the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 2008 in Canada

To be fifteen in Canada in 2008 was to have “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry everywhere, The Dark Knight on every screen, and Corner Gas on after school. That year, gas cost $1.19/L and The iPhone in Canada was the new thing. Born in 1993? You turned 15 in 2008 — a teenager from 2006 to 2012, right in the window a soundtrack bonds to you for life.

Compiled by the Original Lore archive from period charts, box-office and price records. How we build these · sources noted throughout.

▶ Play your 2008 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 2008

I Kissed a Girl — Katy Perry

4 Minutes — Madonna feat. Justin TimberlakeMadonna and Timberlake ticking down like a countdown clock made cramming for finals feel oddly glamorous.
Take a Bow — RihannaRihanna's kiss-off ballad was the text you finally sent before deleting his number that August.
Gotta Be Somebody — NickelbackEven the Nickelback haters hummed this one, its yearning hook sneaking into every graduation slideshow.
Viva la Vida — ColdplayColdplay's marching strings and 'I used to rule the world' were the grandest thing on every summer-2008 mixtape.
Low — Flo Rida feat. T-PainApple-bottom jeans and boots with the fur — the ringtone-rap chant of a whole reckless dance floor.

▶ Play your 2008 reel

why this one mattered

It owned Canadian radio wall-to-wall from the last day of school clear through most of August — nine straight weeks at #1, the actual soundtrack of that specific summer.

the year-end #1 was Held #1 on the Canadian Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks, June 21 – Aug 16, 2008, tied for the longest run of the year.