very successful individuals, No Doubt started small as a garage-band from Anaheim. The history of the band members is long and intertwined. Before the band even got off the ground, Eric Stefani (founder of the group) had committed suicide. Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal had expressed the pains of their break-up lyrically in the junior album, Tragic Kingdom. Each member of the band has gone on to their own very successful careers as the songs they created together over a series of five albums continue to be frequently played over the airwaves and on many digital audio devices.

R&B - Lisa Tucker

A new sensation amongst the bunch, Lisa Tucker became well known due to her amazing performance on the pop show American Idol. Also hailing from Anaheim, Tucker continues to reside in Orange County and plans on attending university in Fullerton. Once she drops a flawless debut album, of course.

Orange County has much culture, both through sight and sound, to offer. There are many up and coming singers, bands, and various other artists to watch out for, so keep your eyes and ears open for more O.C. flavor that will infuse itself into your life.

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Euro trip: Scottie doesn't know

I was forced to go to this movie with my fiancé and his son but, I'm glad I was. The movie is like Chevy Chase in European Vacation only more vulgar and geared towards a younger generation. I love it! Matt Damon makes a special cameo appearance. Check it out.

Music and Lyrics: Pop goes my heart

Ever since I saw this movie, I have to watch this video at least once a day. It's hilarious and Hugh Grant is actually singing.

Macarena: Los Del Rio

I think I heard this song over a hundred times an hour when I was on spring Break in Mexico. Not only did I do the dance every time it came on, I actually knew all of the words when I came back home.

Wannabe: Spice girls

All I remember is dancing around in the Sorority house when I was getting ready to go out and party. It was a girl power moment!

Barbie Girl: Aqua

Imagine driving down the road on your way to Spring Break. Need I say more?

I would walk 500 miles: The Proclaimers

This is a song that repeats its verses over and over and over and over again. I guess the new age groupies loved this one. It was shortly lived but, it still shows up on the Internet everywhere you turn.

I'm too sexy: Right Said Fred

Alright, this one I just can't complain about. I remember listening to this song in high school during talent shows. The football players actually dressed up and performed the whole video. Quite controversial at that time.

I wanna love you tender: Ohjaaja Mervi Vesala

This looks like a 70's workout video. I actually, at one point, got up and started dancing. I just couldn't help myself.

Hamster Dance

As annoying as this was when I was in college, I just couldn't stop watching it.
Imagine a dancing rodent taking on a new identity all over the internet. Whoever came up with this must be a millionaire or they may be coming up with something new like a dancing skunk. Oh wait, that's been done already!

Jump in my Car: David Hasselhoff

The "Hoff" has tried to capitalize his fame on Baywatch for years now. His biggest mistake was taking it to the music industry. He was very big Germany but, his music never was serious enough for the states. It still makes me laugh though.

World of Warcraft is a Feeling, By Pure Pwnage

“World of Warcraft is a feeling… who needs a social life?”

It would be fair to say that pure pwnage is probably one of the most popular web series out there. And when they produce gems like this, you can't really blame them. Aside from the fact that you can't figure out if this song is serious or not, the most disturbing thing is it's actually really well written and performed.

White and Nerdy, by Weird Al

“1st in my class here at MIT, got skills I'm a champion at DnD”

Weird Al has probably written more geek songs than any other artist, and is definitely extremely popular in our glorious energy drink laden sub culture. Al has a tendency to write parodies rather than original songs, but that doesn't stop you from appreciating the thought that he puts into his music. This song is a parody of "Riding dirty" by Chameleonaire.

First time I heard this I just creased up and laughed until I nearly died of asphyxiation. It was even funnier when I put the song on while in a chav bar. It took a lot of them a while to realize that they where cheering the wrong song…

Obey the Moderator, by Optimus Rhyme

“If I wanna block you, there's no way you can stop me, confident, cocky, the cubicle jockey…”

I love Optimus Rhyme. Smooth flows and catchy lyrics make them easy and amusing to listen to. Their music tends to focus around aspects of working life, including the drudgery of office work, idiot co workers, morons who call tech support and so forth. This little piece is all about forum moderators. I have to say, I've never known a forum moderator quite as… intense as the guy their going on about this video though.

That will be going around in your head for hours now and you know it. Enjoy!

Every OS Sucks, By Three Dead Trolls In a Baggie

“DOS never crashed on me, I should be able to get online without a PHD, every computer crashes, because every OS sucks…”

I think pretty much everyone who's used a computer can see at least something in this song. The trolls pick out pretty much everything that's wrong with every operating system, and tell it like it is. No doubt it will have certain OS fanboys (and fangirls) screaming at their monitors as their preferred arrangement of icons is slated on screen, but hey; they make some good points. Not sure about the whole "you only need 32Kb of RAM" thing though… This is the unedited version of the song, so you need to put up with a few minutes of (albeit very interesting) waffle at the start.

Not exactly the greatest piece of singing in existence, but it still entertains in a different way.

Goth Girls, By MC Frontalot

“Legs deep in the boots, boots up on the heels, just the kind to make a certain type of fetisher squeal…”

MC Frontalot is the granddad of Nerdcore, A form of hip hop that Optimus Rhyme also belong in. To learn more about it (And other interesting sub genres of hip hop), you can read an interesting article on the subject here. As you shall see in this video, Frontalot uses many of the techniques and styles associated with gangsta rap, and sticks in his own words. The result is a satirical piece that has you laughing even as your foot taps along to the rhythm (Note, this is a user made video, as no official music video has been released for this song).

Well, at least it got Obey the Moderator out of your head. This song however will reverberate in your skull for even longer. Please include a small cash donation with each death threat you send me. Thanks!

Download this song, by MC Lars

“Hey mister record man your system can't compete, it's the new market model, File transfer, file play!”

This video is an attack by MC Lars on the major record labels. I feel quite strongly on this subject, and if you're interested in learning how the music industry is actually encouraging piracy, and ripping off EVERYONE (including artists!), you can read this article. Lars was something of a one hit wonder, and his popularity has dropped lately, but this song when it was relased in Britain, made it into the charts, and onto the radio, a feat many other geek songs have not manahed to achieve.

Don't forget kids: Piracy is bad, and we must all allow ourselves to get bent over a table by the music industry so that they can have their Ferraris. It's just the way it is, don't question it. [/sarcasm]

What we Need More Of Is Science, By MC Hawking

“On Blind faith, they place reliance, what we need more of, is science.”

Okay, this is a thinly veiled attack on creationism, but it's still funny. Oh, and incidentally, if any flaming starts in the comments section of this article, those comments will be deleted. I don't care if you're for, or against this video, or the concepts it's taking the mickey out of. If you need to vent, do it an appropriate forum. MC Hawking is actually Ken, Leavitt-Lawrence, who uses the old willowtalk program to make the "singing" and then mashes it up using audio editing software. So, busta, you ready to hear the beats and flows of the farther of physics?

What does Hawking himself have to say on this? He finds it funny, “A modern day equivalent to spitting image.” If you've never seen spitting image then it sucks to be you. If you have seen it and don't get it, then you're either a) not British, or b) too young. In both cases, still sucks to be you .

The Geek (Shall inherit), By Wir Sind Helden

“The last should be first, The first see as the last, The geek shall inherit the earth”

All of these songs are great as the celebrate geek culture in its many forms, but they overlook one important little fact. Often times, being a geek sucks ass. In school you get the crap kicked out of you, as well as alienated from what feels like 90% of the population. Outside school your parents want you to go out and play football rather than play videogames. You never seem to get the girl, or the attractive guys never notice you. Even at university it seems that this segregation continues, albeit on a lower level. When you grow up and start working, you always seem to either a) be working under a moron, or B) be working with morons. So, for every time we've walked home with broken glasses, for every time we've been told our java scripts aren't elegant enough by someone who knows jack all, for every time they whisper about as around the water cooler, we should remember this. The Geek shall inherit the earth.

Translation available here.

In closing

I hope you enjoyed this music as much as I did. Love and peace to you all, and try to remember what's important. That we laugh as much as we can every day, and frown only to the misery of others. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and finish writing my newest piece of work, a rap piece under the title of "MC Evis"…

Here's a recent list of some of them:

1. Carla Bruni

Not only is she absolutely beautiful, her voice is full, rich, soft and just simply lovely! Interestingly, if you don't already know, Carla Bruni is the First Lady of France and to name a couple of her past beaus she has dated Donald Trump and Eric Clapton. In the 90's she was also one of the highest paid models earning approximately $7.5 million dollars!

 

2. Minnie Driver

I was stunned to discover that this talented actress was also an extraordinarily talented singer. She sings with passion and a hopeful beauty that is intoxicating and caresses the soul.

One of my favorites by her is called “Deep Water”. 

3. Peter Yorn

…”Ice Age”…wow, what can I say about this one? Breathlessly beautiful, phenomenal, a piece of heaven at it's finest. I'm guessing this song was made for the movie, but I am not certain since I never saw the movie. Nevertheless it is one of the most beautiful new songs I've heard in awhile.

You will want to fall in love with this one at, but unfortunately the YouTube version it is just not audibly good enough to leave a link, I just don't want to ruin the song for you and if you are interested, I recommend clicking into iTunes store to get a sample. The short little sample clip was enough to make me fall, instantly.

4. Brianna Taylor

This new artist was recently an unforgettable roommate on “The Real World's Hollywood” cast. She began pursuing her singing aspirations on the show and to the complete surprise of everyone belted out beautiful ballads like “Summertime”. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to this song. One day, I picture myself singing this at an audition for “American Idol”.

 

5. Secret Surprise!

And, lastly, this song is for all the eternal romantics!

1. We Will Rock You by Queen

   This song is a song that will have you rocking out and singing as at the top of your lungs. It's catchy and has a nice tune.

2. Calabria by Enur

   This song is the type of song that you can't understand a word they are saying but it still has you shaking left to right.

3. See You Again by Miley Cyrus

   Now this tune is the type of song that you don't want to admit you like but you find it somehow appealing. I felt the same way when I listened to this for the first time.

4. Don't Stop The Music by Rihanna

   Mama say mama sa mama cosa! Gosh I love that line! That's why number seven is Rihanna's Don't Stop The Music. Even the name explains that you want the music to not stop playing.

5. Cha Cha Slide by Mr. C

   At number six we have Mr. C with Cha Cha Slide. Now, this song is the type of song that everyone knows about. It's iconic and easy to dance along with…Well, Duh it gives you the instructions on what to do!

6. What Hurts the Most by Cascada

   Now this song is sad but…the rhythm is amazing! It is a techno type of song.

7. Shake it by Metro Station

   Okay, this song basically explains itself…I mean come on! Shake it! It is catchy and will get you to shake it in no time!

8. Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot

   This song is the type of song that you like but at the same time feel wrong liking it. This songs rhythm will have you dancing along.

9. Vogue by Madonna

   Strike a pose! Nuff said!

10. U Can't Touch This by MC Hammer

    Wrapping up the countdown is Mc Hammer with U Can't Touch This. The lyrics and rhythm of this song will make you remember it the first time you hear it! It's unbelievably breathtaking and will make you want to download it from iTunes before you can say MC Hammer. That sums it up! Thanks for reading my countdown and I hope you agree with the choices I made!

The ultimate mondegreen was The Kingsmen's version of "Louie, Louie" which an entire entire generation heard wrong but then passed the "dirty" lyrics on to a friend or two until absolutely no one believed it was a simple song about a lonely sailor at sea.

So your sitting in the back seat and your teenage kids are driving and Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" comes on the radio. You really start belting it out. You'll show them whose still hip after all these years. Of course they don't know all the words which makes it that much easier to hear your old senile brain crank out, "'Scuse me while I kiss this guy" instead of "kiss the sky". It will be a while before they let you live that one down.

The word mondegreen was among tens of thousands of words whose use the dictionary observed for decades. The word was first seen in print in 1954. It originated from the mishearing of the Scottish ballad lyric "laid him on the green" as "Lady Mondegreen". The word was coined by writer Sylvia Wright in the 1950's to describe her childhood misreading of the old Scottish folk song.

While browsing through some websites of commonly mangled song lyrics I had hoped to solve some old Bob Dylan mysteries but no such luck. But as one writer wrote Mondegreen would be a great title for his next boxed set.

Many of us wouldn't tell our closest significant other or our spouse some of our more famous misheard song lyrics. You might be judged by what you mishear. "Any misheard lyric is an impromptu Rorschach test" writes Gavin Edwards, who has collected misheard lyrics in volumes with titles like "He's Got The Whole World in His Pants".

See if you can guess the widely misheard song lyrics as they are meant to be:

• "Hold me closer, Tony Danza.".
• "The smell of fat chicks just puts a smile on my face."
• "Wrapped up like a douche"
• "The girl with colitis goes by."

Answers:

• Elton John, "Hold me closer, tiny dancer."
• David Bowie, "This mellow-thighed chick just put my spine out of place." (Suffragette City)
• Bruce Springsteen, "Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night (Blinded by the Night)
• Beatles, "The girl with kaleidoscope eyes,"

Other words and phrases that finally made it to Webster's: Mental health day--so why not celebrate by taking one, and wing nut (circa 1900) (slang) "one who advocates extremes measures or changes; radical.

The Grammy Awards or Gramophone Awards are named for small, gilded gramophone trophies which are given away annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the U.S. to appreciate the outstanding achievements of the artists, musical bands, in the record industry. Indeed, the awards which are equivalent to the Academy Awards (Oscars) for motion movies, featuring the highest music honor to its winners.

2008 Grammy Nominees

Rehab and Back to Black, Amy Winehouse

These two songs have been documented in my article, The Best English Songs, Which Won Five Top Awards of the 50th Annual Grammies. You can listen to her song there. Amy Winehouse won five awards at the 2008 Grammy Awards (Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album).

Candyman, Christina Aguilera

The song combines a gene of soul, and swing-jazz and was written by Linda Perry and Christina Aguilera. It was released as Aguilera's third studio album, Back to Basics in 2006. It was charted on major charts in Europe and parts of America. In UK alone, the single gained over 100,000 digital downloads. On January 28, 2007, its music video was filmed with the theme of 1940s World War II. “Candyman” came live on TRL and later on MTV's MakingThe Video on February 22, 2007.

1234, Feist

This Indie pop song was Feist's most successful single which was recorded in her third studio album, The Reminder. It was initially written by a Melbourne, Australia singer-songwriter, Sally Seltmann under the name of New Buffalo. The song was digitally released via iTune Music Store, and subsequently it was used extensively in an iPod nano commercial. This song was #2 at the US Hot Digital Songs, #8 in the US Hot 100, #34 at the US Modern Rock Tracks chart, #10 at the US Pop 100, #34 in the Triple J Hottest 100, #19 on the Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. By April 6, 2008, “1234” received the Juno award for Single of the Year in Calgary. Time magazine once ranked “1234” as number two out of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, while the writer, Josh Tyrangiel called the song as a masterpiece and said, “with a mixture of wisdom and exuberance that's all her own.”

2007 Grammy Nominees

Be Without You, Mary J.Blige

This is the song written by American singer-songwriter Mary J.Blige, Bryan Michael Cox, Johnta Austin, and Jason Perry for Blige's album called The Breakthrough. This song won the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song categories at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. This was also Blige most successful R&B song as it topped the Billboard chart for 75 weeks, U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart for 9 weeks, and has also topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart.

You re Beautiful, James Blunt

This is the song co-written by British singer James Blunt, Amanda Ghost and Sasha Skarbek for Blunt's album called Back to Bedlam. This song won him an Ivor Novello Award for airplay in 2006, entered #1 in several countries, and was in the Billboard Pop 100, Adult Contemporary, Hot Digital Songs, and was in the top-10 on most major charts. With this song, Blunt received three nominations of Song of the Year, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Record of the Year, while in the video category; he won the Best Male Video, Best Cinematography and MTV Award.

2006 Grammy Nominees

It s Like That, Mariah Carey

This song was written by Jermaine Dupri, Manuel Seal, Johnta Austin, and Mariah Carey to be included in Carey's first single and tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi which was released in 2005. It was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2006 Grammy Award. “It's like that” was one of Carey most successful song as it was Carey's first platinum digital single as certified by the RIAA. This song was charted at the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, Billboard Hot Adult R&B Airplay, Pop 100, Top 40 Tracks, Cadena 100 Hot List, and J-Wave Tokio Hot 100 Airplay chart. It reached the top twenty in Norway, France and Germany, and the top ten in Australia and United Kingdom.

Since U Been Gone, Kelly Clarkson

This song has a punk-pop influence in drums and guitar riffs, and was written and produced by Max Martin and Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald. It was recorded by Kelly Clarkson as in her second single album, Breakaway in the U.S. and the first in Europe in 2004. This song was successful that it reached number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian airplay chart, and was charted at the Pop 100, Mainstream Top 40, Hot Dance Airplay. Clarkson received the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the song at the Grammy Awards of 2006. In March 2006, over 500,000 digital downloads and over 1,800,000 downloads sold in January 2008, bringing the song to another plateau and breakthrough milestone.

2005 Grammy Nominees

You Raise Me Up, Josh Groban

This is an inspiring popular song written by Secret Garden's Rolf Løvland with its lyrics by a songwriter, Brendan Graham. Originally, the song was released on the 2001 Secret Garden album, “Once in a Red Moon” and sung by an Irish singer, Brian Kennedy as the commemorations of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In 2003, Josh Groban was invited to record the song which later became popular in the US. His version charted the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and he was also invited to perform it in a special NASA commemoration for the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbiadisaster atSuper Bowl XXXVIII. The song was then nominated for a 2005 Grammy award. The single was successful that it was recorded separately in Spanish by ll Divo and Paul Potts of the song entitled “Por Ti Seré" and in Japanese by Korean-American singer, Lena Park as the opening theme to the Japanese TV anime series Romeo x Juliet. “You Raise Me Up” was also included in the album of Westlife as in my article, The Best Pop Hit Song Ever.

Burn, Usher

This is a song that combines R&B and ballad genres along with some robotic noises, synthesized strings and guitar lines. It was written by an American singers-rappers and songwriters Usher, Bryan-Michael Cox, and Jermaine Dupri with its lyrics constructed in the traditional verse-chorus form. The song was released as Ursher's fourth studio album, Confessions in 2004 which topped various charts around the world. This single was certified gold for selling 500,000 units by the Recording Industry Association of America, and platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for selling 70,000 units. Internationally, the song received very good praises from Denmark, Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Norway and Ireland.

2004 Grammy Nominees

Dance with My Father, Luther Vandross

This song is the thirteenth and final studio album by American R&B/Soul singer, Luther Vandross which was released on June, 2003 to be included in Vandross's 2003 album Dance with My Father. It was written by Richard Marx and Luther Vandross. It has also been performed by other artists like Steve Brookstein, Kellie Coffey, Celine Dion, and Tamyra Gray during the FOX TV drama Boston Public. This song won Vandross #1 at the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

I'm With You, Avril Lavigne

This is a pop rock song written by Canadian singer, Avril Lavigne and The Matrix (Lauren Christy, Graham Edwards, Scott Spock) and was included as Lavigne's first ballad album, Let Go. This song attained number one in Mexico, number seven in the UK, number thirteen in Canada, and number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It was also used in the film Bruce Almighty and was channelled via radio and television airplay in Australia.

2003 Grammy Nominees

A Thousand Miles, Vanessa Carlton

This is a piano-driven pop song written by Vanessa Carlton, an American singer who had her debut album Be Not Nobody recorded in 2002. This single appeared to be Carlton's breakthrough hit as it entered the top ten in the United States, France, Italy, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. It was the most successful album in Australia. All Music Guide once wrote: “as it moves from its solo piano opening to bombastic orchestral-backed choruses, the result isn't overwhelming; it's sweet, multi-layered, and appealing.”

“A Thousand Miles” was particularly popular among the U.S. troops serving in Iraq in 2003. Carlton replied, “Perhaps, "A Thousand Miles" conveys the feelings and longing and desperation that the U.S. soldier feel for their loved ones. I don't know. But whatever peace I am able to bring to the hearts of the people at war is a contribution that I am proud of.”

7 Days, Craig David

This song was written by an English R&B singer songwriter, Craig David and was recorded as his second single debut album Born to Do It. Its lyrics is about how David spend a week with a girl he met on Monday, and he felt to have a social connection with her by taking her out for a drink on Tuesday, causing him to “make love” with her on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This song has the biggest worldwide hit earning him to receive a Gold certification sale in the UK. It hit # 1 at the UK Singles Chart, #10 at the Billboard Hot 100 and hit the top ten in the U.S.

2002 Grammy Nominees

Shape of My Heart, Backstreet Boys

This song was written by Max Martin, Rami and Lisa Miskovsky. It was recorded by the American pop band as their first single album, Black & Blue which was released in October 2000. The song debuted at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, #1 on the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream, Hot 100 Airplay and Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for a consecutive 16 weeks, #3 on the Canadian (CHR) chart, #1 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary (AC) chart for 14 weeks. The song was also played on 170 out of 171 of the Top 40 stations in the US.

You Rock My World, Michael Jackson

This is a popular song by singer-songwriter, Michael Jackson which was included in his album, Invincible in 2001. The song was immensely successful considering its achievement at #10 on the U.S. Hot 100 and #1 in the United World Chart. At the 2002 Grammy Awards, it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The music video for this song was found to be a premier worldwide on September, 2001 which won him a NAACP Image Award for Best Music Video.

2001 Grammy Nominees

Breathless, The Corrs

This song was co-written and produced by Shania Twain's producer and her husband, Robert John “Mutt” Lange. It was then recorded by Irish pop-rock group, The Corrs in their third studio album, In Blue which was released in 2000. The band was considered to have their breakthrough worldwide hit, when the song hit at #1 in Ireland, and topped all major international charts, giving them a status as number I in the UK.

Bye Bye Bye, NSYNC

This song was written by Andreas Carlsson, Jake Schulze, and Kristian Lundin. It was the first single by American boyband, NSYNC recorded as their second album, No String Attached in 2000. The song was said to receive two Grammy nominations of “Record of the Year” and “Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.” It was debuted at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100, #3 on the UK Singles Chart, and charted the top ten of the Hot 100 singles chart for 12 weeks. The song won a Radio Music Radio award for Best Song of the Year, three Teen Choice Awards (Choice Single, Choice Music Video, and Song of the Summer) in 2000. A year later, it won Blockbuster Entertainment Award in the category of Favorite Single.

2000 Grammy Nominees

Baby One More Time, Britney Spears

This song was written by the Swedish music producer, Max Martix. It was recorded by a pop singer, Britney Spears, which was released as her debut single album, Baby One More Time in 1998. The song was the most successful singles as it has over 14 million copies sold since its release in 1998. When it was released in February, 1999 in the UK, it has sold over 460,000 for the first week and hit #1 in the UK Singles Chart. Hence, it was considered as the fastest selling and most successful debut single.

I Want It That Way, Backstreet Boys

This pop song was written by Andreas Carlsson and Max Martin. It was recorded by the Backstreet Boy in their 1999 album, Millennium, which was considered as the biggest hit of their signature song. It was then released on their group's biggest hit album, The Hits: Chapter One in 2001. This single broke the record of most major radio stations, reaching #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts for 14 weeks, Billboard Top 40 Mainstream chart, Top 40, and peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was nominated for three Grammy awards. The song also successfully hit #1 the charts in Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Italy, Spain and Austria.

1999 Grammy Nominees

My Heart Will Go On, Celine Dion

This pop song was written by James Horner and Will Jennings and was recorded in Celine Dion's album, Let's Talk About Love. In 1997, this song was selected as the theme song of the blockbuster film, Titanic. It was Celine Dion's biggest love ballad hit and the best selling singles in her musical career. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 2 weeks, Billboard Hot 100 Airplay for 10 weeks, 2 weeks on the Hot 100 Singles Sales and peaked at number 34 on the Japanese Oricon chart. Within a few weeks, 687,000 limited copies of the song were sold out and was certified gold in the US. It became the biggest worldwide hit when this song won her the 1997 Academy Award Best Original Song, winning 4 awards of the Grammy Awards in 1999 (Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance), the Golden Globe Award in 1998, Billboard Music Award for the Soundtrack Single of the Year, Japanese Gold Disc Award for the Song of the Year, Japan Record Award for the Special Achievement, Blockbuster Entertainment Award for the Favorite Song from a Movie, and lastly, Billboard Latin Award for the First English-language Song to Top Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks Chart.

Everybody, Backstreet Boy

This pop song was written by Max Martin and Denniz Pop. It was recorded as the first single for the Backstreet Boys' second international album, Backstreet's Back in 1997 and their US debut album was released in 1998. This song was the most successful for the band as it hit #2 in the charts of Austria, Germany and Switzerland, #6 in New Zealand, #3 in the UK Single Chart and in Austria, #5 in the Nerherlands, and #4 in Sweden, Norway and Finland. The singles had 2.1 million albums sold out and was certified platinum in the US.

1998 Grammy Nominees

I Believe I Can Fly, R.Kelly

This is a song that combines R&B, gospel, pop and ballad genes. It was written and sung by R&B singer, R. Kelly. This song was included in his album, I Believe I Can Fly in1998 and it was the theme song of the movie, Space Jam. The song made a breakthrough success when it hit #1 on both the UK charts and R&B Singles chart, and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and ranked #406 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, besides winning three Grammy awards. It is also a popular song during NBA games, and it is also popular to be played for many high school graduations.

Everyday Is a Winding Road, Sheryl Crow

This is a rock song written by Jeff Trott, Sheryl Crow and Brian MacLeod. It was recorded by American rock star, Sheryl Crow in her album in 1996. The song peaked at #12 on the UK Singles Chart, and at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song was included in Prince's album in 1998, and was made used in the films of Phenomenon and Erin Brockovich.

1997 Grammy Nominees

Un-Break My Heart, Toni Braxton

This is a song that combines R&B, pop, soul and ballad genes. It was written by music impresario, Diane Warren and produced by David Foster. The ballad was recorded in Braxton's second studio album, Secrets in 1996 and it was considered as the biggest single and signature song of Braxton. The song became a success to hit #2 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and stayed at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was later re-recorded by Braxton in Spanish, Regresa a Mi (which means “Come Back to Me”) in 2004, included by a popular Mexican singer Yuridia in her album Habla El Corazón, and was also recorded by a pop singer Alla Gorbacheva in the Russian album, Сердце не плачь (which means “Heart, don't cry”). Braxton became a famous first artist when she won a Grammy Award of Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for this song. Her other song, You're Makin' Me High won her a Grammy Award of Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. This song was included in the album, Voices from the FIFA World Cup, and was played as one of the official songs for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

Because You Loved Me, Celine Dion

This pop song was written by Diane Warren and was released as the first single of Celine Dion in February, 1996 in the United States, Latin America, Canada, and Japan. It was produced by David Foster to be included in the film, Up Close & Personal. The song was Celine Dion's smash hit as it won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, topped the charts of Hot 100 Airplay, Hot 100 Singles Sales, Top 40 Mainstream, ARC Weekly Top 40, Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks, Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks, United World Chart, Global World Chart, and the U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Recurrents Chart. It has also become a worldwide hit in Ireland, Switzerland, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium, Australia, Poland and New Zealand. In 1999, a live version of this song was included in the album, A New Day….Live in Las Vegas, when Celine Dion was invited to perform her show, A New Day for as long as five nights a week at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

1996 Grammy Nominees

Let Her Cry, Hootie & the Blowfish

This is a rock song by Hootie & the Blowfish. This is their successful song that was recorded in the album, Cracked Rear View in 1994 with its lyrics telling the story of how a patient man keeps trying to tie with a relationship with an irresponsible alcoholic woman whom he falls in love. The single which was released a year later along with a music video, winning them number two on the American Billboard Top 40 Mainstream chart, number four on the Australian ARIA Charts, and number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song also won them Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 1996 Grammy Annual Award.

You Are Not Alone, Michael Jackson

This is R&B song written by R&B singer-songwriter, R. Kelly. It was released as the second single for Michael Jackson's album, HIStory-Past, Present and Future, Book I which emerged as a hit in the Billboard Hot 100. This is his third successful single after his other songs, “Black or White” and “Earth Song.” “You Are Not Alone” became the number one hits in countries like New Zealand, France, Switzerland, the U.S., Ireland and the UK. The single once broke the record on a Billboard in the U.S. It reached number one on the Hot 100 Singles chart, R&B chart, Billboard R&B Sales chart, Billboard's R&B Airplay chart for seven weeks; number two on the Billboard Hot 100 Sales chart, Hot 100 Airplay chart; and number three on the Billboard Maxi-single Sales chart.

1995 Grammy Nominees

Streets of Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen

This is an Academy Award-winning rock song written and sung by American singer, Bruce Springsteen. It was recorded for the film, Philadelphia in 1993. The song is characterised by its sad, slow and mournful melody as its lyrics are about the AIDS's life. The song gained huge popularity in Europe, particularly in Germany and France. It was then included in the album, All Time Greatest Movie Songs released by Sony in 1999. The song won several awards, including Academic Awards for Best Original Song, four Grammy Awards of 1995 (Song of the Year, Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, Best Rock Song, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture) and MTV Video Music Awards.

I ll Make Love to You, Boyz II Men

This R&B song was written by Babyface. It was a smash hit single by R&B group, Boyz II Men in 1994. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for as long as 14 weeks, topped the U.S. R&B chart, Adult Contemporary charts, and remained as top ten in the UK in the same year. It was certified platinum single and won them Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 1995 Grammy Annual Award, and two awards from American Music Awards for Favorite Soul/R&B Single and Favorite Pop/ Rock Single.

Jango

Jango is one of the easiest to navigate streaming sites. You can select an artist that you like, or you can even select a genre. The site will create a custom station for you on the fly and serve up music in your genre. It also suggests artists that you may be interested in based off of your currently selected genre. Great site to find some new songs in a favorite style.

Songerize

Songerize is one of the cleanest and easiest of the music streaming sites to use. Upon loading the website you are presented with two search boxes, Song Name and Artist - thats it. You type in something to search on (either one) and hit play, and away you go. Its great when you want a no-nonsense web site to play a specific set of songs that you already know in advance. The only real annoyance to this is that you have to keep entering a new song title after every song has finished playing. Can't be beat when you just need to listen some of your favorite songs.

Last.fm

Last FM is very artist focused. You are best served on this website if you already know the name of a band or artist that you are interested in. There is a very deep catalog of music, and the music plays right though the web site, so you don't need any special software. Not everything is available. For example if you select the Beatles you will only get a preview because the full Beatles content is not licensed by the site. They also sell MP3 downloads on this site. One really nice thing about this website is that you don't need to have an account to listen to the live streaming music.

Pandora

Pandora is perhaps one of the best known free live streaming music sites on the internet. Pandora grew out of the Music Genome Project. The idea with this project is that the system will monitor your likes and then create a custom station which will match those likes. In my testing it seems to work reasonable well. A nice thing about this website is that you can type in a music type as well as an artist and it will attempt to build a station to your likes. For example if you like Piano music, you can type in Piano and it will create a station of piano music. In some competing sites you would have to select a piano music composer in order to get the same result.

Songza

Songza's great claim to fame is the depth of its catalog. This site's variety of music is amazing. Songza has licensing agreements with most of the big major music companies so you can usually find something to listen to. The interface of the site is also very google like. You can be listening to a song well within three clicks of the mouse. The site also has a featured songs section, along with top played or requested songs.

Slacker

Slacker has a very unique folder structure to its online music player. It is a great site if you are looking for a streaming station in a particular genre. It seems to be alot weaker when you are looking for a specific artist. While the interface is polished, it does have some annoying limitations to the free streaming service, including limiting the number of tracks you can skip.

Musicovery

Musicovery uses a feelings based system to help you select artists to listen to. You can pick your mood - weather you want energetic or positive, or dark and calm, and any graduation in-between and it will select artists and songs based off of those preferences. The mesh that it displays on the screen makes it easy to discovery new artists that you may like. In short this system on this web site is fun to explore and play around with.

“Reach out”, the official theme song, was written by an Italian composer, Mr. Giorgio Moroder for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics which was broadcast worldwide.

“The time is right for you to come and make your stand. Reach out, reach out……Reach out, reach out for the medal” are parts of this lyric..

1988 Olympics Games- Seoul, Korea

“Hand in hand” is another official theme song written by Mr. Giorgio Moroder for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and was performed by a group of Koreana in Korean in the beginning of the song, accompanying with the English version.

“Oh if you put your hand in my hand
Put your trust in me and I won't let you down
I will always be there for you
Oh if you put your heart in my heart
Take a walk with me and I will show you now
We can leave the pain behind us hand in hand”

The above quote of the song has then become famous to the world. Indeed, it has been regarded as the best songs ever composed for the Olympics.

1992 Olympics Games- Barcelona, Spain

“Barcelona”, the official theme song of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, was composed by Mr. Freddie Mercury from Spain. He composed this song as soon as Barcelona was selected for the Olympic city after the Olympics in Seoul, Korea.

He was supposed to perform the song with an operatic soprano Montserrat Caballé, but due to his death a year before the Olympics, the song was played over a travelogue of the city instead at the opening ceremony. Due to Freddie's death, the song was replaced with “Amigos Para Siempre” (Friends for Life), written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black, and sung by Sarah Brightman and José Carreras during the closing ceremonies.

1996 Olympics Games- Atlanta, U.S.A

“Reach”, the official theme song of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, U.S.A, was composed by Diane Warren and Gloria Estefan. This Olympics theme song Reach was originally sang by Gloria Estefan at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. Gloria, a female singer, had once paralysis due to one major accident, but she had a strong determination to fight against the disease she was facing at that moment.

She did not succumb to a disease and finally she stood on the stage to sing Reach with all her heart which won her an award from the Grammy that year.

Her determination to live has inspired many people who listened to her song. “The Power of the Dream” was sung by Celine Dion during the closing ceremonies.

2000 Olympics Games- Sydney, Australia

“The Flame”, the official theme song of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, was composed by John Foreman. The Flame was performed live by an Australian pop singer, Tina Arena at the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Games. Tina's performance was amazing and she received as much attention for both her voice and dress. Indeed, her performance at the Olympic ceremony has won her a major boost in a singing career, which has marked a distinct departure for her upcoming albums. You can watch the video here.

2004 Olympics Games- Athens, Greece

“Oceania”, the official theme song of the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, was composed by Bjork. Oceania was performed by an eccentric Icelandic singer, Bjork before 70,000 spectators at the Greek Capital's new Olympic Stadium at the four-hour opening ceremony, which was televised worldwide.

2008 Olympics Games- Beijing, China

“Yongyuan de Pengyou” (Forever Friends) is the official theme song of the 2008 Olympics which will be held at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing, China. This song was composed by Mr. Giorgio Moroder, Micheal Kunze and other musical composers. This theme song has already translated into Malay, Cantonese, Spanish, and English.

On the 100th day before the games begin, about 100 artists were gathered in Beijing to perform the 100-day countdown theme song called “Beijing Huan Ying Ni” (Beijing Welcomes You).

“One world one dream” was released to promote the Olympic Games in Beijing. .