February 29, 2012 A man is found dead outside of a house owned by rapper Rick Ross. The Miami Herald reports that Gregory Paul Nesbitt, 39, was shot to death outside of Ross' Miami Gardens mansion. Although Ross used the house to record and to house guests, the rapper was not home at the time of the incident. Police say Nesbitt is known to them but did not speculate on why the victim would be on Ross' property.
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 22, 2012 Five months after debuting the song in her native Canada, Carly Rae Jepsen releases the single "Call Me Maybe" in America. With help from a video of Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez and other tween celebs lip-syncing to the song, it rises up the charts and becomes a worldwide hit. In the US, it is the song of the summer, topping the Hot 100 on June 23 and staying until August 25.
February 21, 2012 In an anti-Kremlin protest, three members of the band Pussy Riot perform an impromptu, obscenity-filled song at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour of the Russian Orthodox Church, Moscow. They are promptly ejected, and later arrested for hooliganism, making headlines around the world.
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
February 11, 2012 Whitney Houston is found dead in the bathtub of her suite at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles, where she was slated to perform at Clive Davis' annual Pre-Grammy party later that night.More
January 20, 2012 Etta James dies at age 73 of leukemia complications.More
January 19, 2012 The documentary Searching for Sugar Man premieres at the Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Malik Bendjelloul, the film traces the seemingly unbelievable-but-true musical career of Sixto Rodríguez.
January 14, 2012 Little-known Lana Del Rey takes heaps of social media abuse for her lethargic performance on Saturday Night Live. She gets retribution when her Born To Die album, released two weeks later, earns her a global fanbase.
January 8, 2012 Rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard's FBI file is released. The report details nine arrests for the rapper, and says his group Wu-Tang Clan is "heavily involved in the sale of drugs, illegal guns, weapons possession, murder, carjacking and other types of violent crime."
January 7, 2012 "The One That Got Away" from Katy Perry's album Teenage Dream hits #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart, making the album the first in history with seven #1s on that tally.
January 7, 2012 Beyoncé and Jay-Z have their first child: a daughter named Blue Ivy Carter.More
January 6, 2012 Wiz Khalifa is sued for $2.3 million over his hit song "Black and Yellow." Max Warren, who raps under the name "Maxamillion," claims Khalifa, his producers, and his label stole the song from him. In the lawsuit, Warren states that the idea for the song was taken from his copyrighted 2007 song "Pink and Yellow." Khalifa claims he's never heard of Warren or his music.
December 18, 2011 Ralph MacDonald, a percussionist and songwriter who composed the hit duets "Where Is the Love" (Roberta Flack/Donny Hathaway) and "Just The Two Of Us" (Bill Withers/Grover Washington Jr.), dies of lung cancer at age 67.
December 12, 2011 The Jewish reggae star Matisyahu shaves his beard, which he has had for 16 years. He gets the shave at a Manhattan Supercuts, as he doesn't own a razor. Many of his fans are thrown for a loop, but he explains that losing the beard does not mean he is abandoning Judaism.
December 10, 2011 At the last of four 30th anniversary concerts at The Filmore in San Francisco, Metallica are joined on stage by two original members: bass player Ron McGovney and guitarist Dave Mustaine.More
December 7, 2011 30 Seconds to Mars breaks the record for most shows performed during a single album cycle when they play their 300th concert in support of their album This Is War at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.
December 5, 2011 The reality show T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle debuts on VH1, chronicling the life of rapper T.I., his wife Tameka "Tiny" Cottle of Xscape, and their six children. It runs for six seasons.
November 26, 2011 English drummer Keef Hartley (of Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Keef Hartley Band) dies at age 67.
November 19, 2011 17-year-old Justin Bieber hits #1 with his Christmas album Under The Mistletoe, making him the only teenager ever to top the chart with a holiday album.
November 15, 2011 Mark "Moogy" Klingman (keyboardist for Utopia) dies of bladder cancer in New York City, at age 61.
November 12, 2011 Blues drummer Doyle Bramhall dies of heart failure in his sleep in Alpine, Texas, at age 62. He worked with both Jimmie Vaughan (in The Chessmen) and Stevie Ray Vaughan (in The Nightcrawlers).
November 11, 2011 Black Sabbath announce they will reunite with their original lineup for a new album and tour in 2012. The press conference is hosted by Henry Rollins.
November 7, 2011 Dr. Conrad Murray is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. Murray was accused of giving the singer a lethal dose of the sedative propofol on the day he died.
October 31, 2011 17-year-old Justin Bieber is hit with a paternity suit from 20-year-old Mariah Yeater, who claims the singer knocked her up in a Staples Center bathroom. The suit is later dropped, but Bieber takes a paternity test anyway to prove he is not the father.
October 21, 2011 The FBI lists Juggalos - fans of Insane Clown Posse - as "a loosely-organized hybrid gang" in their National Gang Threat Assessment.More
October 20, 2011 John Mayer has throat surgery to treat a problem with his vocal cords, pushing back the release of his album Born and Raised.
October 18, 2011 The Stone Roses announce they are to reunite after a 15-year split. The band confirms three gigs at Heaton Park in Manchester on June 29th, 30th and July 1st 2012, and also claim a world tour and new album is in the works.
October 18, 2011 A Birmingham County Court declares four of the original members of UB40 bankrupt. Even after selling 70+ million records over their 33-year career, saxophone player Brian Travers, drummer Jimmy Brown, trumpeter Terence "Astro" Wilson and percussionist Norman Hassan fail to fight off bankruptcy proceedings over debts related to the band's now defunct record label DEP International.
October 15, 2011 Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder and Usher all perform at Bill Clinton's 65th birthday celebration at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Gaga turns her hit song into "Bill Romance" for her performance.
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