Today is my birthday. Not how I expected my birthday to go, but grateful none the less to be celebrating another birthday. Last year for my birthday post, I talked about the 16 most important movies to me. Not technically my favorite movies, but the movies that meant a lot to me. This year I went back in history and reevaluate what was happening on the day I was born, or at least the week of. And I found some pretty interesting things out.

April 10, 2003

#1 on the Billboard Hot 100 – In Da Club

I’m not a huge fan of 50 Cent as a person, but I can deny his abilities as an artist. In Da Club is one of the most instantly recognizable songs ever. It’s arguable as popular as it was 17 years ago, if not more due to it being used in several television shows and movies. It’s easy to see why, it still as catchy as it was in 2003. Not a bad song to be on number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on your birthday.

#1 Movie at the Box Office – Phone Booth

I had only heard of Phone Booth because I recognized it played on television once a few years ago. I didn’t actually watch it then, but I remember reading the plot of it and it stuck in my brain. So seeing it was number one at the Box Office on my birthday was a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. I don’t recall thinking Phone Booth was a hit because I had never heard anyone actually talk about it before. But while researching, I learn it earned 97 million worldwide on a 13 million budget. Well that shows what little I know. I actually watched Phone Booth solely curious on what appealed to a 2003 audience and wow was I taken aback by just how 2003 it looked like. The movie is outdated in how it looks like, but it’s not a bad movie, I actually enjoyed it and not just because it felt like an alternate universe episode of 24 with Kieffer Sutherland as the villain. I’ll talk more about that in my Month In Review for April, but I would say this was a good representation of 2003 while actually holding up beyond it.

The New York Times Best Selling Book – The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Week of April 6, 2003)

The Da Vinci Code is a classic…that I have never read and have no opinion on. Quite frankly, I thought The Da Vinci Code was a lot older than just 17. I have heard mixed things about the book, some say it’s good, others say it’s boring. I don’t have an opinion one way or another. Has anyone actually read this? Is it worth reading or should I stay far away from it, because of how the opinions I have seen range from?

Notable People I Share a Birthday With

• Mandy Moore
• David Harbour
• Shay Mitchell
• Chyler Leigh
• AJ Michalka
• Daisy Ridely
• Sofia Carson
• Maren Morris

Have any thoughts about the following things that were popular today 17 years ago? Did you help make Phone Booth number #1 at the Box Office by watching it in theaters or have you ever even seen it at all? Share in the comments down below.