October 5, 2002 Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This" goes from #52 to #1 on the Hot 100, breaking the record for biggest leap to the top spot. The previous record was held by The Beatles, whose "Can't Buy Me Love" went from #27 to #1. Maroon 5 beat Clarkson's record in 2007 when "It Makes Me Wonder" rose to the summit from #64.
September 30, 2002 Faith Hill releases "Cry," the title track from her latest country pop album. It's another crossover success for the country singer, landing at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and giving her a second win for Best Female Country Vocal Performance (the first being for "Breathe").
September 30, 2002 Christina Aguilera's "Dirrty" video hits MTV, shocking viewers with bawdy scenes where she's doing some dirrty dancing. It's a major image makeover for Aguilera, a former Disney star whose 1999 debut album established her as wholesome pop star.More
September 26, 2002 Colin Hay of Men at Work appears throughout the Scrubs episode "My Overkill," performing his song "Overkill" in various fantasy sequences.
September 19, 2002 No-frills rock music comes back into fashion with the emergence of The White Stripes, The Strokes, The Hives, and Jet. Rolling Stone heralds the trend with a cover featuring The Vines and the headline "Rock Is Back!"More
September 14, 2002 After dating for seven years, Gwen Stefani of No Doubt and Gavin Rossdale of Bush get married at St. Paul's Covent Garden in London. They divorce in 2016.
September 4, 2002 Kelly Clarkson beats Justin Guarini to become the first winner of American Idol.More
August 17, 2002 Hours before his wife is murdered, Jacksonville resident Justin Barber downloads the Guns N' Roses song "Used To Love Her." The song is later played at the trial as evidence, with the lyrics displayed for the jury ("I used to love her, but I had to kill her..."). Barber is convicted of first degree murder and given a life sentence.
August 14, 2002 Guns N' Roses kick off their Chinese Democracy world tour with a show in Hong Kong. The album they are touring behind doesn't show up for another six years.
July 26, 2002 A week before he is due to sign a contract with Universal South Records, Matthew West suffers a serious injury to his arm. Having accidentally locked himself in his house, West attempts to escape through a window, but his arm goes straight through the glass pane. West is rushed to hospital, where he is told he came close to severing a major artery. He will go on to fully recover from the incident.
July 26, 2002 Beyoncé makes her film debut, playing Mike Myers' love interest, Foxxy Cleopatra, in Austin Powers in Goldmember. Her catch phrase: "I'm a whole lotta woman." Britney Spears also shows up in the film as a fem-bot who gets blown up by Myers.More
July 23, 2002 New Jersey-based alt rockers My Chemical Romance release their vampire-themed debut album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. Released through the independent punk label Eyeball Records, it was produced by Thursday frontman Geoff Rickly.More
July 21, 2002 Steve Earle appears on the HBO series The Wire playing a recovering drug addict in what becomes a recurring role. He has no trouble playing the part, having struggled with addiction for much of his life.
July 16, 2002 After unfinished tracks from their shelved project The Lillywhite Sessions are leaked on the internet, Dave Matthews Band reworks the songs and release them as Busted Stuff.More
July 4, 2002 Michael Abram, the man who attacked and nearly murdered George Harrison some 19 months earlier, is given a conditional release by a Mental Health Review Tribunal, to the fury of George's widow, Olivia. Says Abram: "If I could turn back the clock I would give anything not to have done what I did. But I have come to realise that I was very ill at that time, really not in control."
June 25, 2002 Benson Boone is born in Monroe, a small town in Washington. After building an online following he competes on American Idol but drops out in the round of 24. Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons signs him to his imprint and releases Boone's debut album, Fireworks & Rollerblades, in 2024, which includes the hit "Beautiful Things."
June 21, 2002 Widespread Panic headline the first Bonnaroo Music Festival, held on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. The inaugural four-day event - named for the Creole slang for "good stuff," borrowed from a Dr. John album - focuses on jam bands and folk acts, welcoming Trey Anastasio, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Jurassic 5, and The String Cheese Incident to the line-up.
June 16, 2002 A remixed version of Elvis Presley's 1968 single "A Little Less Conversation" hits #1 in the UK, released as part of a successful plan by his estate to claim the UK record for most #1 hits on the tally from The Beatles.
June 14, 2002 Moby's "Extreme Ways" plays during the end credits of the action thriller The Bourne Identity. The 18 track goes on to close out every installment in the long-running franchise.
June 11, 2002 Paul McCartney marries former model Heather Mills in Glaslough, Ireland. Among the guests: Elton John, David Gilmour, Chrissie Hynde and Ringo Starr. The couple divorces in 2008.
June 11, 2002 American Idol premieres on the FOX network. A singing competition judged by three hosts, it becomes one of the most popular network reality shows and launches a number of careers, with many contestants - and not just winners - becoming stars.More
June 6, 2002 Ratt guitarist Robbin Crosby dies at 42 of complications from AIDS. He played on four Platinum albums with the band but developed a debilitating drug habit that led to his demise.
June 5, 2002 R. Kelly is indicted on 21 counts of child pornography, accused of coercing underage girls into sexual acts.More
June 4, 2002 Avril Lavigne, 17, releases her debut album, Let Go, which goes to #1 in her native Canada and sells over 7 million copies in America.More
June 4, 2002 Wyclef Jean is one of ten people arrested for disorderly conduct in a New York rally protesting cuts to education. Jean is arrested and led away in handcuffs following an attempt to perform, which was forbidden by the event's permit. Puff Daddy, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Erykah Badu, Foxy Brown and Wu-Tang Clan were also at the rally to show their support and protest a proposed $1.2 billion cut to New York's public education system.
June 4, 2002 George Michael is jeered and heckled by the audience of a CNN news show as he defends the video for his new single "Shoot The Dog," in which US President George Bush is shown in bed with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Michael says it is an attack on Blair and not President Bush.
June 3, 2002 Paul McCartney and Elton John are among the many famous performers at Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee celebrating the 50th year of her reign.
May 21, 2002 Little Big Town release their disastrous self-titled debut through Sony's Monument Records. Although the album produces a couple minor hits on the Country chart, the group is denigrated by critics as a fake country band, devoid of substance. LBT proves them wrong with their acclaimed 2005 album, The Road to Here.
May 15, 2002 The Wu-Tang Name Generator goes online. The app turns your real name into one suited for the rap collective; the Songfacts Calendar Wu name is Drunken Desperado. Donald Glover gets his stage name from the generator, becoming Childish Gambino.
May 7, 2002 Tom Waits releases the albums Blood Money and Alice on the same day. Blood Money contains songs used for a Robert Wilson production of the unfinished play Woyzeck by German playwright Georg Büchner, while Alice contains mostly songs written for Wilson's adaptation of a play also named Alice. They're his 13th and 14th studio albums.
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