2002 (song)

"2002" is a song by English singer and songwriter Anne-Marie from her debut studio album Speak Your Mind (2018). It was released on 20 April 2018 as the sixth single from the album. She co-wrote the song with Ed Sheeran, Julia Michaels, Benny Blanco, and its producer Steve Mac. Other people officially credited as co-writers are Andreas Carlsson, George Clinton, El DeBarge, Randy DeBarge, Jay E, Ice-T, Etterlene Jordan, Kristian Lundin, Max Martin, Nelly, Alphonso Henderson, Jake Schulze, and City Spud, due to co-writing or being sampled on one of the songs referenced in the chorus.

"2002" was a commercial success, becoming one of Anne-Marie's most successful singles worldwide. It peaked at number three on the UK singles chart, becoming Anne-Marie's fourth top-ten single at the time. The song has also reached the top ten in seven countries, including Australia, where it reached number four, Scotland where it peaked at number 3 and Ireland were it peaked at number 2. It was a massive success in South Korea, topping the country's year-end chart in 2019. It was the first non-Korean track on the chart to achieve this result, as well as being the only foreign song, and second overall, to surpass 2.2 billion digital index points on Gaon. "2002" is also the fourth longest charting song in Melon history, leaving the chart after 145 weeks and the only non-Korean song to be streamed over 350 million times on the platform.

Background
"2002" is a love ballad about a childhood romance of Anne-Marie's that took place in the titular year. She wrote the song with Ed Sheeran, Benny Blanco, Julia Michaels and Steve Mac. She was not initially planning to release "2002" as a single, but finally caved in after constant pestering from Sheeran on Instagram to bring it out.

The beginning of the song's chorus, "Oops, I got 99 problems singing 'bye, bye, bye' / Hold up, if you wanna go and take a ride with me / Better hit me, baby, one more time", references six songs released between 1998 and 2004: "...Baby One More Time", "Oops!... I Did It Again", "99 Problems", "Bye Bye Bye", "The Next Episode" and "Ride wit Me". In an interview with Polish music magazine luvPOP, Anne-Marie explained the song: "It is all about that year, when I was that age just listening to that music that I loved at that time. You know, Christina Aguilera, Missy Elliott. All of these songs...Yeah, it just takes me back to that time." In a March 2017 interview, she mentioned Alanis Morissette as a big influence on her while growing up.

Composition
"2002" is originally in the key of E major with a tempo of 96 beats per minute and a time signature of. The chord progression E–B–C♯m–G♯m–A–B–E is used in the verses; the progression C♯m–A–E–B–A–B in the pre-choruses and bridge, A–E–B–C♯m in the choruses, and E–B–C♯m–A (the I–V–vi–IV progression) after the last chorus.

Music video
The official music video was directed by Hannah Lux Davis, who also directed the video for Anne-Marie's previous single "Friends". It was filmed in London and uploaded to YouTube on 8 May 2018. It features Anne-Marie recreating the videos of the songs referenced in the chorus; as well as Cerys Hill as young Anne-Marie.

As of June 2024, the video has gained over 863 million views and 5 million likes.