A majority of us have little recollection of the monumental events in America in 2009, but the one thing that will always stick in our head is the music that defined our childhoods. We listened to these songs while riding in the backseat of our parents’ car, belting out every song that played.

    In terms of music, ten years is a sufficient amount of time for popular sounds, artists and music tastes to change. So, do the songs of our childhood live up to the hype that was set in our elementary years?

    You decide. Here are ten tunes that were popular in 2009:

10. Heartless, Kanye West

    From his fourth album, 808 & Heartbreak, West’s melancholy electro single allowed him to transition from Rapper of the Decade, to Hip-Hop Innovator. Pulling from madness in many aspects of his life, West was able to articulate the feelings of betrayal and heartbreak in a way that didn’t soften its hip-hop core. The song had a relatively slow and gloomy melody, but it didn’t stop this song from being played at parties.

9. Love Story, Taylor Swift

    From her groundbreaking, second album, Fearless, Taylor Swift was thrusted into the spotlight as the shiny, new country-pop crossover artist through this song. A very young Swift told the story of a forbidden love she had by referencing Romeo and Juliet. Upbeat, but still having a country twang, this song was an outlier in sound and genre.

8. Right Round, Flo Rida (featuring Ke$ha)

    This fast paced and catchy song was the embodiment of pop culture at the time. In 2009, everyone wanted money, designer clothes, parties and the all-too cringey “swag.” This song completely embodied that party lifestyle. One year before, Ke$ha became a household name with Tik Tok. She was a back vocal for Flo Rida, the king of mainstream hip-hop.

7. The Climb, Miley Cyrus

    Hannah Montana: The Movie was a big part of our childhoods. Even though it was really contradictory to the series, since none of the movie was ever mentioned in later episodes (i.e. how Hannah revealed she was Miley to a whole town), Hannah Montana: The Movie gave the series more depth. Especially with The Climb. This song, though emotional, was still very uplifting.

6. I Gotta Feeling, The Black Eyed Peas

    I gotta feeling this song has a lot of memories for most people. The Black Eyed Peas controlled the charts of the 2000s, and rightfully so. Their feel-good album The E.N.D. had several gems, such as this song about living your life and partying your way through. I Gotta Feeling was the epitome of songs you could get ready to.

5. Paparazzi, Lady Gaga

    Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi showed a range of her talents that Poker Face didn’t. Despite having less of an EDM sound and more pop, this song was still an outlier in sound because of its slower tempo, while still being fun.

4. Party in the USA, Miley Cyrus

    Straying from her Hannah Montana, Disney persona, Miley Cyrus released this new-American classic in her first EP, The Time of Our Lives. Telling the story of moving from Nashville, to Hollywood, with the American flag flashed throughout the whole music video, it showed the overall message of music bringing people together and the struggle of moving somewhere scary and new.

3. 3. Poker Face, Lady Gaga

    Lady Gaga’s reputation ten years ago was nothing like what it is today. Today, she is a  world-renowned, Oscar and Golden Globe nominated, Grammy-winning artist, but, in 2009, she was an up and coming artist who wore crazy, sparkly costumes for publicity. Poker Face was part of her debut album, The Fame, and peaked at number two on Billboard’s end of year Top 100 chart. This song was an amazing outlier in sound to the rest of the songs that were in the top 10, mainstreaming EDM pop, while also having an 80s feel to it. It ultimately contributed to two of her five Grammy nominations that year.

2. Boom Boom Pow, The Black Eyed Peas

    The number one song of 2009, Boom Boom Pow, was up tempo and had a hard-hitting sound that skyrocketed into a powerhouse single off of their album, The E.N.D. The tone of each member’s parts were uniform, until that swift change into a new sound. The song began with all four members of the group doing fast raps to apl.de.ap and will.i.am’s futuristic auto-tuned verse, and then included Fergie’s emotional breakdown of the song, holding long notes, and finally, will.i.am finished the song with auto-tuned hook. This song was energized, fast paced and got you hyped.

1. Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It), Beyoncé

    From her third album, I Am… Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé’s hit single was forever solidified in pop culture history as iconic. From the upbeat tempo, to the black and white music video, to the body suits and dance, everything about this song was memorable. It gave the message of not needing to be in a relationship to have fun, while also calling on people to put a ring on it! Single Ladies is now a Beyoncé classic, and rightfully so. It is a universal party favorite, playing at parties, weddings, dances or pretty much anywhere. To this day, when this song comes on, anywhere, the whole room knows.