October 27, 2014 Taylor Swift issues 1989, her biggest-selling album. The first two singles are monster hits: "Shake It Off" and "Blank Space."More
September 5, 2014 Pop singer Simone Battle (of G.R.L.) dies of an apparent suicide in Los Angeles, California, at age 25.
August 2, 2014 Weird Al Yankovic's Mandatory Fun goes to #1, giving the parody master his first chart-topping album.More
September 18, 2013 Roger Pope (frequent drummer for Elton John) dies of cancer in Southampton, England, at age 66, just hours after marrying his longtime companion, Sue Tresidder.
April 12, 2013 Five years after the release of Folie à Deux, Fall Out Boy issue their pop-leaning comeback album, Save Rock and Roll, featuring the hit "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)."
April 8, 2013 Annette Funicello dies at age 70 of multiple sclerosis. The actress became famous as a Mouseketeer on the original Mickey Mouse Club before becoming a pop singer and was known for a string of popular '60s "Beach Party" films with co-star Frankie Avalon.
January 8, 2013 Enigmatic pop icon David Bowie releases the single "Where Are We Now?," from his upcoming album The Next Day. The date of the release also coincides with his birthday. It is his first release in over a decade.
December 13, 2012 Police bust a bizarre murder plot targeting pop singer Justin Bieber. A team of three hit men in Albuquerque, New Mexico, had been making plans to stalk and kill the singer and even castrate him. One of the three men had reportedly been obsessed with Bieber to the point of having a tattoo of him on his leg. All three men were apprehended along with confiscated weapons - and a set of pruning shears.
December 1, 2012 Antonio de la Rua, former boyfriend (and former business manager) of Latin pop star Shakira, files a lawsuit for $100 million against her. The suit alleges that Shakira wouldn't have had the success she'd had without his help, and Rua seeks compensation for his management work.
September 28, 2012 The musical comedy Pitch Perfect, about an underdog collegiate singing group, premieres in theaters on the cusp of an a cappella revival. The resurgence includes the debut of the genre's newest phenomenon, Pentatonix. More
September 12, 2012 After years of mainstream popularity, considerable airplay, and being nominated for numerous awards, Matchbox Twenty finally get their due on the charts with a #1 debut on the Billboard albums chart. North is their first top-charting album and their fifth studio album in the 16 years the band has been together.
August 18, 2012 Pop singer-songwriter Scott McKenzie dies at age 73 in Los Angeles, California, after a two-year struggle with Guillain-Barre syndrome.
July 15, 2012 The "Gangnam Style" video is posted to YouTube; we are powerless to resist.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
February 18, 2012 "Call Me Maybe," a catchy pop song from Canadian Idol alumna Carly Rae Jepsen, goes viral via a YouTube lip dub video by Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. The attention helps send the single to #1.More
July 16, 2011 "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO hits #1 after first appearing on the Hot 100 on February 12 at #78. Thanks to a captivating video, the song starts the "shufflin'" dance craze and spends a staggering 68 weeks on the chart (six at #1), which is longer than any other chart-topper.More
May 7, 2011 '60s pop singer John Walker (of The Walker Brothers) dies of liver disease at age 67.
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.
June 2, 2010 After being awarded the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, Paul McCartney sings "Michelle" to First Lady Michelle Obama at a White House performance.
January 31, 2010 Taylor Swift and Beyoncé sweep the Grammy Awards with record-breaking wins. Earning Album of the Year for Fearless at age 19, Swift is the youngest artist to ever win the award. Beyoncé wins six out of ten nominations - including Song of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) " - giving her the most wins in one night of any female artist.More
October 10, 2009 Pop singer Stephen Gately (of Boyzone), age 33, dies of a congenital heart defect in Majorca, Spain.
August 25, 2009 Skillet's Awake album debuts at #2 on the US albums chart, tying with Underoath's Define The Great Line and Casting Crowns' The Altar and the Door for the highest-charting Christian rock album. The album also features their first Hot 100 entry: "Awake and Alive."More
July 7, 2009 After a private ceremony at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood Hills, Michael Jackson's public funeral is held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Most TV networks cover the event, where Kobe Bryant, Mariah Carey, Andrae Crouch Choir, Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jennifer Hudson, Magic Johnson, John Mayer, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Brooke Shields, Usher and Stevie Wonder all participate.More
April 7, 2009 The jukebox musical Rock of Ages, a celebration of glam metal and classic rock of the '80s, opens at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.
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January 20, 2009 Beyoncé serenades Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, at the Neighborhood Ball as the couple shares their first dance together as president and first lady of the United States. The choice of song, Etta James' signature hit "At Last," throws the blues singer into a fit of rage aimed at Beyoncé.More
January 15, 2009 In Tupelo, Mississippi, Darius Rucker, once a headliner with his pop band Hootie & the Blowfish, joins Brad Paisley's tour, where he is third on the bill behind Paisley and Dierks Bentley. It's Rucker's first tour as a country artist; he's willing to do "everything the new guy does" to make it happen.
October 4, 2008 Darius Rucker, known as the frontman for the '90s pop band Hootie & the Blowfish, hits #1 on the Country chart with his first country single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," making him the first African American singer to top that tally since 1985, when Ray Charles hit the top with "Seven Spanish Angels," a duet with Willie Nelson.
August 19, 2008 After two years performing in the New York City club scene, 22-year-old Lady Gaga releases her debut album, The Fame, a look at how fame is all about attitude. Thanks to the hits "Just Dance" and "Poker Face," it makes her famous worldwide, not just in her mind.More
May 3, 2008 Thanks to a Vegas-themed video featuring dice-shaped lollipops, Lil Wayne's single "Lollipop" hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stays for five consecutive weeks.
February 25, 2008 Stephen "Static Major" Garrett, who co-wrote Ginuwine's "Pony," Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" and many tracks for Aaliyah, dies at age 32 after contracting a rare autoimmune disorder.
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