Exploring English songs growing up felt like venturing into a tempting yet uncharted lane that looked intimidating initially but became more and more captivating every step of the way. I come from a generation where people my age, or at least in my surroundings, had a ‘collective’ exposure to English songs. Celine Dion’s iconic My Heart Will Go On; music by Enrique Iglesias and Backstreet Boys were among the earliest entries in our English playlist.
Not me stating the obvious, but when I say English songs, I mean foreign music in general, or at least that’s how we perceived it. So when ‘Brazil La La La La…’ played in the waterparks, it meant we had to raise one hand and jump on the spot.
That is to say, my childhood was awesome. And if you’ve been a Gen-Z or a cusp Gen-Z-Millennial (Zillenials, as they call it) like me, you’d most definitely relate to this English music playlist that coloured our childhood. If not all, these are the first few English songs we COLLECTIVELY heard and vibed to just because it felt COOL (for the lack of a better word) doing it. Take a look:
1. One Love by Blue
2. Addicted by Enrique Iglesias
3. Love Story by Taylor Swift
How she wrote this song in 20 minutes remains a mystery to me!
4. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams by Green Day
5. TiK ToK by Kesha
Dancing already?
6. Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely by Backstreet Boys
7. Lonely by Akon
8. Umbrella by Rihanna
This song will now always remind me of Tom Holland.
9. Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You) by Enrique Iglesias
Enrique was a phase I have still not recovered from. BY CHOICE.
10. In The End by Linkin Park
‘It starts with one thing…’
11. My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion
Not to generalise or anything, but this song is quite like the FIRST ENGLISH SONG ANY INDIAN GEN-Z HAS EVER HEARD.
12. Summer Of ’69 by Bryan Adams
‘Those were the best days of my life!’ (*sighs in nostalgia*)
13. You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift
There’s a reason why I’ve put this song on number 13. ‘What if I told you none of it is accidental?’
14. Baby ft. Ludacris by Justin Bieber
I asked my Instagram friends on Gen-Z about the first English song they recall hearing, and literally so many people said this.
15. Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira
16. My Happy Ending by Avril Lavigne
Still the most powerful breakup song!
17. The Ketchup Song by Las Ketchup
Who said “Aserejé ja de jé” and not “AZERE HE HA HEHE“?
18. Quit Playing Games by Backstreet Boys
19. Love The Way You Lie ft. Rihanna by Eminem
20. To Brazil by Vengaboys
“This is the national anthem of water parks in India“, reads the first comment from the music video.
21. Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day
I remember a school friend of mine added this song as their Facebook status because September was the month of half-yearly exams. And yes, that’s also how I heard this song for the very first time.
22. Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne
23. Best of Both Worlds from Hannah Montana
Day 9000 of missing the best of Disney shows.
24. I Need You by Marc Anthony
25. Numb by Linkin Park
26. Rhythm Divine by Enrique Iglesias
Ending with 26 cos the oldest from Gen-Zs will be 26 this year. Rhythm Divine by Enrique was one of my first English songs, happily introduced into my life with the blessings of my cousins.
Which song remains timeless for you?
PS – A special thank you to my friends on Instagram who responded to my story, sharing their very first English songs. Collating this piece brought back lots of happy memories. And I hope it did the same for you as it did for me.