April 18, 2024 Longtime Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts dies at 80 after years of health problems. Betts wrote many of their most popular songs, including "Blue Sky," written about his girlfriend, Sandy "Bluesky" Wabegijig.
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 13, 2024 At Coachella, two of the biggest ska bands of the '90s reunite: Sublime and No Doubt. Sublime is fronted by Jakob Nowell, whose father Brad was the group's lead singer until his death in 1996. For No Doubt, it's their first show since 2015.
April 8, 2024 Decades after listeners synched it to The Wizard Of Oz, many skywatchers use Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side Of The Moon to soundtrack the total solar eclipse, with the last track, "Eclipse," playing as the moon blocks out the sun.
April 2, 2024 Forbes declares Taylor Swift a billionaire, making her the first musician to hit that mark just with her music and performances, not through investments or other ventures. Rihanna, for instance, is a billionaire largely because of her Fenty beauty line.
March 29, 2024 Beyoncé drops Cowboy Carter, a sassy country album (mostly) with 27 tracks and appearances by Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and an unheralded Black country singer named Linda Martell, whose only album was released in 1970. When Cowboy Carter tops the Country chart, it makes Beyoncé the first Black woman to do so.More
March 26, 2024 Donald Trump partners with Lee Greenwood, endorsing the God Bless The USA Bible, which includes the chorus lyrics to Greenwood's song. "I'm proud to be partnering with my very good friend Lee Greenwood," Trump says. "Who doesn't love his song 'God Bless the USA'?"
March 22, 2024 Kendrick Lamar disses Drake in the song "Like That," igniting a high-profile feud that gets ugly. Lamar wins the popular vote in this rap battle when his diss track "Not Like Us" goes to #1.More
March 13, 2024 At his concert in Los Angeles, Justin Timberlake brings out his group 'N Sync, who perform together for the first time since the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. Along with a medley of their hits, they debut a new song, "Paradise."
February 24, 2024 Beyoncé becomes the first Black woman to top the Country chart when "Texas Hold 'Em," a song she surprised released the night of the Super Bowl, hits #1 on that tally.
February 16, 2024 Crunk pioneer Lil Jon releases an album of guided meditations where he answers his famous question, Turn down for what?: "To hear the voice within."
February 14, 2024 The biopic Bob Marley: One Love, produced by Bob's son Ziggy Marley, opens in theaters. It gets plenty of love at the box office, going to #1 its first week of release.
February 11, 2024 Usher, at times shirtless and other times on roller skates, pulls off a Vegas-worthy halftime show at the Super Bowl between the 49ers and Chiefs. Guests include Alicia Keys, H.E.R., and of course, Lil Jon and Ludacris for "Yeah!." After the show, he heads to a Vegas wedding chapel and marries his longtime girlfriend Jennifer Goicoechea.
February 8, 2024 "Sunflower" by Post Malone and Swae Lee becomes the first song ever certified Double Diamond by the RIAA for 20 million units in America, which translates to 3 billion streams. The song is featured in the 2018 film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
February 5, 2024 Toby Keith dies at 62 after a battle with stomach cancer. He wrote or co-wrote most of his 20 #1 Country hits, including "How Do You Like Me Now!?" and "Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American)."
February 4, 2024 Taylor Swift wins the Album Of The Year Grammy for Midnights, making her the first artist to win that award four times. Miley Cyrus gets Record Of The Year for "Flowers" and Billie Eilish takes Song Of The Year for "What Was I Made For?" from the movie Barbie.
February 4, 2024 Miley Cyrus wins her first pair of Grammys when "Flowers" takes the trophies for Record Of The Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. The self-love anthem is the lead single from her 2023 Endless Summer Vacation album.
February 4, 2024 Halle Bailey of the R&B duo Chloe x Halle earns a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Song for her debut solo single, "Angel." She loses the trophy to SZA for "Snooze."
January 27, 2024 Max Martin breaks Beatles producer George Martin's record for most #1 hits as a producer when "Yes, And?," which he helmed for Ariana Grande, becomes his 24th chart-topping production. His first was "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears in 1999.
January 26, 2024 The RIAA certifies "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey at 18x Platinum, making it the best-selling song of all time in America. It was certified at just 5x Platinum in 2013, but picked up steam as it became a streaming favorite across generations. Newer songs like Post Malone's "Sunflower" are soon certified higher, but "Don't Stop Believin'" stands as the top song from before the streaming era.
January 25, 2024 Eric Church and Morgan Wallen join a group of investors in purchasing Field & Stream magazine, which they both read growing up. They relaunch the brand and bring back print editions, which stopped publishing in 2020.
January 23, 2024 Melanie, known for her #1 hit "Brand New Key" and her Woodstock-inspired "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," dies at 76.
January 23, 2024 German Producer Frank Farian, creator of the lip-synch acts Boney M. and Milli Vanilli, dies at 82.
January 15, 2024 Elton John wins an Emmy for his Farewell From Dodger Stadium live special, completing his EGOT collection. He won his first Grammy in 1987 ("That's What Friends Are For"), his first Oscar in 1994 ("Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from The Lion King) and a Tony in 2000 for scoring Aida.
January 8, 2024 21 Savage releases the official trailer for his movie American Dream: The 21 Savage Story, starring Donald Glover and Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas from Stranger Things). There is no film: It's later revealed to be a marketing ploy to promote his American Dream album, which drops four days later and debuts at #1.
December 27, 2023 Nelly and Ashanti get married but keep it secret - TMZ breaks the news months later after discovering the marriage certificate. The couple dated on and off from 2003-2013, then rekindled their romance early in 2023.
December 25, 2023 The second film adaptation of The Color Purple opens in theaters with Fantasia Barrino, who starred in the Broadway production in 2007, reprising her role as Celie, performed in the first film (1985) by Whoopi Goldberg. Halle Bailey, H.E.R., Jon Batiste and Ciara also appear in the film.
December 22, 2023 R&B singer Halle Bailey of Chloe x Halle gives birth to her first child, a son named Halo, with her rapper boyfriend DDG. Her experience with postpartum depression inspires the song "Braveface" from her 2025 solo album, Love?... Or Something Like It.
December 11, 2023 Taylor Swift's Eras tour becomes the first to gross over $1 billion, hitting the mark in the first 60 shows, according to Pollstar's report. The previous record holder was Elton John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, which took in $939 million in 328 shows from 2018-2023.
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.
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