Pick a Day

Music History Events: Milestones

June 3, 2019 Forbes declares Jay-Z a billionaire, making him the first rapper to hit that mark. $310 million of his fortune comes from his stake in Armand de Brignac champagne.

April 13, 2019 Billie Eilish hits #1 in America with her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, making the 17-year-old singer the first artist born in the '00s to top the chart.

June 2, 2018 BTS become the first K-pop band to top the US albums chart when Love Yourself: Tear debuts at #1.

June 15, 2017 Jay-Z becomes the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

May 27, 2017 "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber tops the Hot 100, becoming the first #1 on the chart sung mostly in Spanish since "Macarena" in 1996.

March 4, 2017 The Katy Perry song "Chained to the Rhythm" hits #4 on the Hot 100, making guest vocalist Skip Marley the first of the Marleys to land a Top 10 on that tally.More

May 7, 2016 Following his unexpected death, Prince takes the top two spots on the Billboard albums chart with The Very Best of Prince at #1 and Purple Rain at #2. With his music unavailable on most streaming services and download distributors, physical albums are in many cases the best way to get his music.

January 11, 2016 In the day after David Bowie's passing, his music videos on VEVO are viewed 51 million times, shattering the previous record of 36 million held by Adele after she released "Hello." Most of the views are for Bowie's last two videos, "Lazarus" and "Blackstar," which portend his death.

November 29, 2014 Taylor Swift replaces herself at #1 on the Hot 100 when "Blank Space" knocks "Shake It Off" from the top spot, making Swift the first female artist to do so.

July 18, 2014 Shakira becomes the first person to accumulate 100 million likes on Facebook.

May 31, 2014 Michael Jackson becomes the first artist with Top 10 hits in five consecutive decades on the Hot 100 as "Love Never Felt So Good" reaches at #9.

October 12, 2013 Lorde, 16, becomes the youngest solo artist to write and record a Hot 100 #1 hit when "Royals" claims the top spot.

January 1, 2013 For the first time in 41 years, the New Year rings in without Dick Clark, who passed away in 2012. Clark, host of American Bandstand amongst many years of entertainment in TV and radio, hosted Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve from 1972 until 2012, even making video phone-ins from his hospital bed while recovering from a stroke in his later years. The show continues with many memorial tributes to Clark, as his protégé Ryan Seacrest takes over as the new host.

August 6, 2012 Forbes declares Beyoncé and Jay-Z the highest-paid celebrity couple, with earnings of $78 million ($40 million for her, $38 for him). At #2 is Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady with $72 million.

February 4, 2012 Adele becomes the first female British artist to have three #1 songs from the same album top the Billboard Hot 100 chart when "Set Fire to the Rain" hits the top spot, following "Rolling In The Deep" and "Someone Like You" from the album 21.

August 17, 2011 "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" by Katy Perry hits #1 on the Hot 100, making her just the second artist with five #1 singles from the same album (Teenage Dream). The other five-time chart topper: Michael Jackson's Bad.

February 16, 2011 Lady GaGa's "Born This Way" makes history, becoming the Billboard Hot 100 chart's 1000th number one. "It is a tremendous honor," GaGa tells Billboard. "To be the 1000th number one on Billboard. I would be silly not to say this is the greatest honor of my career."

June 16, 2010 Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax play on the same bill, marking the first time the "Big Four" of thrash metal do a show together.More

May 3, 2010 "I Gotta Feelin'" by The Black Eyed Peas reaches 5,561,000 downloads, making it the best-selling digital song of all time, surpassing Flo-Rida's "Low." It eventually sells 8 million digital copies and retains the record as streaming replaces downloads.

October 4, 2008 Darius Rucker, known as the frontman for the '90s pop band Hootie & the Blowfish, hits #1 on the Country chart with his first country single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," making him the first African American singer to top that tally since 1985, when Ray Charles hit the top with "Seven Spanish Angels," a duet with Willie Nelson.

April 19, 2008 Donna Summer scores a #1 Dance hit with "I'm A Fire," making her the first artist to top that chart in every decade since its 1974 debut.

April 17, 2008 With Spirit, Leona Lewis becomes the first British woman to go straight to the top of the Billboard 200 album chart with a debut album.

April 5, 2008 Leona Lewis hits #1 in the US with "Bleeding Love." It's the first American hit for Lewis, who won the UK version of The X Factor in 2006.

October 25, 2006 Forbes declares Kurt Cobain the top-earning dead celebrity, beating out Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Johnny Cash, George Harrison, Ray Charles, and Bob Marley.More

June 18, 2006 Paul McCartney turns 64. He's older, but doesn't seem to be losing his hair. McCartney started writing "When I'm 64" when he was 15.

June 17, 2006 Shakira lands her first #1 hit on the Hot 100 when her single "Hips Don't Lie," featuring Wyclef Jean, reaches the top of the tally. It also breaks the record for the most-played pop song in a single week when it's aired on American radio 9,637 times.More

May 27, 2006 For the first time in their 22-year career, Red Hot Chili Peppers score a #1 album in the US: the two-disc set Stadium Arcadium.

May 1, 2006 Guinness certifies a new world record for most guitarists playing at the same time when 1,581 axepeople simultaneously perform the Jimi Hendrix version of "Hey Joe" in Wrocław, Poland.

April 2, 2006 Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" makes history by becoming the UK's first-ever #1 single to top the chart solely on download sales.More

March 11, 2006 The High School Musical soundtrack reaches #1 on the US albums chart, the first TV soundtrack album to top the tally since the Miami Vice soundtrack, which was #1 for eight weeks in 1985 and another three in 1986. Nine songs from the album make the Hot 100, led by "Breaking Free," sung by Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, which reaches #4.