in need of 2005-2007 pop hit suggestions for a scene in my story

Hi! I feel like I should've introduced myself first, but... I'm a mess. I'm 18; I'm writing a book with a really, really layered plot that I can't fit in one post. It's a mix of genres, romance and comedy being some of them. I just need help right now figuring out what song to put in a particular scene.

Okay, so... it's a flashback scene. (Don't groan, please. Haha.) The guy, to whom we'll refer as Don for now, writes a heartfelt letter to his college girlfriend, Nerissa. He writes something to the effect of, "I'm not sure how to express my feelings in a way that'll make you really see that I'm smitten with you.... This is the only way I know how...."

And it's 2007 at this point; they're both 18, so Nerissa pops in his mix tape and it's a wildly inappropriate song. (Not inappropriate as in sexual, necessarily, just at odds with his heartfelt words.)

I was considering "Fire Burning" by Sean Kingston, but it was released in 2009. Then "SexyBack" by Justin Timberlake, but I thought it was maybe too sexual. "Sexy Lady" by MC Magic was on my mind too because I'm Filipino and that song is a nostalgic crossover hit (in the vein of Hawaiian band Kolohe Kai having a massive fanbase in the PH) that never fails to make me laugh, but again, too sexual. Also, Don's a British white dude, so while not impossible that he'd heard the song, it's quite unlikely. (If he were American, maybe....)

So do any of you have any 2005-2007 pop hits to suggest for the song that plays in Don's Heartfelt Mix Tape? I need something that does convey affection but maybe in a typical brash early-2000s pop way, a song that catches you off-guard in context but also something that makes sense when you think a teenage white boy in 2007 chose it. (Also, Nerissa is Korean-British, but I don't think that's all too relevant.)

P.S. It's a mix tape instead of a YouTube link or something because I think it's funnier that way. A mix tape is charmingly retro and more heartfelt-seeming a gift than an Internet link or playing something on your iPod.

Please, no harsh comments about the writing! I haven't proofread/edited it at all; it's something I typed just now to give you a sense of the scene.

 

Ah, my high school years!
Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston
Hey There Delilah by Plain White T's
She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5

Mix CD, I feel ,would be more appropriate but you do you. Those were being passed around by kids into music, despite Ipods and such being popular.

 

I can't help you with Oughties pop, but let me say it was easy to get into the feeling of your post. If you write your fiction the same way, you should be in good shape.

A good thing for you to do now is to head over to https://www.writingforums.org/new-member-introductions/ and introduce yourself. Welcome to the Forums!

 

Welcome to the forum.

This site lists UK number one songs by year - http://www.bobborst.com/popculture/number-one-songs-by-year/?y=2005&chart=uk

This site lists the top 100 songs in the UK by year - http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-2004.shtml

At a similar time to this I was passed music on CD and tape so either would be fine. A blank tape that you could record on were 60, 90 or 120 minutes (half on each side) depending on what you bought. Personally this was usually 90 minutes.

Pick just a few to mention, but any you mention there has to a be good reason why you've picked that one. Does he like it, hate it, make him cry, angry .... how does he feel about the other person when he heard it? Does he expect (insert band or song here) or is the song he expected not included?
Are the songs on this mix tape listed? Does he look forward to a particular song?

Hope this helps.

 

Kelly Clarkson and James Blunt were huge around that time. I remember taking their CDs to uni with me in 2005. Westlife was still big too. Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke (yes I watched a lot of X Factor back then)

 

@marshipan - Thank you for the tip. I'll keep that in mind. I was 4 years old in 2005, 5 in 2006, and 6 in 2007, so I wasn't really aware of that. (I planned to do some research, of course, but that was coming later.)

@big soft moose - I am aware, yes. I only plan to quote the title.

 

Rihanna's Pon De Replay was from 2005.