2002: A thousand miles, a little less conversation and a whole lot of great music

John Mayer’s “Your Body Is a Wonderland”, also on our countdown, would go on to earn him a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Technology was changing quickly too. In 2002, Nokia handsets such as the 3510, 6610 and 7210 were introducing more people to colour screens, polyphonic ringtones and downloadable Java games, while the Nokia 7650 pushed things even further as the company’s first phone with a built-in camera. Taking a picture on your phone and sending it as an MMS suddenly felt incredibly futuristic — even if the image quality would look tiny by today’s standards.

And because this Classic Countdown lands on Heritage Weekend, it’s worth turning the volume up on the South African music that was helping define 2002 too. Danny K’s “Hurts So Bad” had become a major local radio hit, reaching No. 1 on stations around the country and establishing him as one of South Africa’s new R&B stars. James Stewart’s “A Man Like Me” also topped the SA Rockdigest chart that year, while Watershed’s “Indigo Girl” was becoming something even bigger: a distinctly South African song beginning to find an audience far beyond our borders.

“Indigo Girl” went from South African radio to international airwaves — all because the right person happened to hear it while on holiday.

The story behind “Indigo Girl” is particularly special. A German radio DJ reportedly heard the song while visiting South Africa, took it home and played it on air — helping Watershed build an international following in Europe. Years later, songwriter Craig Hinds revealed that the song almost didn’t make much of an impression on him at first, describing it as something he had originally regarded almost like a B-side.

And the local flavour doesn’t stop there. This week’s countdown also features Wess-Lee’s “Like a Holiday”, Tamara Dey’s “What Am I To Do”, BLK’s “Born in a Taxi” and James Stewart alongside Danny K and Watershed — a little snapshot of just how varied South African pop, rock, R&B and dance music had become at the start of the new millennium.

Away from music, football fans watched Brazil lift their fifth FIFA World Cup after Ronaldo scored twice against Germany in the final. At the movies, South Africans flocked to see Spider-Man, while Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Ice Age, Men in Black II and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers helped make it a memorable year for cinema.

There was also a future South African superstar entering the world. Tyla was born in Gauteng on 30 January 2002, more than two decades before taking South African pop to a massive international audience.

Did You Know?

2002 quietly changed the way millions of people would listen to music. Apple introduced new iPods that year—and, crucially, made the device available to Windows users for the first time. The biggest model could carry an astonishing 4,000 songs. At the time, that felt like having the entire record shop in your pocket.

And speaking of reinvention, “A Little Less Conversation” proved that even Elvis Presley could have a new hit 25 years after his death. The JXL remix became a massive international success in 2002 and took the song to number one in the UK.

From Avril and Kylie to Shakira, Robbie Williams, Mary J. Blige and local favourites, 2002 packed an extraordinary amount of music into twelve months.

Turn it up. This one deserves to be played loud!