Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

March 2, 1990 Luke Combs is born in Huntersville, North Carolina. He moves to Nashville and quickly lands a series of country hits, including "When It Rains It Pours" and "Beautiful Crazy."

February 3, 1990 Sean Kingston is born Kisean Anderson in Miami. His pop-reggae sound gets the attention of producer J.R. Rotem, who signs him to his label and issues his first single, "Beautiful Girls," in 2007. The song goes to #1 and leads to a run of hits that lasts through 2013, but in 2025 Kingston is convicted of wire fraud after exploiting his celebrity to steal luxury goods.

December 22, 1989 Jordin Sparks is born in Phoenix, Arizona. At age 17, she wins the sixth season of American Idol (2007).

December 21, 1989 Carlos Santana (of Santana) and his wife Debbie welcome their daughter Angelica Faith.

November 8, 1989 SZA is born Solána Rowe in St. Louis, Missouri. She studies marine biology and holds down a series of odd jobs before making it big as a singer and songwriter.

August 19, 1989 Rapper Lil' Romeo is born Percy Romeo Miller Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana.

August 15, 1989 Joe Jonas of Jonas Brothers and DNCE is born in Casa Grande, Arizona.

May 29, 1989 Elvis Presley's first grandchild, Danielle Riley Keough, is born to Lisa Marie Presley.

May 5, 1989 Chris Brown is born in Tappahannock, Virginia. His talent is evident early on, so he makes his way to New York City, where he lands a deal with Jive Records at 15. His first single, "Run It!," released when he's 16, goes to #1.

April 8, 1989 The 1975 lead singer Matt Healy is born in London.

March 29, 1989 Michelle Zauner, who uses the name Japanese Breakfast for her musical projects, is born in Seoul, South Korea, but moves to Oregon with her family as a baby. Her asymmetrical sound earns her an indie-pop audience, but her 2021 song "Be Sweet" brings her out in the open, leading to a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.

January 22, 1989 Gene Simmons of Kiss and his girlfriend, the Playboy model Shannon Tweed, welcome their first child, a boy named Nicholas.

January 4, 1989 Labrinth is born in Hackney, London, England. The innovative musician, who creates futuristic soundscapes with elements from a variety of genres, starts out as a producer and songwriter before launching his solo career with "Let The Sun Shine" in 2010. He also earns acclaim for creating the musical backdrop for the 2019 HBO teen drama Euphoria in its first two seasons.

December 27, 1988 Hayley Williams is born in Meridian, Mississippi. She moves to Franklin, Tennessee when she's 13 and, two years later, signs a record deal and forms Paramore. She's still a teenager when they break out with the song "Misery Business" from their second album, Riot!, in 2007.

November 3, 1988 Songwriter/producer Gabe Simon aka Mr Gabriel is born in Greenville, South Carolina. He fronts the Nashville indie-rock band Kopecky, who release a pair of albums and a handful of EPs in the mid-2010s, before he shifts his focus to songwriting and producing for the likes of Dua Lipa and Lana Del Rey. His career takes off when he teams up with Noah Kahan to write and produce Kahan's breakout folk album, Stick Season, in 2022.

October 3, 1988 A$AP Rocky is born Rakim Athelston Mayers in Harlem, New York, named after the legendary rapper Rakim of Eric B. & Rakim. He takes his stage name after joining the rap collective A$AP Mob in 2007, and in 2011 he makes a statement with the track "Peso." In 2013 he puts out his debut album, LongLiveA$AP, which goes to #1 and sells over 2 million copies.

October 2, 1988 Brittany Howard is born in Athens, Alabama, where she forms Alabama Shakes with her high school friend Zac Cockrell. Their 2012 debut album, Boys & Girls, includes the hit "Hold On" and earns them a raft of accolades. Howard launches a solo career in 2018 when the band goes on hiatus.

September 14, 1988 Muni Long (pronounced "money long") is born Priscilla Renea Hamilton in Gifford, Florida. She writes hits for Fifth Harmony ("Worth It") and Rihanna ("California King Bed") before breaking through as an artist with the song "Hrs And Hrs" in 2022.

August 17, 1988 Rapper Joyner Lucas is born Gary Maurice Lucas Jr. in Worcester, Massachusetts. His childhood struggles with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder influence much of his musical output, with his 2020 debut album, ADHD, and its 2025 sequel, ADHD 2, being a metaphorical middle finger to the adults in his life who didn't support him.

May 24, 1988 Country singer Billy Gilman, known for his hit debut "One Voice" at just 11 years old, is born in Westerly, Rhode Island.

May 5, 1988 Singer and TV personality Brooke Hogan is born Brooke Ellen Bollea in Tampa, Florida. Dad is professional wrestler Hulk Hogan.

March 8, 1988 Producer Benny Blanco is born Benjamin Levin in Reston, Virginia. He works on some of the biggest hits for Kesha ("TiK ToK"), Maroon 5 ("Moves Like Jagger"), and Selena Gomez ("Same Old Love"), whom he marries in 2025.

January 17, 1988 FKA Twigs is born Tahliah Debrett Barnett in Gloucestershire, England. She's a dancer, showing up in music videos for artists like Kylie Minogue and Ed Sheeran, before she turns her focus to music, releasing her debut album, LP1, in 2014. "Twigs" comes from a childhood nickname because her joints would make cracking sounds like twigs snapping.

December 7, 1987 Aaron Carter is born in Tampa, Florida, to a family that includes brother Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys. Aaron will release his self-titled debut album by the time he's 10.

November 5, 1987 Kevin Jonas, the oldest of the Jonas Brothers, is born in Teaneck, New Jersey.

September 28, 1987 Hilary Duff is born in Houston, Texas.

September 9, 1987 DJ Afrojack is born Nick Leonardus van de Wall in Spijkenisse, South Holland, Netherlands. After garnering worldwide attention for the electro-house anthem "Take Over Control" with Eva Simons in 2010, he becomes famous for his genre-bending turns for mainstream artists like Pitbull, Madonna, Beyonce, and Chris Brown.

September 8, 1987 Rapper Wiz Khalifa is born Cameron Thomaz in Minot, North Dakota, where his parents are serving in the Air Force ("Khalifa" is arabic for "successor"). He settles in Pittsburgh and in 2010 has a #1 hit with "Black and Yellow," a tribute to that city.

August 16, 1987 Dan Smyers, the guitar-playing half of the country duo Dan + Shay, is born in Wexford, Pennsylvania. While fronting emo and rock bands like Transition and Bonaventure, Smyers quietly writes country songs until he fully embraces the genre after meeting Shay Mooney at a Nashville house party in 2012. The following year, they release their debut single, "19 You + Me."

July 14, 1987 Imagine Dragons lead singer Dan Reynolds is born in Las Vegas, Nevada. Raised Mormon, he attends BYU, where he forms the band with fellow student Wayne Sermon in 2008.