10 Reasons Why 2006 Was the Craziest Year in Music
A decade ago, things were crazy... but just how crazy?
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Back in the Day - It’s hard to believe that a decade ago, Twitter was just launched and not as popular, and Facebook was still only for the college enrolled. Yes, the days of yesteryear were so different — simpler even. Though, that didn’t stop 2006 from being a year in music that would propel many of our favorite artists to new levels of popularity and prime them for the next decade. Let’s look back at why 2006 was the craziest year in music. – Jon Reyes (Photo from left: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for JCPenney, Michael Bezjian/Getty Images For Ben Levy Art, Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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Nelly Furtado was a "promiscuous girl," thanks to Timbaland. As wonky of a transition as this was, it gave Furtado the biggest hits of her career and readied Timbaland for a major pop comeback. - (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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At the top of the calendar year, hip-hop lost J Dilla from complications due to lupus. Just days before his death his critically acclaimed album, Donuts, was released and still sets a standard for sound and production. - (Photo: Courtesy Delicious Vinyl Music)
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Maybe we all forgot this Kanye West co-sign, but this was the year that Diddy’s former personal valet, Fonzworth Bentley, began his recording debut with his first single, “Laid Back.” - (Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images)
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The Beyhive petitioned to have Beyoncé reshoot the flagship video off B’Day, "Deja Vu." Not like it needed it, since the album was one of the top first week sales figures of that year. The Beyhive has come a long way. - (Photo: Columbia Records)
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Prince took a shot at Justin Timberlake after the release of “Sexyback” when he said: “For whoever is claiming that they are bringing sexy back, sexy never left!” Timberlake would respond a year later on Timbaland’s single, “Give It to Me.” - (Photo from left: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images, Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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50 Cent hasn’t really changed — consistency is key. In 2006, he picked a fight with Oprah for not booking rappers on her show. It’s cool though; they’ve since made up. - (Photo from left: ri Perilstein/Getty Images for Laird Apparel LLC, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for JCPenney)
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If you thought the internet was crazy now, it was even crazier back then. A ridiculous rumor that Ne-Yo wrote Rihanna’s hit single, “Unfaithful,” about a man he was romantically involved with began to make the rounds prompting him to have to respond and dispel the rumor. Rumor mills have no chill, but that same year we did get the birth of Ne-Yo the artist with the release of his debut album, My Own Words. - (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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If in 1996 you had told us that Wyclef would give a Colombian artist her biggest hit by producing a song titled “Hips Don't Lie,” we would have never believed you. That, in fact, ended up happening in 2006 with "Shakira, Shakira." - (Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images)
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Fourteen years into her career, Mary J. Blige wasn’t done and was riding the wave of “Be Without You” which was a huge crossover hit, but also the most successful R&B song in history at the time. - (Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Live Nation)