July 12, 2010 Jewel puts on a disguise and, posing as a shy, nervous businesswoman named Karen, sings her own songs at a karaoke bar to a stunned crowd. Billed as "Undercover Karaoke," the video quickly goes viral.
July 11, 2010 At the FIFA World Cup closing ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa, "Shakira" performs the official song, "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)." She and Gerard Piqué, a star for the Spanish team (which wins the tournament) get together at the event and become a couple. They have two children together, who Shakira refers to as her "Waka Kids."
July 10, 2010 Roger Waters makes a surprise appearance at a benefit concert in Oxfordshire, England when he joins his onetime Pink Floyd bandmate David Gilmour for a four-song set, marking the first time since Live 8 in 2005 that they have shared the stage. Gilmour reciprocates by joining Waters for a performance of The Wall on May 12, 2011 in London.
July 4, 2010 After attending a gay pride parade in London, George Michael crashes his Range Rover into a Snappy Snaps photo store in Hampstead, England. Convicted of driving under the influence of cannabis, he goes to prison on September 21 and serves four weeks.
June 28, 2010 Jake Holmes finally gets around to suing Led Zeppelin for plagiarizing his 1967 song "Dazed And Confused." Led Zeppelin released a very similar song with the same title on their 1969 debut album, but Holmes waited decades to take legal action. The case is eventually settled, with the writing credit on the song changed to "Jimmy Page, Inspired By Jake Holmes."
June 26, 2010 Gary Clark, Jr., little known outside of Austin, Texas, performs at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival. The performance earns raves and leads to a deal with Warner Bros. Records.
June 19, 2010 "California Gurls" hits #1, the first of five Hot 100 chart-toppers from Katy Perry's Teenage Dream album - a feat equaled only by Michael Jackson's Bad.More
June 16, 2010 Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax play on the same bill, marking the first time the "Big Four" of thrash metal do a show together.More
June 10, 2010 Appearing at Milan's PalaSharp Arena to promote his self-titled solo record, Slash, in the midst of performing the Guns N' Roses classic "Sweet Child o' Mine," is tackled by a concertgoer. The guitarist bravely keeps on rocking, eventually switching guitars and finishing the song. Afterward, Slash described the night as "a kick-ass rock show."
June 3, 2010 Esquire posts video of a fashion shoot where Gavin Rossdale's daughter Daisy Lowe dances to the song "Tiger" by Maximum Balloon, garnering millions of views and giving the song a huge boost.More
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.
May 24, 2010 Slipknot bass player Paul Gray, one of the group's founders, dies at age 38 from an accidental overdose in his Iowa hotel room. The band's next album, .5: The Gray Chapter (2014), is filled with songs about coming to terms with his death.
May 24, 2010 At a Lamb of God concert in Prague, lead singer Randy Blythe pushes an encroaching fan off the stage. The man falls backward, hits his head, and dies two weeks later from the injury. Blythe doesn't know that the fan is seriously injured, and isn't aware of it when Czech authorities issue a warrant for his arrest. When the band returns to play a show in 2012, police detain Blythe and hold him in prison for five weeks. He later stands trail and is cleared of the charges.
May 19, 2010 David Guetta's "Gettin' Over You" becomes the billionth track to be Shazamed.
May 10, 2010 In tribute to the recently deceased Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell, Jose Feliciano performs the US national anthem before the Tigers/Yankees game at Tiger Stadium. In 1968, Harwell had Feliciano sing the anthem before a Tigers World Series game, and the 23-year-old blind Puerto Rican singer responded by playing the first non-traditional rendition of the song at a major sporting event. He and Harwell took a lot of heat, but in later years, it became common for singers to put their own spin on the song.
May 2, 2010 A flood in Nashville damages the Grand Ole Opry House and Country Music Hall of Fame. John Fogerty, Brad Paisley, Vince Gill and Keith Urban are among those who lose guitars and other equipment that is held in a storage facility. Also destroyed are the bass used on the Hank Williams song "Your Cheatin' Heart," and a Stratocaster owned by Jimi Hendrix.
May 1, 2010 "Nothin' On You" by the rapper B.o.B hits #1 in America. It features vocals from Bruno Mars, who also co-wrote and co-produced the song. He lands his own #1 hit a few months later with his debut single as a lead artist: "Just The Way You Are."
April 22, 2010 Poison lead singer Bret Michaels suffers a brain hemorrhage that nearly kills him. After almost two weeks in intensive care, he makes a full recovery. Throughout the ordeal, he leaves his headband on, explaining, "If I'm going out, I want to go out rocking."
April 20, 2010 Swedish dance-pop star Robyn releases her signature tune, "Dancing On My Own." The electropop ballad about heartbreak on the dance floor is a prime example of her deceptively upbeat style, which pairs club friendly music with emotional lyrics.
April 17, 2010 When Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros frontman Alex Ebert takes the stage at Coachella, he clumsily knocks a microphone stand into the crowd. A guy in the audience catches it with his forehead, and blood spills all over the place. Ebert, horrified, gives the guy his sportcoat and his shirt to staunch the bleeding, and performs the set topless. It proves a breakout performance for the band, whose song "Home" starts showing up everywhere.
April 13, 2010 Ron Isley of The Isley Brothers is released from jail after serving 3 years for tax evasion. He came up with song ideas in prison and releases the album Mr. I on November 30.
March 20, 2010 Three days after their lead singer Alex Chilton died of a heart attack, Big Star play the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, with a number of guests joining to pay tribute to Chilton.More
March 19, 2010 The Runaways, about the pioneering all-girl rock band, hits theaters. The film, which focuses on group member Joan Jett (played by Kristen Stewart), is a huge flop.More
March 19, 2010 Justin Bieber, who turned 16 three weeks earlier, releases his debut album, My World 2.0, with the hit "Baby." The album debuts at #1, setting the stage for a massive tour and 3D concert film, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.
March 9, 2010 Hadestown, a concept album based on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, is released by the singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell on Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe Records. The album is adapted into a musical that hits Broadway in 2019, winning the Tony that year for Best Musical. In 2024, DiFranco makes her Broadway debut in the show playing Persephone.
March 8, 2010 After an array of court hearings and postponements (some so he can get dental work), Lil Wayne finally begins serving a one-year sentence on firearms charges stemming from a 2007 incident when police found a gun on his tour bus. He serves eight months at Rikers Island.
February 10, 2010 John Mayer describes his ex-girlfriend Jessica Simpson as "sexual napalm" in a Playboy interview.More
February 4, 2010 A judge rules that the flute riff of the Men at Work song "Down Under" plagiarizes another Australian classic: the 1932 song "Kookaburra."More
January 31, 2010 The Record Academy honors Leonard Cohen with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. During his acceptance speech, Cohen comments on his surprise at receiving a Grammy, joking that he "was always touched by the modesty of [the Recording Academy's] interest in my work."
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
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