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 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.
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 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.
December 9, 2023 Thanks to a new music video, "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee, originally released in 1958, goes to #1 in America, making Lee, 78, the oldest artist ever to top the chart. And at 65 years, it's the longest a song has ever taken to reach the top spot.
December 2, 2023 Noah Kahan makes his first appearance on Saturday Night Live, singing "Stick Season" and "Dial Drunk" from his breakthrough 2022 album, Stick Season.
December 1, 2023 Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé opens in theaters, offering a behind-the-scenes look at her Renaissance tour. It tops the domestic box office the opening weekend with a $21 million take. Like Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour film, it's distributed by AMC Theatres, bypassing traditional studios to allow Beyoncé, who wrote and produced it, to get a bigger cut.
November 17, 2023 The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes debuts in US theaters. The first prequel film of The Hunger Games franchise, its soundtrack features a rendition of "The Hanging Tree" by Rachel Zegler, who stars as District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird in the movie, and the folk-rock ballad "Can't Catch Me Now" by Olivia Rodrigo.
November 3, 2023 Sixty-five years after it was first released, Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" gets an official music video, with Trisha Yearwood, Tanya Tucker and Santa Claus all joining Lee. The video helps send the song to #1 a few weeks later.
November 2, 2023 Using artificial intelligence to isolate John Lennon's vocals from an old demo, The Beatles release a new song: "Now And Then." It goes to #1 in the UK, their 18th chart-topper there.
October 28, 2023 Impelled by her Eras Tour concert film, Taylor Swift's "Cruel Summer," first released in 2019, goes to #1 in America.
October 27, 2023 Adidas issues the Korn collection, finally partnering with the group 27 years after they released their song "A.D.I.D.A.S." The song actually has nothing to do with the company - the title is a play on the phrase "All Day I Dream About Sex."
October 24, 2023 Britney Spears publishes her memoir, The Woman In Me, revealing that she was once pregnant with Justin Timberlake's baby but didn't have the child.
October 20, 2023 She's got yule, babe: Cher releases her first holiday album, Christmas, with a cover of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" featuring Darlene Love. Cher sang backup on Love's original version 60 years earlier in 1963.
October 7, 2023 Frances Bean Cobain, daughter of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, marries Riley Hawk, son of skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, in a ceremony officiated by Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Frances' godfather.
September 29, 2023 'N Sync release their first new music since 2002 with the single "Better Place," used in the movie Trolls Band Together.
September 9, 2023 "I Remember Everything," a duet where Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves play the parts of ex-lovers torn asunder by his drinking, hits #1 in America. It becomes one of the saddest singalong songs ever recorded.
September 8, 2023 Olivia Rodrigo releases her sophomore album, Guts. Featuring the chart-topping lead single, "Vampire," it's her second album to reach the summit of the Billboard 200 albums chart.
September 4, 2023 Diana Ross makes a surprise appearance at Beyoncé's Los Angeles show to wish her a happy 42nd B'Day. After singing her hit "Love Hangover," Ross leads the crowd in "Happy Birthday."
August 26, 2023 Oliver Anthony becomes the first artist with no chart history to debut at #1 in America when "Rich Men North Of Richmond," recorded outdoors in one take with his dogs nearby, shoots to the top.More
August 23, 2023 The first Republican debate opens with a clip of Oliver Anthony singing "Rich Men North Of Richmond," his takedown of venal and incompetent politicians in Washington, with the candidates asked, "Why is this song striking such a nerve in this country right now?" "It was funny seeing my song in the presidential debate, because I wrote that song about those people," Anthony says.
August 16, 2023 Britney Spears' third husband, Sam Asghari, files for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. They started dating in 2017 after he played her love interest in the "Slumber Party" video, and got married in June 2022. Their divorce is finalized on May 2, 2024.
August 12, 2023 At Yankee Stadium, Jonas Brothers kick off their Five Albums, One Night tour with a 66-song setlist.
August 11, 2023 The Hip Hop 50 Live concert goes down at Yankee Stadium, celebrating 50 years since Kool Herc birthed the genre in the Bronx. Performers include Snoop Dogg, The Sugarhill Gang, Lauryn Hill, and Run-D.M.C. in their last performance.
August 8, 2023 Sixto Rodriguez, a mercurial singer-songwriter whose story is told in the documentary Searching For Sugar Man, dies at 81.
August 5, 2023 For the first time since 1958, country songs claim the top three spots on the Hot 100: #1 "Try That in a Small Town" by Jason Aldean #2 "Last Night" by Morgan Wallen #3 "Fast Car" by Luke Combs (a cover of Tracy Chapman's song)
July 28, 2023 Travis Scott releases his highly anticipated fourth album, Utopia. It lives up to the hype, debuting at #1 with all 19 tracks entering the Hot 100 simultaneously. Guests on the album include Beyoncé on "Delresto (Echoes)," Drake on "Meltdown," and Playboi Carti on "FE!N."
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