The Best 21st Birthday Gifts

The 21^st birthday is a big one and turning 21 is a pretty huge deal for many young adults. It is possibly one of the most exciting birthdays to celebrate. Some would argue that the 18^th Birthday is bigger as it is the first year you become an adult and you can now legally drink but being 21 just hits different. You are no longer new to the adult world and have firmly left the teens behind.

Despite 21^st birthdays being one of the last birthdays you would typically buy a gift for it can be hard finding the right gift. Many people tend to follow the same path which includes buying something alcoholic like beer or wine which would be great if they are big drinkers but if they do not drink often, it can be somewhat underwhelming and unmemorable.

The best gift is something that is memorable and unique. Something they can look back at and remember the good times. This is where Song Lyric Prints come in – we create beautiful prints, canvas & acrylic blocks featuring song lyrics from every song possible with added extras like personal photos, names, dates & messages. Below we have created a list featuring 21 of the biggest & greatest songs from the late 90s & early 00s that all young adults turning 21 one will have heard throughout their childhood!

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21st Birthday Gift Ideas

1.Britney Spears: Oops!... I Did It Again

Despite not being as successful as Britney’s first album it did sell an incredible 10 million copies in America, earning a Diamond certification. The only female artist to go Diamond with her first two albums! A record breaking 155 radio stations added this to their playlists the first week it was released. A popular hit is an understatement.

2.Kylie Minogue: Spinning Around

This reached number #1 in the UK in 2000, making it Kylie Minogue’s 5 ^th UK number #1, and her first #1 single for 10 years with her previous hit being “Tears on My Pillow” in 1990. Surely this makes Kylie Minogue the comeback queen.

3.Eminem: The Real Slim Shady

Despite being a massive tune Eminem was exhausted by the time they came up with this song and was willing to leave the album as it was and use “The Way I Am” as the first single. Thankfully, Eminem & his record company pressed ahead and create this iconic hit. Like a lot of music these days the lyrics go out their way to be offensive. Eminem was trying to create something that would cause controversy as he knows this would cause a media storm and help sell more albums.

4.Robbie Williams: Rock DJ

Interestingly the music video connected to this song was banned in the Dominican Republic after allegations of Satanism. Despite the controversy, the video was critically acclaimed and won several awards including British Video of the Year at The BRITs and Best Visual Effects at the MTV VMAs in 2001. The song samples the strings from Barry Whites’s 1977 hit, “It’s Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me.”

5.U2: Beautiful Day

U2’s hit, Beautiful Day, was a moment in history for the music industry with the song being one of the first major releases made available for download. A trend that would literally shape the future of the music industry. Fans could stream the song from U2.com before it was released. It also hit the number #1 spot in the UK despite a duet by Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue being heavy favourites to claim the top spot.

6.Atomic Kitten: Whole Again

Recently having a resurgence thanks to the England team reaching the 2018 FIFA World Cup Semi-finals. Football fans adopted the song and changed the lyrics to support manager Gareth Southgate. 

The chant’s lyrics were:

Southgate, you’re the one

You still turn me on,

Football’s coming home again

The original lyrics were:

Baby you’re the one

You still turn me on

You can make me whole again

The chant became that popular that Atomic Kitten re-recorded their hit song and added the Gareth Southgate line for the Euro 2020 celebrations.

7.DJ Ötzi: Hey Baby

Following the football theme. Austrian artist, DJ Ötzi’s cover titled “Het Baby (Uhh, Ahh) came out in July 2000 as the lead single from his debut solo album, Love, Peace & Vollgas. It was then re-released when it became the unofficial theme song for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. It reached number on in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia.

8.Girls Aloud: Sound of The Underground

This was written and produced by renowned song writing and production company, Xenomania. Xenomania produced a lot of the hits from Girls Aloud as well as songs for other iconic girl bands & artists including The Sugababes, Kylie Minogue, Cher & Steps. The song was originally written for girl band Orchid earlier in the year but was never released. Girls Aloud then recorded it as their debut single and retained the voices of Orchid in the background and credited them as backing singers.

9.Busted: Crashed the Wedding

Despite being one of Busted’s biggest hit the song was in fact written by McFly band member Tom Fletcher with James Bourne. The song is about the narrator “crashing” the wedding of an ex-girlfriend (Something we would advise against). “Crashed the Wedding” was Busted’s second single to reach number one in the UK with the first week sales hitting 55,000.

10.Peter Andre: Mysterious Girl

This reggae track was one of the biggest sellers in the UK in 1996 with a staggering 750,000 copies sold. Despite this it only hit #53 but then was re-released the following year and hit #2 in the UK and sold two million copies worldwide. The song was then re-released for a 3 ^rd time in 2004 after Andre’s successful stint on UK reality show I’m a celebrity, Get Me Out of Here and hit the top of the charts.

Like all great songs there is always some controversy behind them with Peter Andre having an affair with his female co-star Jan Pen while in a relationship with his Australian girlfriend, Katharine Maddock.

11.McFly: Five Colours in Her Hair

The debut UK #1 single for McFly was a massive hit among teenagers and young adults which kick started a phenomenally successful career in the music industry. Written by band members Danny Jones & Tom Fletcher plus help from fellow musician & pop group member James Bourne. Inspired by actress Emily Corrie’s character Suzanne ‘Sooz’ Lee, who appears in the British TV teen drama “As If”

12.DJ Casper: Cha Cha Slide

I think it might be virtually impossible to attend a party and not have this absolute anthem pull everyone to the dance floor. DJ Casper created this song for the American health club chain Bally’s Fitness, who developed a workout routine around the song. It them caught on with gym members, which led to its release as single. The song continued to grow and gained traction in America at dance clubs, weddings, and other celebrations.

13.Usher: Burn

This song focuses on a young guy who breaks his girlfriend’s heart by breaking up with her which he later grows to regret. He feels like he is burning without her, but she is not coming back. We guess you could consider this a love song. With this transatlantic #1, Usher broke the record for the most consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Before Usher popular vocal group Boyz II Men held the record for the longest time consecutively spent at number one which was 16 weeks, but with the release of Yeah! and Burn by Usher saw this was record smashed after he spent 19 weeks at no.1. The record was later blown out the water by The Black Eyed Peas who topped the chart for 26 weeks in 2009.

14.Eric Prydz: Call on Me

The dance classic from Eric Prydz was inspired by the song “Valerie,” which was originally recorded in 1982 by Steve Winwood. The first version of the track sampled the original recording but upon asking for Steve’s approval he reportedly offered to re-sing the vocals to fit the track better. Winwood’s contribution to this track made him the only person to sing lead vocals on a UK #1 single in both the 1960s with “Keep on Running” by the Spencer Davis Group and the 2000s with “Call on Me”.

Spending 3 weeks at #1 before Robbie Williams’ “Radio” knocked it off the top spot. A week later Williams was knocked off the top spot when “Call on Me” reclaimed the number one position.

15.Stereophonics: Dakota

This was Stereophonics first ever UK number 1 which made them the first all-Welsh group to top the UK charts since the Manic Street Preachers hit #1 at the start of the 2000s. David Bowie played a part in the song’s conception when the Stereophonics toured with him in 2003. Bowie would attend their soundcheck ahead of each show and was quoted saying “You know, if you extended a few of those songs, you might be f*cking onto something.

16.James Blunt: You’re Beautiful

Often perceived as a very romantic song there is a very unsettling back story to it which he mentioned in 2017. “It is not the song that people think it is. It is about this guy who is high as a kite stalking someone else’s girlfriend – and should be locked up and put in prison. But people think, ‘Ah, he’s a sweet romantic.’ If you think that is what romance is, then I think you are pretty weird.”

The song reached the #1 spot after a staggering seven weeks in the UK charts with four of them weeks in the top 3.

17.Akon: Lonely

Based on a fractured relationship between a boy & girl the song focuses on a boyfriend who neglects his girlfriend and takes her for granted. One day he wakes up and she has walked out and left him. It is only in her absence that he realizes what she means to him and comes to appreciate her.

a remix of the classic 1964 Bobby Vinton hit “Mr. Lonely.” The sample was sped-up so it would sound similar to The Chipmunks!

18.Gorillaz: DARE

This song features the former Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder. The #1 UK hit DARE was originally going to be called “It’s There,” but was altered because Shaun Ryder’s broad Mancunian accent made it sound like he was saying “It’s Dare”

19.Shakira ft Wyclef Jean: Hips Don’t Lie

The “Hips Don’t Lie” single comes from Shakira’s in-studio behaviour in which her band members need to watch her hips to determine where a song they are working on needs to go. If they are not moving, something is wrong. Shakira was quoted “I would tell them, ‘Listen, hips do not lie. If they are not moving, this is not working. If they shake, we are in good shape’.” Shakira then took her private joke with the band and created a music hit that focuses on a women’s seductive powers through dance

20.Beyonce ft Jay-Z: Déjà vu

A love song based around the feeling of familiarity and long-term commitment. This song features Beyonce’s boyfriend Jay-Z who expresses his love for the singer and raps about how he used to be a womanizer, but now he is dedicated to her. Beyonce also sings about the love each other share and how the rapper has become a constant in her life much like Déjà vu.

21.Kayne West: Stronger

Based on Daft Puk’s song “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” which peaked at #25 in 2001. The Daft Punk duo cooperated with Kayne West in allowing him to place his rap lyrics over their electronic pop rhythm and were delighted when they heard the finished product.

The lyrics, “Now that-that-that that don’t kill me can only make me stronger” are based on an extremely famous quote from the German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: “What does not kill me makes me stronger.”

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Honourable mentions:

Basshunter: Now You’re Gone

Katy Perry: I Kissed a Girl

Lady Gaga: Poker Face

The Black Eyed Peas: Boom Boom Pow

The above songs are iconic hits that we are sure a lot of young adults will love but if they do not take your fancy, we can create custom prints featuring any song you want! Simply head to this  page, find your favourite design, enter the song information on the product page and then click order! These are really unique 21 ^st birthday gifts we are sure your boyfriend, girlfriend, brother, or sister will love.