Music History Events: Social Media Moments
June 2, 2020 The music industry recognizes "Blackout Tuesday" in response to the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Using the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused, many record labels and artists cease operations, while broadcasters and streaming services change their programming in support of efforts to address racism and injustice on a wide scale, and more specifically to end police brutality against African Americans.More
January 21, 2020 Ever the trendsetter, Dolly Parton creates a viral meme that shows off four sides of her personality, as represented by LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Tinder. Celebrities like Oprah, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Garner, and Miley Cyrus join in on the fun with their own versions.More
April 30, 2018 The #MuteRKelly campaign picks up steam when Ava DuVernay tweets her support. The campaign is designed to marginalize R. Kelly, who has been accused of sexual misconduct.More
February 1, 2017 In a post on Instagram that is liked over 8 million times in 24 hours, Beyoncé reveals she is pregnant with twins.More
September 30, 2016 Mary J. Blige debuts her Apple Music talk show, The 411, and welcomes Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton as her first guest. Halfway through the intimate conversation, Blige bursts into a rendition of Bruce Springsteen's protest anthem "American Skin (41 Shots)" in a bid to address the rash of police brutality against African Americans. The attempt falls flat with viewers, who heckle the singer on social media.More
August 10, 2016 Chance the Rapper takes the #SoGoneChallenge, posting a video where he raps about his pregnant girlfriend (who is taking the video) over the track to Monica's 2003 hit "So Gone." It is quickly retweeted over 250,000 times and the challenge goes viral, with Snoop Dogg, Kevin Hart and Dwayne Wade joining in.More
July 17, 2016 Kim Kardashian posts a video on her Snapchat account of a phone call between Kanye West and Taylor Swift where Kanye recites the line, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex," from his song "Famous," and she seems OK with it. Swift responds on Instagram by posting, "Where is the video of Kanye telling me he was going to call me 'that bitch' in his song? It doesn't exist because it never happened."More
February 18, 2016 The #FreeKesha campaign heats up after pop singer Kesha loses a preliminary injunction during an 18-month legal battle with producer Dr. Luke (Lukasz Gottwald).More
October 27, 2015 Twitter discontinues Vine, the short-form video hosting service that launched the music careers of Shawn Mendes and "Lost Boy" singer Ruth B.More
July 21, 2015 When Drake doesn't promote Meek Mill's album on Twitter, Mill accuses him of using a ghostwriter, tweeting: "Stop comparing drake to me too.... He don't write his own raps! That's why he ain't tweet my album because we found out!" A feud ensues when Drake releases the diss track "Charged Up," which Mill says is "Baby lotion soft."
June 21, 2015 As Apple readies to launch its new streaming platform, Apple Music, Taylor Swift writes an open letter to the company threatening to withhold her album 1989 if artists aren't paid their deserved royalties.More
January 27, 2015 Taylor Swift's Twitter and Instagram accounts are hacked, resulting in bogus tweets to her 51 million followers (the fourth-largest Twitter account). Swift takes to Tumblr, where she posts: "Hackers gonna hack hack hack hack hack." She also assures fans that no nude photos exist.
July 23, 2014 Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin gets a speeding ticket in her hometown of Wasilla. She blames her excessive speed (63mph in a 45) on Sammy Hagar's "I Can't Drive 55," which was playing on her radio. When Hagar gets word, he tweets Palin offering to cover the ticket.
July 18, 2014 Shakira becomes the first person to accumulate 100 million likes on Facebook.
March 7, 2014 After completing treatment for an eating disorder, Ke$ha drops the $ from her stage name and changes her Twitter handle from @Ke$haSuxx to @KeshaRose ("Rose" is her middle name).More
November 6, 2012 US President Barack Obama wins the election to serve a second term. The news is greeted enthusiastically by Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg, Cher, and many others. However, notoriously conservative Ted Nugent rains on the parade, posting scathing comments on Twitter. Nugent unleashes a volley of insults against Obama supporters, calling them "pimps," "whores," welfare brats," "subhuman varmints," and even more derogatory terms.More
February 28, 2012 Fall Out Boy lead singer Patrick Stump makes a blog post titled "We Liked You Better Fat: Confessions of a Pariah" where he writes about hitting a low point with a failed solo album and taunts from audience members. The post prompts FOB bass player Pete Wentz to contact Stump, and they get the band back together, staging a triumphant comeback with their 2013 album Save Rock and Roll and the hit "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)."More
October 2, 2011 Louis Tomlinson of One Direction sends a tweet to his bandmate Harry Styles that becomes the second-most-retweeted in history.More
August 28, 2011 Beyoncé reveals her pregnancy during the MTV Video Music Awards, setting Twitter on fire.More
February 10, 2011 The video for Rebecca Black's song "Friday" is uploaded to YouTube, where it becomes a viral smash.More
December 11, 2010 The Billboard Social 50 chart debuts, ranking artists by popularity on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vevo, Myspace, and iLike. Rihanna comes in at #1, followed by Justin Bieber and Eminem.
September 25, 2008 MySpace Music launches, allowing artists to upload songs to their profiles for fans to stream for free. With 5 million artist pages, MySpace is hoping to compete with iTunes, but it's hemorrhaging users to Facebook and never makes much impact as a streaming service.
April 1, 2007 Proving she understands irony just fine, Alanis Morissette transforms the Black Eyed Peas' booty anthem "My Humps" into a mournful piano ballad for April Fools' Day. The accompanying music video debuts on YouTube and becomes a viral sensation, garnering millions of views.More
February 14, 2001 Prince launches the NPG Music Club, one of the first music subscription services. The club acts as a virtual hub for the Prince faithful, with a thriving community, online access to his music, VIP passes to concerts and other exclusives. It runs until 2006, when Prince shuts it down, saying it "has gone as far as it can go."
December 10, 2023 TikTok stages their first live music event with a five-hour concert in Mesa, Arizona, featuring Charlie Puth, Cardi B, Peso Pluma and a slate of emerging artists. 17,000 phone-wielding fans attend the sold-out show, with over 9 million more watching online.
July 4, 2023 At his show in Las Vegas, Usher cozies up to the actress Keke Palmer while singing "There Goes My Baby." It blows up on social media and causes a rift with her boyfriend, Darius Jackson. In August, Palmer stars in Usher's video for "Boyfriend," poking fun at the controversy.
June 3, 2014 Jade Castrinos, the female vocalist in Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, updates her Instagram bio to read: "For seven years i sang and wrote music with edward sharpe. they voted me off of tour a week before they left, via email. lol."More
May 14, 2014 On American Idol, The Chainsmokers perform their hit "#Selfie" in a bit where they take selfies with the judges. After the performance, EDM notables trash them.More
January 27, 2014 The day after winning the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album for The Heist, Macklemore takes to Instagram, where he posts a screenshot of his text to Kendrick Lamar, whose good kid, m.A.A.d city was one of the nominees. The Seattle rapper texted: "I wanted you to win. You should have. It's weird and sucks that I robbed you." Macklemore takes some flak for the post, which many feel is disingenuous (Drake calls it "wack"). Lamar is more charitable. "Macklemore is a genuine dude," he says. "However it panned out, I wish him much success." On his 2016 track "Light Tunnels," Mac recounts these events.
February 15, 2001 George Harrison enters the cyber age with an online chat on MSN Live.
©2024 Songfacts®, LLC