IF YOU ENTERED teenagehood at the dawn of the new millennium, you very likely worshipped at the altar of Dido.
While the release of her debut album, No Angel, in 1999 failed to make an impact, its re-release in 2001 coupled with the Thank You sample used on Eminem’s Stan made Dido a household name.
But what was it about her that made so many of us want to be just like her?
We take a look…
1. She had Eminem’s approval
Known for consistently pouring scorn on many of his fellow artists, it seemed to take a lot to impress Eminem.
And since we all thought Marshall Maters was the second coming back then, his seal of approval meant a hell of a lot.
2. She made us think we could work short hair
And for that confidence boost alone, she had our appreciation.
We were wrong, of course, but we will always cherish the memories.
3. She tapped into the beginning of our teenage angst
But she did it without us having to remove ‘Parental Advisory’ stickers from the cover of her CDs.
We’d heard tell of the likes of music icons like Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon, and as far as we could see, we had our very own in the form of Dido.
4. We liked her family connections
Dido’s older brother, Rollo, was a founding member of Faithless.
And that fact alone gave her an extra kick of kudos.
5. Her wardrobe gave us genuine style goals
Unlike the sequinned extravaganaza that was Destiny’s Child or the latex spectacle that was Britney Spears, Dido’s wardrobe was attainable.
String tops, bootcut jeans and a slight boho flair; sure, one trip to Topshop and you’d be laughing.
6. She seemed ridiculously down-to-earth
The thought of getting starstuck around Dido seemed pretty absurd; she was like the big sister we didn’t have, for God’s sake.
We’d have been wrong, of course, but props to her personality for making us think she would shoot the breeze with us over the most recent Home Ec dramz.
