The Biggest Pop Culture Moments Of The Early 2000s

One of the hardest moments to swallow in the early 2000s was the tragic and far too soon passing of the R&B singer Aaliyah. 

Aaliyah tragically passed after her plane caught fire just meters from the runway in the Bahamas. She was just 22 years old.

It's impossible to think of the early 2000s and not reminisce about the "it" couple! Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston wed in 2000 and were dubbed the best Hollywood couple until that perfect image came to a crashing halt in 2005 when Pitt was caught red-handed in a steamy affair with his Mr. & Mrs. Smith costar, Angelina Jolie.

The affair hit tabloids globally, and it was a hot topic for a long while. Of course, now the two have reached a more amicable state, but we're not sure we can say the same for Jolie and Pitt, who are still in the middle of a tumultuous divorce. 

Although times now are a lot more accepting of the idea of two women kissing, there was a time that would have shocked people, and that year was 2003.

While performing their trio rendition of "Like A Virgin/ Hollywood", Madonna, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera hit the stage and gave an unforgettable performance! Halfway through, Madonna and Britney Spears laid a big smooch, which shook the crowd! Now, it's considered iconic, but at the time, the two received major backlash. 

While two major figures in the hip-hop and R&B world getting together isn't newsworthy headlines, the fact that Beyoncé ditched her girl group, Destiny's Child to be with the rapper definitely did! Queen B and Jay-Z hooked up in 2003, and released their smash hit "Crazy in Love" which topped the charts!

It was featured on Beyoncé's first album without her girl group, and launched a career that's unforgettable! Check out the life of Beyoncé here for more!

Ah yes, remember the good ol' days of the Kardashian sisters? Keeping Up With The Kardashians was launched in 2007, at a time when the most famous of the family was ex-olympian, Caitlyn Jenner. Over the course of 13 years, the Kar-Jenner clan have raked in billions of dollars, and between the 5 girls, have literally shaped modern beauty standards. 

Starting out as C-list celebs that no one really cared about, the family is now the most followed on social media. You know what they say, the Devil works hard, but Kris Jenner works harder. 

Who could forget the hilarious moment Ashlee Simpson was caught lip-syncing on live television. The embarrassing moment (for all of us) happened after the track started up without her being ready. 

While you hear the vocals start-up in the background, Simpson realized she was caught in her fib, and started doing... a jig? Almost 20 years later and we're still cringing. 

One of the most globally changing events to occur in the 2000s of course belongs to the terrible and devastating terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001. While most people born before 1995 remember the day well, the utter look of shock and disbelief when George Bush Jr. found out about the tower's collapse is a sad moment.

The President of the United States at the time was reading to a group of school children in Florida that morning the world was changed forever. 

Speaking of George Bush... Kanye West's first public outburst is one iconic moment that really impacted communities around America. The rapper joined comedian Mike Myers during a live broadcast in an effort to aid the families suffering after a horrible hurricane devastated New Orleans.

The "Stronger" rapper took a deep breath about to go into a monologue before quickly blurting out the memorable lines, "George Bush doesn't care about Black people." West went on talk about how the communities being denied the proper help are largely BIPOC, and that the President is purposely aiding white neighbourhoods first. Watch the clip here.

Believe it or not Gen Z, there was a time when we had to carry a separate device from our phones to listen to the latest Gaga song. Back in 2001, Steve Jobs did the unthinkable, and created the iconic, albeit now vintage, iPod! 

The iPod was inspired and named after Stanley Kubrick's A Space Odyssey and took the music world by storm. Kids, teens, and adults all wanted to get their hands on each new generation of iPod, and after the launch of iTunes, completely renovated the idea of music, booting the CD out of modern times.

There's nothing that can compare to the buzz around bloggers once YouTube hits the web! As the internet really kicked off during those early 2000 years, YouTube changed a new form of media, making video accessible to anyone with a computer. The platform brought on a different form of celebrity, and it's because of YouTube other mock-ups like TikTok and Vine even made it in the first place!