Pick a Day

Music History Events: Contests

April 7, 2016 After 15 years of memorable performances, cringeworthy auditions, and shocking eliminations, the American Idol stage finally goes dark, but not before one more winner is crowned: Trent Harmon.More

May 24, 2006 Taylor Hicks wins Season 5 of American Idol, defeating Katharine McPhee.

May 20, 2006 The Finnish band Lordi win the Eurovision Song Contest - the first heavy metal band ever to do so.More

May 25, 2005 Carrie Underwood wins Season 4 of American Idol and becomes their most successful alum in terms of sales. Her debut album goes on to sell over 8 million copies in America.

April 21, 2004 Future Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson gets voted off season three of American Idol, where she finishes in seventh place.More

September 4, 2002 Kelly Clarkson beats Justin Guarini to become the first winner of American Idol.More

October 4, 1996 That Thing You Do!, a musical film starring its writer/director Tom Hanks, who plays the manager of fictional '60s band The Wonders, is released to US cinemas. The title track to the film was written by Adam Schlesinger, bass player for Fountains of Wayne.More

September 17, 1983 Star Search debuts on CBS. Hosted by Ed McMahon, the TV talent competition introduces scores of future superstars, many from the music realm, including Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Alanis Morissette, Jessica Simpson, Christina Aguilera, Tiffany, LeAnn Rimes, Usher, Aaliyah, and Destiny's Child.

April 6, 1974 ABBA become European stars overnight when their composition "Waterloo" wins the annual Eurovision Song Contest.More

May 21, 2008 David Cook seems shocked to become the Season 7 winner of American Idol, beating 17-year-old David Archuleta. Cook got 56% of the record 97.5 million votes.

May 23, 2006 Jordin Sparks wins Season 6 of American Idol.

May 26, 2004 Fantasia Barrino wins season 3 of American Idol, becoming the first Black woman to win the competition. She later reveals that she was functionally illiterate at this time, having dropped out of high school in ninth grade.

May 21, 2003 Ruben Studdard wins Season 2 of American Idol, beating out Clay Aiken.

November 14, 2000 The Offspring celebrate the release of their album Conspiracy of One by giving $1 million to 14-year-old Ashley Hitchcock, who by downloading their single "Original Prankster" was entered to win. Hitchcock beats out three other finalists in an Offspring trivia contest broadcast on MTV to take the prize. She wins by identifying Noodles as the oldest member of the band.

June 10, 1998 Joe Walsh, Graham Nash and Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath play a celebrity version of Rock & Roll Jeopardy! that airs in October on VH1. McGrath wins big. The next season he defeats Edwin McCain and Joshua Morrow; the following year he defends his crown against Mick Jones and Vince Neil.

September 3, 1967 A young Swedish singer named Anni-Frid Lyngstad wins a talent-show contest on the TV program Hyland's Corner with her group the Anni-Frid Four. She would later become famous as one of the two female lead singers of ABBA.

December 16, 2020 After disguising herself as Sun all season, LeAnn Rimes is unmasked as the winner on the season 4 finale of The Masked Singer. She ended her run with an a cappella rendition of Billie Eilish's "When The Party's Over."

February 27, 2019 T-Pain, costumed as a one-eyed monster, wins the first season of The Masked Singer, defeating Donny Osmond (peacock) and Gladys Knight (bee).

May 30, 2017 NBC debuts its dance competition series World Of Dance, with executive producer Jennifer Lopez, Ne-Yo, and Derek Hough on the judging panel.

May 13, 2017 Portugal wins the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time when Salvador Sobral triumphs with the ballad "Amar Pelos Dois."

May 23, 2015 Australia makes its inaugural entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, which is held in Vienna, Austria. The country is represented by singer and songwriter Guy Sebastian. Their invitation to compete follows a successful guest appearance from Jessica Mauboy in 2014. Sebastian finishes fifth, with the win going to Sweden's Måns Zelmerlöw.

June 28, 2012 The Flaming Lips break the Guinness World Record for the most live shows performed in multiple cities within 24 hours. The feat is part of MTV's O Music Awards which honors achievements in the digital music realm.More

May 25, 2010 Nicole Scherzinger of The Pussycat Dolls wins Season 10 of Dancing With The Stars.

May 8, 2008 Crosby Loggins, son of Kenny Loggins, wins the first and only season of MTV's Rock The Cradle, a singing competition featuring the offspring of celebrity musicians. Runners-up are Jesse Blaze Snider, son of Twisted Sister's Dee Snider and Chloe Lattanzi, daughter of Olivia Newton-John.

May 3, 1997 Katrina & the Waves, whose last big hit was "Walking On Sunshine" in 1985, win the Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom with "Love Shine A Light." Lead singer Katrina Leskanich is American, but guitarist Kimberley Rew and drummer Alex Cooper are British.

April 30, 1994 Ireland wins the Eurovision Song Contest for the third time in a row. Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan's performance of "Rock 'N' Roll Kids" at the Point Theatre in Dublin wows the international voting panels and gives the country a record sixth win. The show's interval features the first ever performance of Michael Flatley's Riverdance, which goes on to massive global success.

April 27, 1991 LeAnn Rimes, a pint-sized country music prodigy from Garland, Texas, competes as a junior vocalist on Star Search, where she wins the round singing the Marty Robbins classic "Don't Worry."More

April 30, 1988 An unknown Canadian singer named Celine Dion wins the Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland. Her song "Ne partez pas sans moi" beats the United Kingdom's entry by a single point. The success encourages her to learn English, and two years later her fifteenth studio album, Unison (1990), reaches #4 in the US chart. She goes on to become one of the most successful singers in the world - her biggest hit, 1997's "My Heart Will Go On", selling over 15 million copies.

October 17, 1940 Frank Sinatra hosts the weekly radio program Fame and Fortune, which gives amateur songwriters the chance to compete for $100 and a publishing deal with NBC Music.

September 8, 1935 The Hoboken Four, featuring a 19-year-old Frank Sinatra, appear on NBC's popular radio program Major Bowes and His Original Amateur Hour. They sing the Mills Brothers song "Shine" and earn the most votes in the history of the show, with 40,000 people calling in.