Pick a Day

Music History Events: Releases

August 23, 2024 Sabrina Carpenter releases her sixth album, Short n' Sweet. With the hits "Espresso" and "Please Please Please," it's a musical breakout for the former Disney actress, putting her in league with other actress-turned-singers like Ariana Grande and Olivia Rodrigo.

May 31, 2024 Charli XCX releases a remix of her popular song "360," featuring dance-pop artist Robyn and rapper Yung Lean, both of Sweden. Charli and Robyn, who is 13 years her senior, met while they were touring the same festivals in Australia and became good friends.

May 30, 2024 Lola Young releases "Messy," her breakthrough hit. She says it's about "not being able to make someone you love happy when you're just being you, which actually sucks."

May 24, 2024 Twenty One Pilots release Clancy, the concluding chapter of a narrative that began with Blurryface in 2015. The album tells the story of Clancy, a character frontman Tyler Joseph uses as a vehicle to explore depression, anxiety, and addiction, complete with subplots involving mind control, evil bishops, and an oppressive city called Dema that serves as a metaphor for mental illness.

May 3, 2024 Randy Travis, unable to sing as a result of a stroke he suffered in 2011, releases "Where That Came From," a song with his vocal generated by artificial intelligence. It's the first major release from a legacy artist using AI technology to create a vocal from scratch, offering the possibility of more songs from singers - living or dead - that don't have to actually sing on them.

April 19, 2024 Taylor Swift releases The Tortured Poets Department, an album filled with confessional songs written in the aftermath of breakups with Joe Alwyn and The 1975 singer Matt Healy. At 2 a.m. she surprise releases an additional 15 tracks in a second volume of the album called The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.

April 15, 2024 Miley Cyrus and Beyoncé team up on the single "II Most Wanted" from Beyoncé's country-influenced Cowboy Carter album. It peaks at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and wins the Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance the following year.

April 11, 2024 Sabrina Carpenter releases Espresso, a frothy bop that becomes her first big hit and is the consensus song of the summer.

November 2, 2023 Using artificial intelligence to isolate John Lennon's vocals from an old demo, The Beatles release a new song: "Now And Then." It goes to #1 in the UK, their 18th chart-topper there.

October 20, 2023 She's got yule, babe: Cher releases her first holiday album, Christmas, with a cover of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" featuring Darlene Love. Cher sang backup on Love's original version 60 years earlier in 1963.

September 8, 2023 Olivia Rodrigo releases her sophomore album, Guts. Featuring the chart-topping lead single, "Vampire," it's her second album to reach the summit of the Billboard 200 albums chart.

July 28, 2023 Travis Scott releases his highly anticipated fourth album, Utopia. It lives up to the hype, debuting at #1 with all 19 tracks entering the Hot 100 simultaneously. Guests on the album include Beyoncé on "Delresto (Echoes)," Drake on "Meltdown," and Playboi Carti on "FE!N."

June 22, 2023 Peso Pluma, who rose to superstar status with his take on Mexican corridos, releases his album Génesis. It climbs to #3 in the US, setting the mark for highest chart position reached by a Mexican music album.

March 10, 2023 Miley Cyrus releases her eighth album, Endless Summer Vacation. Some of the songs, including the #1 hit "Flowers," seem to take aim at her ex-husband, the actor Liam Hemsworth.

March 3, 2023 Morgan Wallen releases his third album, One Thing At A Time. It spends 15 weeks at #1, the most for a country artist since 1992, when Some Gave All by Billy Ray Cyrus spent 17 weeks at the top.

February 3, 2023 After years of frustration waiting for her record company to release her debut album, My 21st Century Blues, Raye finally puts it out independently. The song "Escapism," which deals with her unhealthy coping mechanisms during this time, is a #1 hit in her native UK.

December 9, 2022 SZA releases her second album, SOS, which debuts at #1 in America. Many of the songs find her navigating a toxic relationship, including the big hit "Kill Bill," where she considers offing her ex.

October 21, 2022 Taylor Swift releases her 10th album, Midnights. It breaks the Spotify record for most streams in a single day, previously held by Swift's Red (Taylor's Version) from the previous year.

October 12, 2022 Following years as a featured vocalist for the likes of Jonas Blue, Jax Jones and David Guetta, Raye releases her breakthrough single, "Escapism," a song about "running away from reality as fast as you possibly can." Months later, it's included on her debut album, My 21st Century Blues.

July 15, 2022 After four somewhat disappointing albums with Hollywood Records, Sabrina Carpenter releases Emails I Can't Send on Island, built around the concept of messages she wrote but never sent. It includes the breakout hit Nonsense and leads to a gig opening for Taylor Swift.

May 20, 2022 Harry Styles releases his third solo album, Harry's House, which debuts at #1 in the US, UK, and many other countries. Hits from the album include "As It Was" and "Late Night Talking."

May 6, 2022 Bad Bunny releases Un Verano Sin Ti, which debuts at #1 in America and spends 10 (non-consecutive) weeks at the top of the US albums chart. It's only the second entirely Spanish-language album to top the chart, following his previous album, El Último Tour Del Mundo, in 2020.

April 15, 2022 Edgar Winter releases Brother Johnny, a tribute album saluting his late brother, blues-rock legend Johnny Winter. The album features contributions from Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons and many other famous guest artists. It wins a Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category to earn Edgar his only Grammy Award.

November 12, 2021 Silk Sonic, the retro-R&B duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, release their only album, An Evening With Silk Sonic. The single "Leave The Door Open" goes to #1 and snarfs up four Grammy Awards. After a Vegas residency, .Paak and Mars put the project to bed, making Silk Sonic the most successful one-off side project in music history.

July 30, 2021 Billie Eilish releases her second album, Happier Than Ever, again produced by her brother, Finneas. Much of it finds her taking stock of her sudden rise to fame. Explaining the title, she says, "When you're happier than ever, that doesn't mean you're the happiest that anyone's ever been. It means you're happier than you were before."

June 11, 2021 Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie's son and Van Halen's bass player from 2007 until their disbandment in 2020, releases his first album, Mammoth WVH. He plays all the instruments and does all the singing on the album, which is well reviewed and launches him as a solo artist.

March 5, 2021 Silk Sonic, where Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak reimagine themselves as debonair R&B singers from the '70s (think Marvin Gaye), release their debut single, "Leave The Door Open," a song that embodies their vibe. It goes to #1 and takes home the Grammys for Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year.

March 27, 2020 Two weeks into the pandemic, Dua Lipa releases her disco-fied second album, Future Nostalgia, with the hits "Don't Start Now" and "Levitating." It earns her lots of new fans, including Elton John, who teams with her on "Cold Heart" the following year.

December 13, 2019 Harry Styles releases his highly anticipated second album, Fine Line, which includes the hits "Adore You" and "Watermelon Sugar." It's a global smash, putting Styles way ahead of his One Direction bandmates in solo success.

September 6, 2019 The Highwomen, a country supergroup comprising Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby, release their self-titled debut album. The group's name is a reference to The Highwaymen, which formed in 1985 with the lineup of Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson.