3 One-Hit Wonders From the 2000s With Super-Memorable Opening Lines

Close your eyes and think for a moment. How many songs do you remember with poor opening lines? We’ll give you a second… Right, okay. None. That’s what we thought! When a song opens with bad lyricism, music fans almost forget it right out of hand. But when a song has a stellar opening line—well, you may remember those lyrics and that track for the rest of your life. That’s just what we wanted to highlight below. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonders from the 2000s with super-memorable opening lines.

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“Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus from ‘Wheatus’ (2000)

There are many ways to write a song, but perhaps one of the most fun tracks to listen to is the short story. Often, pop songs are a collection of clever lyrics. But when those clever ideas are put into a narrative, then our ears perk up. It’s enjoyable to imagine the plot in our mind’s eye. It’s just like a movie. And that’s one reason why “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus is so interesting. The track begins like a story, “Her name is Noelle / I have a dream about her.” Just like that, we want to know how it all ends for the singer.

“I Wanna Be Bad” by Willa Ford from ‘Willa Was Here’ (2001)

As music fans, we often look for what’s clever in a song. We want to be surprised with lyrical ingenuity; we want to be shown what songwriting genius is. But then there are times when we want to hear the blunt truth. We want to get down to the basics. The carnal. That’s what Willa Ford played on with her 2001 hit track, “I Wanna Be Bad”. Most of the time, we’re told to be good, upstanding people. But Ford? She wants to zag in the other direction. Indeed, she tells us as much right away, offering, “I wanna be bad with ya baby.” Like a flirtatious person in a bar, we want to get closer.

“Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley from ‘St. Elsewhere’ (2006)

Mental stability isn’t always an easy thing to achieve. Indeed, sanity can sometimes feel like it’s on a razor’s edge. And that’s the dynamic that Gnarls Barkley played on with their hit 2006 tune, “Crazy”. Right off the top, CeeLo Green lets us know he understands clarity is not always achievable. Indeed, he sings, “I remember when / I remember, I remember when I lost my mind.” The lyrics provide a sense of commiseration with his fellow music fans. CeeLo is being vulnerable, and we lap it up.

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