12 Pop-Culture Events That Happened 15 Years Ago

1) Halle Berry was the first black actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Monster's Ball.
As of 2017, she is still the only black actress to ever win an Academy Award for Best Actress.

2) Britney and Justin went splitsville.
Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, the iconic duo, broke up in 2002. The days of matching denim outfits were done hence forth.

3) Michael Jackson caused controversy when he dangled Prince Michael II off a balcony of a hotel room in Berlin.
Michael Jackson, the proclaimed King of Pop was no stranger to controversy by this unusual incident. However, it did get people talking.

4) During the up and coming time of reality television, 'The Anna Nicole Show' and 'The Osbournes' both premiered.
Reality TV was really on the up and up during this time period and two of the biggest early reality TV shows to ever debut came on the air that year with the Anna Nicole Show and The Osbournes.

5) Eminem's The Eminem Show was the biggest-selling album of 2002 selling over seven and a half million copies!
Guess who's back? Back again? Shady's back. Tell a friend!

6) Avril Lavigne came onto the scene with her debut album.
Avril Lavigne became the anti-pop queen with her hits "Sk8erboi" and "Complicated" from her debut album Let Go. Everyone loved that album and new pop-punk sound!

7) The original Sims computer game was one of the biggest cultural computer hits of 2002.
I can't count the countless hours I spent playing God in The Sims as a teenager. Back then, that was the game to play. Rosebud.

8) Apple released its second-generation iPod, which boasted a huge storage space of a max of 20 GB but with a main release of 10GB.
Funny how things change in a decade or two, huh? 20 GB is nothing compared to the storage capacity we have now.

9) American Idol debuted.
Kelly Clarkson won the first season of what would become the iconic American Idol series. Now we know that Kelly Clarkson has gone on to become one of the most successful pop/country artists of the decade.

10) The first cell phone to have a built-in camera was released.
Things never were the same again. Camera phones have changed the game, folks. Can you imagine a phone without a camera now?

11) Rosie O'Donnell announced that she was gay.
Hint: It was a big deal.

12) Out of 8 number one hits of 2002, Ja Rule appeared twice in the number one spot.
Can you imagine? I can't remember the last time I heard Ja Rule on the radio let alone having 2 hits in one year.