File this under: core memories, party rings, and pop hazards.
Picture it: roughly the turn of the millennium — my 9th or 10th birthday. The living room had been transformed into the ultimate party venue: balloons (aka pop hazards), paper plates stacked with party rings, and a hired karaoke machine that I thought would be the jewel in my birthday crown.
It started innocently enough. The karaoke book was chunky with hits of the moment — S Club 7, Backstreet Boys, Shania — but one name loomed larger than all the rest: Britney Spears. And apparently, every single guest had received a secret memo saying, “Choose Britney or else.”
One after another, kids queued up and scrolled past dozens of options to land squarely on …Baby One More Time. I heard that iconic intro so many times it basically became our national anthem. A couple of brave rebels switched it up with Oops!… I Did It Again, but let’s be honest — that was just Britney in a different outfit.
Then came the twist. Two girls stepped up — cool, confident, clearly plotting. They didn’t even glance at Britney’s page. They flicked straight to Steps. And not the usual suspects like Tragedy or 5, 6, 7, 8. They chose the dramatic ballad: One for Sorrow.
The room went quiet. This was bold. This was risky. This… was art. They sang like their lives depended on it — every line soaked in melodrama only 10-year-olds who’d never been dumped could muster. When they hit that chorus? The crowd went wild.
By the end, it was obvious: they’d won the unofficial karaoke crown. Even the Britney army had to concede defeat. My birthday party was saved from a full Oops! overload, and One for Sorrow became the surprise anthem of the day.
🎀 Daisy’s Corner
Okay but… why didn’t you win your own karaoke party? I’d have rolled in with Reach by S Club 7 — choreography, key change, possibly a glitter cannon, and definitely a fee at the door. Monetise the chaos, babes.
Filed under: karaoke, early 00s, Britney vs Steps, birthday chaos.
Asten Does Nostalgia 
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