Music History Events: Social Media Moments
August 11, 1997 Sonny West, Red West, Lamar Fike and Marty Lacker, four of the biggest members of Elvis' "Memphis Mafia," recall the King in a one-time-only webchat.
March 18, 2020 Gal Gadot posts a video of herself and a host of celebrities singing "Imagine" line-by-line from their places of quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic. It doesn't get the reaction she's after.More
March 16, 2020 Chris Martin takes to Instagram to perform a virtual concert in support of the World Health Organization as the coronavirus pandemic takes hold. It's the first of a series of "Together At Home" concerts done by a variety of artists.
May 10, 2019 The #FreeBritney movement gains traction as supporters gather outside the Los Angeles courthouse where Britney Spears speaks to a judge about her conservatorship. Spears has been under the conservatorship, a legal maneuver typically used to protect the elderly or mentally incompetent, since 2008, with her father, Jamie Spears, conservator.
February 14, 2019 Kanye West hires Kenny G to play his sultry sax in a room full of roses for his wife, Kim Kardashian, as a Valentines' Day surprise. They end up collaborating, with Kenny G playing on Kanye's Jesus Is King track "Use This Gospel."
November 15, 2018 Thanks to the hashtag #JusticeForGlitter, Mariah Carey's long-maligned 2001 album Glitter climbs to #1 on the iTunes US Albums chart.More
April 25, 2018 Kanye West tweets his love for Donald Trump, earning him plaudits from the President but criticism from fans.More
August 18, 2017 Taylor Swift wipes clean her social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, personal YouTube). Three days later, she begins posting video of a snake to tease her scathing song "Look What You Made Me Do," which is released on August 25.
June 9, 2017 Katy Perry begins live-streaming four days straight to promote the release of her new album, Witness. We learn that of her ex-boyfriends, John Mayer was the best in bed and Josh Groban was "the one that got away."
November 26, 2016 The Kensington, Prince Edward Island, police department makes a Facebook post threatening drunk drivers with Nickelback. "On top of a hefty fine, a criminal charge and a year's driving suspension we will also provide you with a bonus gift of playing the office's copy of Nickelback in the cruiser on the way to jail," it reads. The constable who posted it later apologizes.
September 12, 2016 The #HotInHerreStreamingParty hashtag takes off as Nelly fans try to help him out of a $2.4 million tax debt by repeatedly streaming his hit "Hot In Herre." Based on an estimated Spotify royalty of $0.007 per stream, it will take about 342,857,142 listens to play off the debt.
May 6, 2015 Adele dresses up like George Michael for her 27th birthday. "I was my hero," she Tweets.More
April 5, 2015 Two days after Furious 7 is released in theaters, the "See You Again" video, featuring footage from the film, debuts on Facebook and Twitter. The next day, it is posted on YouTube, where it eventually breaks the record for most views, previously held by "Gangnam Style."More
February 14, 2015 Lady Gaga gets engaged to actor Taylor Kinney. She confirms the news two days later by posting a photo of the heart-shaped diamond ring on Instagram with the caption, "He gave me his heart on Valentine's Day, and I said YES!"
December 4, 2014 The day after a fake MSNBC story reports the death of Axl Rose, the very much alive Guns N' Roses frontman tweets: "if I'm dead do I still have to pay taxes?"
December 3, 2014 A fake MSNBC report claims that Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose has been found dead in his West Hollywood home. The band's official Facebook page posts photos of the singer with the caption "Ha! They say I'm dead -- again… Wait, what? WTF? It's a hoax. Guys. Get a life at ParadiseCity.com." The link references the band's online fan community.
April 8, 2013 Cher fans fear the singer is dead when the hashtag #nowthatchersdead trends on Twitter. It turns out the tag is for Margaret Thatcher.
March 21, 2013 John Mayer becomes the first big-name celebrity to host a hangout on Google+, Google's social network competitor to Facebook. Google+ never catches on and is discontinued in 2019.
September 30, 2012 Faith Hill becomes the first country artist to debut a song on Twitter when she posts "American Heart."
January 14, 2012 Little-known Lana Del Rey takes heaps of social media abuse for her lethargic performance on Saturday Night Live. She gets retribution when her Born To Die album, released two weeks later, earns her a global fanbase.
April 12, 2011 Karmin post a cover of "Look at Me Now" to YouTube with their singer Amy Heidemann speed rapping the Busta Rhymes section. It goes viral and lands the duo a deal with Epic Records.
September 13, 2010 John Mayer shuts down his Twitter account with 3.7 million followers. Once an avid Tweeter, Mayer has shied away from social media after oversharing in a Playboy interview. He does eventually return to Twitter, but in moderation. "It does rewire your brain," he says.
June 3, 2010 Esquire posts video of a fashion shoot where Gavin Rossdale's daughter Daisy Lowe dances to the song "Tiger" by Maximum Balloon, garnering millions of views and giving the song a huge boost.More
September 5, 2007 Influential blogger Perez Hilton declares himself "obsessed" with the unsigned artist Eric Hutchinson, earning the singer 3,000 new MySpace friends and serious industry buzz, leading to a deal with Warner Bros. Records.
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