Pick a Day

Music History Events: Milestones

August 21, 2012 With 623,000 digital copies sold, Taylor Swift's hit "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" becomes the single with the most digital sales for a female artist.

May 24, 2012 Billboard announces that Lionel Richie's Tuskegee is the second-best-selling album of the year so far in 2012, right behind Adele's 21. It's notable that the soul/R&B singer and Motown alumnus began his career in 1967, and is still connecting with modern audiences a full five decades later.

May 23, 2012 Billboard reports that the albums of Donna Summer increase in sales by a factor of over 3000% in the week following her death on May 17 after a battle with cancer.

January 7, 2012 "The One That Got Away" from Katy Perry's album Teenage Dream hits #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart, making the album the first in history with seven #1s on that tally.

August 11, 2011 Go-Go's receive the 2,444th star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. It is located where the legendary punk club The Masque used to stand. Go-Go's frequently played this club during their early years.

January 13, 2011 Ed Sheeran announces he has been signed to Atlantic Records.

May 19, 2010 David Guetta's "Gettin' Over You" becomes the billionth track to be Shazamed.

September 27, 2008 Pink earns her first solo #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with "So What" from her fifth studio album, Funhouse. It holds the position for one week.

February 10, 2008 Ne-Yo's sophomore album, Because Of You, wins the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album. It's the singer-songwriter's first Grammy win.

June 16, 2007 Muse become the first band to sell out the rebuilt Wembley Stadium in London, when about 90,000 fans see them perform.

October 21, 2006 Weird Al Yankovic's "White & Nerdy," a parody of Chamillionaire's "Ridin'," peaks at #9 on the Hot 100 to give Al his only Top 10 hit (surprisingly, "Eat It" only reached #12).

October 3, 2006 Skillet releases their sixth studio album, Comatose. It's the Christian rock band's first gold-certified album, selling half a million copies. By 2016, sales reach one million, which earns the album platinum status.

February 28, 2006 Ne-Yo's first album, In My Own Words, debuts at #1 in America.

November 22, 2005 Ne-Yo releases "So Sick," his first #1 single (as a singer) in both the US and UK.

February 5, 2005 "Helena" by My Chemical Romance peaks at #33 on the Hot 100. It's the alt rock band's first big crossover hit.

January 1, 2005 Ne-Yo earns his first #1 hit as a songwriter when "Let Me Love You," performed by Mario, seizes the top spot for the first of nine weeks. Billboard ranks the song as the eighth most successful single of the decade.

November 15, 2004 Shania Twain's album Come On Over is certified double diamond by the RIAA, with over 20 million copies sold in the US. It's just the seventh album to do so, and the only one by a female artist.

July 13, 2004 Jimmy Buffett releases License To Chill, his 21st studio album. It's mostly a collection of duets with fellow country stars, including Martina McBride, Kenny Chesney, and George Strait. It's also his first album to go to #1 in the US.More

November 5, 2003 Jimmy Buffett wins his first Country Music Association Award when "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," a duet with Alan Jackson, is named Vocal Event of the Year.

February 21, 2001 Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira wins her first (US) Grammy Award when her live MTV Unplugged release wins Best Latin Pop Album. The performance, filmed at the Grand Ballroom in New York City, featured acoustic-rock renditions of her Spanish-language tunes, including "Octavo Dia," "Ojos Asi," and "No Creo."

February 10, 2001 Jennifer Lopez' album J.Lo goes to #1 in America. Her movie The Wedding Planner is #1 at the box office, making her the first person with a #1 movie and album at the same time.

October 25, 2000 SoundScan announces first-week sales of 1,054,000 for Limp Bizkit's album Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water. It's the last rock studio album to sell a million copies in a week.

April 7, 1999 Shania Twain's third album Come On Over is certified Diamond (10 million in sales) by the RIAA, making her the first female artist with back-to-back Diamond albums; her second album, The Woman in Me, was certified in 1997.

November 2, 1997 Brandy becomes the first black Disney princess when she plays Cinderella in the ABC TV movie. Whitney Houston plays her Fairy Godmother.

July 19, 1997 The Fat Of The Land by The Prodigy becomes the first album by an electronic group to hit #1 in America.

June 28, 1997 Thanks to the heartwarming title track written for his daughter, Bob Carlisle's Butterfly Kisses becomes the first contemporary Christian album to hit #1 on the Billboard 200.

January 11, 1996 Kenny G's Breathless becomes the first album of mostly instrumental tracks certified Diamond for sales of 10 million in America.

June 24, 1993 The California band Severe Tire Damage pull off the first webcast in history, live streaming a concert from the Xerox Research Center in Palo Alto to an extremely small audience. The next year, The Rolling Stones become the first major artist to do a webcast.

February 25, 1992 Garth Brooks wins his first Grammy Award when Ropin' The Wind, his third album, is named Best Country Vocal Performance, Male.

May 20, 1991 The first album from an MTV Unplugged performance is released when Paul McCartney issues Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) in the UK. It is released in America in June.