June 7, 2026 The Tony Awards shake things up by going off Broadway for a host: Pink, who fits right in with aerial stunts, vocal dexterity and eye-catching costumes. She opens the show with a grand production number based on "Lady Marmalade" from Moulin Rouge.
May 24, 2026 Drake's albums Iceman, Habibti and Maid of Honour debut at #1, #2 and #3 in the US, making him the first artist to occupy the top three spots. Over on the Hot 100, 42 of the 43 songs make the chart, a new record. Another milestone: Iceman gives Drake 15 #1 albums, surpassing Jay-Z for the most among male solo artists.
May 21, 2026 Paul McCartney is the surprise final guest on the last-ever episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, returning to the Ed Sullivan Theater 62 years after The Beatles made their famous appearance there on the Ed Sullivan Show to trigger Beatlemania. In the last segment, McCartney sings "Hello, Goodbye" with Colbert, Jon Batiste and Elvis Costello joining in, before turning the lights out in the theater.
May 15, 2026 Dusting himself off from his feud with Kendrick Lamar, Drake celebrates the release of his long-awaited album Iceman with a fireworks display at midnight at the CN Tower in Toronto, which is iced-out for the occasion with 75 projectors. He also surprise drops two more albums: Habibti and Maid of Honour; a total of 43 tracks.
May 6, 2026 After reuniting to play Coachella two years earlier, No Doubt kick off an 18-night residency at the Spere in Las Vegas, making Gwen Stefani the first woman to headline there. The setlist covers 21 songs from 1992-2003, most from their 1995 landmark album Tragic Kingdom.
May 3, 2026 After spreading on TikTok, "Angels Above Me," an unauthorized AI-generated remix of a 2019 track of the same name by Stick Figure, goes to #1 on iTunes charts across Europe. It's an early example of an AI track of unclear origin circumventing legalities to bootleg a hit song without the artist's knowledge.
April 24, 2026 Three years after crashing into the mainstream with his third album, Stick Season, folk singer Noah Kahan releases The Great Divide. Its namesake lead single, a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, is about the distance that fame created in his relationships.
April 19, 2026 Traffic founding guitarist Dave Mason dies at 79. He wrote "Feelin' Alright" for the group, and as a solo artist had a hit with "We Just Disagree."
April 19, 2026 Rosalía makes her acting debut in the series Euphoria playing a stripper named Magick, a recurring role where she tangles with Zendaya's Rue. Two of her songs were used in earlier episodes: "Malamente" in 2019 and "Lo Vas a Olvidar" in 2021.
April 17, 2026 Nine Inch Nails and German electronic-music producer Alex Ridha (known professionally as Boys Noize) release a collaborative album titled Nine Inch Noize. The 12-track collection features various remixes, including versions of older Nine Inch Nails songs, a tune by the Trent Reznor side project How To Destroy Angels, and a cover of British synth-pop duo Soft Cell's "Memorabilia."
April 17, 2026 Madonna makes a surprise appearance during Sabrina Carpenter's headlining set at Coachella, rising from the stage to perform "Vogue" and "Like a Prayer" alongside Carpenter and debut "Bring Your Love," the lead single from her upcoming Confessions II album. Madonna's first appearance at the festival was 20 years earlier in 2006 when she prepared to launch her Confessions Tour.
March 27, 2026 Robyn releases her ninth studio album, Sexistential. The single "Talk To Me" marks a reunion between Sweden's former teen-pop sensation and Max Martin, who produced her debut album in 1995 before becoming a prolific hitmaker for other teen acts of the '90s, including Britney Spears.
March 27, 2026 Raye drops her second album, This Music May Contain Hope. The 17 tracks are divided into four "seasons" representing the emotional stages that inspired them. The lead single, "Where Is My Husband!," is a #1 hit in her native UK and helps her break through in America.
March 24, 2026 Miley Cyrus revisits Hannah Montana for a Disney+ 20th anniversary special. Former cast members, along with stars like Selena Gomez and Chappell Roan, join Cyrus in sharing memories of the show, which ran from 2006 to 2011 and starred Cyrus as a schoolgirl who was secretly a rock star. Cyrus debuts a new song on the special called "Younger You," written in the form of a letter from her younger self.
March 18, 2026 A jury rules for Afroman in a defamation lawsuit filed by seven police officers involved in a raid on his home in 2022. The raid turned up nothing illegal, and Afroman used footage from his security system to mock the officers in videos like "Lemon Pound Cake," which shows one of them eying the dessert while searching for contraband. The verdict is a win for free speech and parody protection.
March 6, 2026 Harry Styles releases his fourth album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally., with the #1 lead single "Aperture." The album title is a mantra for Styles. "It's unhealthy to disco all the time, so loving and moving through your life with love, and then taking a break every now and again to have some fun is a really good way to approach your life," he says.
February 27, 2026 Gorillaz release their ninth album, The Mountain. Inspired by Indian music and the belief that death is a transition to the afterlife, it features some former collaborators who have made their transitions, including Dennis Hopper, whose voice is the first one heard on the album. (Hopper, who died in 2010, recorded narration for the 2005 Gorillaz song "Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head.")
February 27, 2026 Bruno Mars releases The Romantic, his first solo album since 24K Magic 10 years earlier. The first single is the banger "I Just Might," which debuted at #1; the rest of the album is filled with songs that explore what happens when you lead with your heart, going all-in on romance.
February 21, 2026 In the wake of his Super Bowl halftime show performance, Bad Bunny's "DtMF" (sung in Spanish) hits #1 in America. It's the first predominantly foreign-language to top the chart since "Despacito" in 2017.
February 20, 2026 Mumford & Sons release their sixth studio album, Prizefighter. Produced by The National guitarist Aaron Dessner, the album boasts several collaborations with artists like Hozier on "Rubber Band Man" and Gracie Abrams on "Badlands."
February 14, 2026 "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley tops the Hot 100, Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts, making her the first woman to top all three of those charts at the same time.
February 8, 2026 At the Super Bowl, Charlie Puth sings the national anthem, which he calls "the hardest song ever written." The arrangement, with a choir and orchestra, is a tribute to Whitney Houston, his fellow New Jersey native who delivered the most famous Super Bowl national anthem in 1991.
February 8, 2026 Bad Bunny headlines the Super Bowl halftime show, bringing a set full of Spanish-language songs to that stage for the first time. His performance is a tribute to his native Puerto Rico, with a real-life wedding and subsequent celebration. Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin perform as special guests, with Gaga's "Die With A Smile" the only song sung in English.
February 4, 2026 Sabrina Carpenter is the guest star on a Muppet Show special that reunites Kermit and the gang to celebrate their 50th anniversary. She performs "Manchild" to some of the more dimwitted monsters, and has beef (or would it be pork?) with Miss Piggy.
February 1, 2026 A week before his Super Bowl performance, Bad Bunny becomes the first Spanish-language artist to win the Grammy for Album Of The Year when Debí Tirar Más Fotos takes the prize. Kendrick Lamar picks up five trophies (including Record Of The Year for "Luther") to become the most-awarded rapper in Grammy history with 27.
January 10, 2026 Grateful Dead guitarist and founding member Bob Weir's long strange trip comes to an end as he dies following a battle with cancer. He sang lead on "Truckin'" and co-wrote many Dead classics, including "Sugar Magnolia" and "Born Cross-Eyed."
January 2, 2026 Lola Young, who has largely been out of action since collapsing on stage three months earlier, makes a triumphant return at the Grammy Awards, where she performs "Messy" and wins Best Pop Solo Performance for that song.
December 31, 2025 The TV series Stranger Things wraps up with a finale featuring the rarely licensed Prince songs "When Doves Cry" and "Purple Rain" as part of a plotline where Side 2 of the Purple Rain album triggers a device. Like many '80s tracks used on the show (particularly "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush), the songs find a new audience and get a huge boost in streaming.
December 18, 2025 At the first US TikTok Awards, Alex Warren wins Breakthrough Artist Of The Year, Katseye are named Global Artist Of The Year, and Global Song Of The Year goes to "Pretty Little Baby," the obscure Connie Francis song that went viral on the platform over the summer.
December 5, 2025 Olivia Rodrigo becomes one of the few modern pop stars to release a big live album when she issues Live From Glastonbury (A BBC Recording), which documents her headlining set at the famed English festival the previous summer. The Cure frontman Robert Smith joins the singer on two covers of his band's songs: "Friday I'm In Love" and "Just Like Heaven."
©2026 Songfacts®, LLC