2000s

2000:

American Top 40 celebrates its 30th anniversary on July 4 (although the show was off the air from early 1995 - to early 1998).

A special Y2K show is aired, where Casey plays important moments in rock history. The special is geared more toward AT20 stations rather than AT40 stations.

AT40 abandons the Radio and Records Pop chart for an unpublished Mediabase 24/7 chart.

The number one song of the year is "Everything You Want" by Vertical Horizon, a song that never reached number one during the year.

The AT40 Flashback series debuts on 31 December 2000. This series re-aired portions of AT40 shows from the 1980s.

News headlines from 2000 include: US Presidential Election is a close one, with the US Supreme Court ruling that Bush is the winner, A Concorde aircraft crashes in France, Mad Cow disease alarms Europe.

2001:

AT20 has a special to update to the Top Christmas songs of all time.

AT40 returns to the Radio and Records Pop chart.

The number one song of the year is "Hanging by a Moment" by Lifehouse, a song that never reached number one during the year.

News headlines from 2001: A devastating terrorist attack kills thousands in New York City when planes are crashed into the World Trade Center, Anthrax scare in USA, the movie Gladiator wins 5 Oscars.

2002:

The number one song of the year is "How You Remind Me" by Nickelback.

AT20 repeats the same Christmas special aired in 2001.

The AT40 Flashback series ends on 28 December 2002.

News headlines from 2002: Former US President Jimmy Carter wins Nobel Peace Prize, USA and Russia reach a landmark arms agreement, Singer Alicia Keys wins 5 Grammy Awards.

2003:

The number one song of the year is "When I'm Gone" by 3 Doors Down

AT20 updates the Christmas special.

News headlines from 2003:  USA and Britain launch a war in Iraq, The space shuttle Columbia is destroyed on re-entry,  Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger elected governor of California.

Click the American Top 10 logo to hear a jingle from the show.

2004:

Casey Kasem retires from AT40. His last show airs 3 January 2004.

Ryan Seacrest takes over as host of AT40. The show drops the long distance dedication and changes charts to an unpublished Mediabase chart.

The number one song for the year on AT40 is "Yeah" by Usher

Casey's AT20 AC becomes American Top 10 and now features a "Spotlight", a theme for many of the extras during the show.

Late in the year, American Top 40 (Hot AC) debuts giving Ryan Seacrest two shows, while Casey still has American Top 20 and American Top 10

AT10 goes all Christmas for several weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday.

News headlines from 2004: NATO adds 7 new countries, the Olympics take place in Athens, Greece, A devastating tsunami hits Asia late in the year.

2005:

American Top 40 celebrated its 35th Anniversary on July 4 (although the show was off the air from early 1995 - to early 1998)

A special edition of AT10 airs only on one New York City radio station. The show is only 1 hour in length as opposed to the usual 3 hours and features only the top 10 songs.

AT10 again goes all Christmas for several weeks, beginning before Thanksgiving. The station in NYC does not air the Christmas specials.

The number one song of the year is "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson.

News headlines from 2005:  Hurricane Katrina causes major damage to the USA Gulf Coast,  John Roberts becomes the new Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, the final Star Wars move, "Revenge of the Sith" premiers.

2006:

The number one song of the year on AT40 is "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean.

Another spin-off show of AT40 debuts, "American Top 40: The 1970s", Similar to the AT40 Flashback series, this show airs the complete 3 hour AT40s from the 1970s.

News headlines from 2006: Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is convicted in Iraq and is hanged in Baghdad, Pluto loses its planet status and becomes a "dwarf planet", The world's population reaches 6.5 billion.

2007:

The number one song of the year is "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie.

A virtual reincarnation of the AT40 Flashback show debuts: "American Top 40: The 1980s". Unlike the Flashback shows, these are complete 4 hour shows from 1980-August 6, 1988. The first hour is optional though.

News headlines from 2007: Nancy Pelosi becomes the first woman speaker of the House of Representatives in the USA, A group of scientists declares the global warming is very likely due to human activity, Buenos Aires in Argentina experiences its first snowfall in nearly 90 years.

2008:

The number one song of the year is "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis.

News headlines from 2008: A financial crisis begins in the USA, Barack Obama becomes the first African American to be voted President of the USA, India launches its first unmanned spacecraft.

2009:

Casey Kasem retires on July 4 after 39 years of counting down the hits. This ends the American Top 20 and American Top 10 shows.

The number one song of the year is "Poker Face" by Lady GaGa.

News headlines from 2009: USA financial crisis worsens, an airplane makes an emergency landing safely in the Hudson River, Michael Jackson passes away.