September 13, 2019 Lizzo, Cardi B and Jennifer Lopez play strippers in the movie Hustlers, which also features Usher as a patron. It's the film debut for Cardi, who was an exotic dancer before launching her music career.
September 8, 2019 Mitski, burned out from years on the road and increasing pressure from her rising popularity, wraps up her Be The Cowboy tour with a show in Central Park where she says it will be her "last show indefinitely." She returns to music in 2021 and gets a fresh jolt of fame as her music permeates TikTok over the next few years.
September 7, 2019 Thanks to an appearance in the Netflix show Someone Great where Gina Rodriguez gets tipsy and sings it to get over a breakup, "Truth Hurts" by Lizzo goes to #1 in America nearly two years after it was first released.
September 6, 2019 The Highwomen, a country supergroup comprising Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby, release their self-titled debut album. The group's name is a reference to The Highwaymen, which formed in 1985 with the lineup of Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson.
August 26, 2019 Ed Sheeran wraps up his ÷ (Divide) tour with a show at Chantry Park in Ipswich, England, near his hometown of Framlingham. The tour started on March 16, 2017 and set the record for highest-grossing tour, earning $775.6 million over 255 shows. After two-and-a-half years on the road, he's ready for a rest. "This is my last gig for probably 18 months," he tells the crowd.
August 24, 2019 Billie Eilish ends a 19-week run at #1 for "Old Town Road" when "Bad Guy" claims the top spot on the Hot 100. The song is about how certain people (herself included) like to think of themselves as subversive rule breakers.
August 23, 2019 Taylor Swift releases Lover, an upbeat album that stands in contrast to her previous release, the serpentine Reputation.More
August 14, 2019 Matt Healy of The 1975, an advocate for LGBQ rights, ventures into the crowd and kisses a male fan on the lips during a concert in Dubai, where homosexuality is illegal. "We're all human, right?," he says upon returning to the stage.
August 2, 2019 With a show in Hannover, Germany on the 246th date of his ÷ (Divide) tour, Ed Sheeran breaks the record for highest-grossing tour, surpassing the $735.3 million U2 earned on their 2009-2011 360 tour (they did it in just 110 shows). Sheeran finishes the tour August 26 with a final tally of $775.6 million.
July 29, 2019 In a unanimous verdict, a jury rules that Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" copied the electronic melody from the 2008 song "Joyful Noise" by the Christian hip-hop artist Flame. Three days later, the jury awards $2.78 million in damages, but in March 2020, a federal judge overturns the verdict on appeal.More
July 25, 2019 PledgeMusic, a platform for fans to fund musicians, goes offline without delivering the money pledged to hundreds of artists.More
July 6, 2019 With 13 weeks at #1, "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X breaks the record for longest-running hip-hop song on the Hot 100. "Lose Yourself," "Boom Boom Pow" and "See You Again" all had runs of 12 weeks.
June 30, 2019 Taylor Swift's former label, Big Machine, is sold to Scooter Braun's company for an estimated $300 million, giving him control of her back catalog, including the master recordings. In response, Swift accuses Braun of bullying her and says she will re-record all her old albums to devalue his purchase.More
June 1, 2019 Tyler, The Creator's offbeat album Igor debuts at #1 in the US, beating the far more traditional and trendy Father Of Asahd by DJ Khaled, the heavy favorite. Igor goes on to win the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.
May 22, 2019 ABC airs live remakes of All in the Family and The Jeffersons, two shows with iconic theme songs. Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei (as Archie and Edith Bunker) sing "Those Were The Days," the All in the Family theme; Jennifer Hudson does "Movin' On Up," The Jeffersons theme.More
May 22, 2019 The biographical film Rocketman, starring Taron Egerton as Elton John, debuts in US theaters.More
May 17, 2019 Tyler, The Creator releases his fifth album, Igor, also the name of his blond-haired alter-ego. It becomes his first #1 album and earns Tyler his first Grammy win when it takes the trophy for Best Rap Album.
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.
May 4, 2019 A section of Staten Island is renamed "Wu-Tang Clan District" in honor of the group.More
April 19, 2019 The New York Yankees and Philadelphia Flyers pull Kate Smith's version of "God Bless America" when it is revealed that she sang racist songs in the 1930s, including "That's Why Darkies Were Born" and "Pickaninny Heaven."
April 5, 2019 The Aretha Franklin documentary Amazing Grace is finally released in theaters, 47 years after it was recorded in 1972.More
March 30, 2019 Tame Impala debut the song "Borderline" on Saturday Night Live even though the lyrics aren't written yet. Frontman Kevin Parker improvises some words and mumbles his way through it, but nobody seems to notice. He calls it "singing in tongues."
March 29, 2019 Seventeen-year-old Billie Eilish releases her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, which debuts at #1 in America.
March 26, 2019 Ranking Roger (Roger Charlery), the toaster for General Public and The English Beat, dies at 56 after a battle with cancer.
March 16, 2019 "Old Town Road" by the rapper Lil Nas X makes the Country chart, but is removed the following week when Billboard declares it ineligible for the tally. The attention leads to a remix with Billy Ray Cyrus that goes to #1 on the genre-agnostic Hot 100.More
March 15, 2019 The New York Public Library opens the Lou Reed Archive, with photos, recordings and other media documenting his career.More
March 3, 2019 Undeterred by a lawsuit filed by Michael Jackson's estate, HBO airs the first part of the 4-hour documentary Leaving Neverland, leveling new accusations of child abuse at Jackson 10 years after his death. In the aftermath, many distance themselves from Jackson: The Simpsons pulls his episode, and some radio stations drop him from playlists.
March 1, 2019 After a six-year hiatus, the Jonas Brothers announce their reunion, dropping a new song called "Sucker."
February 28, 2019 Weezer join the Fortnite universe with "Weezer World," a "Creative Island" where players can ride around on a hoverboard while listening to Weezer tunes. It's one of the first Fortnite musical collaborations; earlier in the month, Marshmello held a virtual concert. Weezer return in 2024 with "Sweat(er) City," which includes a unique weapon: a sweater yarn stun gun. (You know, because "The Sweater Song.")
February 24, 2019 Queen, with Adam Lambert on vocals, open the Oscars with a medley of "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions." The biopic Bohemian Rhapsody goes on to win four awards, more than any other film at the ceremony.
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