3 Popular Songs From the 2000s That Everyone Knew the Chorus To—and Nothing Else

If one thing has remained the same over the decades, it’s that pop music adores a strong chorus. If you can grip a listener in with a few lines and an earworm hook, you’ve got yourself a pop hit. The verses are secondary to fleshing out the refrain. Everyone knows the three 2000s pop songs below for their choruses. Far fewer know the rest of the words.

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“Hey Ya!” (OutKast)

It’s considered extremely impressive if you know all the words to OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” It’s karaoke on “expert” mode. Not just any casual listener can do it. The motor-mouth verses are incredibly satisfying to listen to, but hard to wrap your brain around.

It’s really only the chorus that most of us can sing along to. Moreover, most people in the pop listening world know this ’03 masterpiece. Many OutKast fans may take pride in the notion that they can rap alongside the best of them, but it only took a couple of memorable verses for this song to wow audiences the world over.

“Iris” (Goo Goo Dolls)

The verse melody of the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” is highly memorable. Most of us could hum along to the song in pretty perfect time. But the verse lyrics aren’t as widely perfected, at least when compared to the number of people who know the chorus like the back of their hand.

I don’t want the world to see me / ‘Cause I don’t think that they’d understand / When everything’s made to be broken / I just want you to know who I am, the chorus reads. It’s one of the most memorable refrains of the ’00s, effectively obscuring the rest of the song for many listeners.

“This Love” (Maroon 5)

Like “Iris, Maroon 5’s “This Love” is a song whose verse melody was instantly catchy. However, the lyrics in the verses aren’t as readily recalled. The chorus, however, is an undisputed earworm. This is one of those songs that is ingrained in the public consciousness. You may not remember learning it, but whenever it comes on, you can sing along to the chorus without a sweat.

The lines, This love has taken its toll on me / She said goodbye too many times before epitomized ’00s pop-rock. When thinking of songs that shaped the sub-genre in this era, “This Love” is one of the first to come to mind.

(Photo by Prince Williams/WireImage)