June 11, 2020 Country trio Lady Antebellum change their name to Lady A to avoid connotations with slavery. "Antebellum" refers to the period before the Civil War in America; the band name referred to the architectural style of Southern homes built during this period.
June 10, 2020 Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne takes innovative social-distancing measures on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert: The band sings their tune "Race For The Prize" from inside massive plastic bubbles. Each audience member is also enclosed their own bubble to keep the coronavirus at bay.More
June 2, 2020 The music industry recognizes "Blackout Tuesday" in response to the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Using the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused, many record labels and artists cease operations, while broadcasters and streaming services change their programming in support of efforts to address racism and injustice on a wide scale, and more specifically to end police brutality against African Americans.More
May 18, 2020 Country singer Travis McCready holds the first post-pandemic concert at Temple Live in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Fans are spaced out in "pods," required to wear masks, and have their temperatures taken before they are admitted.
May 14, 2020 Keith Urban becomes the first major artist to play a drive-in concert in America during the coronavirus pandemic, performing to an audience of health care workers at the Stardust Drive-In in Watertown, Tennessee.More
May 9, 2020 Rock pioneer Little Richard dies of bone cancer at the age of 87. Over the course of his legendary career he recorded some of America's most recognizable songs, including "Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally," and "Good Golly Miss Molly."
May 5, 2020 The Guns N' Roses version of "Live And Let Die" blares as President Donald Trump tours a mask factory in Arizona during the coronavirus pandemic without wearing a mask. Intrigued by the irony, many news outlets show the footage. The band later sells T-shirts saying "Live N' Let Die With COVID 45."
April 30, 2020 On his 100th birthday, Captain Tom Moore lands the UK #1 hit with a new version of "You'll Never Walk Alone." Moore, a decorated veteran of World War II, raised money for coronavirus relief by walking in his garden. The song was assembled by Michael Ball using Moore's vocals.
April 22, 2020 At the Jersey 4 Jersey virtual benefit concert, surviving members of Fountains of Wayne reunite (from their homes) with Sharon Van Etten to pay tribute to Adam Schlesinger, who died of coronavirus three weeks earlier. Bruce Springsteen also performs, and Bon Jovi debut a new song called "Do What You Can." The event raises nearly $6 million for coronavirus relief.
April 20, 2020 Homebound during the coronavirus pandemic, Willie Nelson stages the "Come And Toke It" live stream to support efforts to legalize marijuana and free those incarcerated for it. Guests include Ziggy Marley, who does "One Love," and Kacey Musgraves, who performs "Slow Burn."
April 18, 2020 Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and several other stars perform from their homes on the One World: Together At Home concert to support frontline workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
April 11, 2020 Bob Dylan, 78, lands his first #1 on a Billboard chart when "Murder Most Foul" tops the Rock Digital Song Sales tally. The epic song, which is nearly 17 minutes long, finds Dylan reflecting on John F. Kennedy's assassination and its impact on history.
March 29, 2020 With most of the world homebound as the coronavirus pandemic takes hold, Elton John hosts the "Living Room Concert For America" from his home, featuring virtual performances by Mariah Carey, H.E.R., Backstreet Boys, and Tim McGraw. The concert raises money to help local food banks and support first responders during the crisis.More
March 28, 2020 The 12-hour "Twitch Aid" concert raises nearly $3 million to help those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Over 70 quarantined performers take part from their homes, including John Legend, Rita Ora, Cole Swindell, Garth Brooks and Diplo.
March 24, 2020 Producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland face off in the first Verzuz battle, where songwriters, producers and artists take turns performing their hits and are judged by an online audience. The series quickly becomes very popular, regularly drawing virtual audiences in the six figures. Popular battles include Gladys Knight vs Patti LaBelle, Teddy Riley vs Babyface, and Erykah Badu vs Jill Scott.
March 20, 2020 The Weeknd releases After Hours, an album filled with the kind of anxiety and paranoia many are feeling in the early weeks of coronavirus lockdown. It goes to #1 in the United States and many other territories, and the single "Blinding Lights" becomes one of the most-streamed songs of the spring and summer.
March 18, 2020 Gal Gadot posts a video of herself and a host of celebrities singing "Imagine" line-by-line from their places of quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic. It doesn't get the reaction she's after.More
March 17, 2020 With St. Patrick's Day festivities shut down due to the coronavirus, Dropkick Murphys livestream a free concert from an empty venue in Boston. Over the next few weeks, many other artists follow suit, using livestreaming as a way to perform for fans during lockdown.More
March 17, 2020 A federal judge rules in favor of Katy Perry, overturning a verdict that her song "Dark Horse" infringed on the song "Joyful Noise" by Flame. The jury had ordered $2.78 million in damages.
March 9, 2020 An appellate court upholds a 2016 ruling that Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" did not infringe on the Spirit song "Taurus," bringing an end to the lawsuit that was filed in 2014. The court also overturns the "inverse ratio rule," which sets a lower standard for infringement based on how much access a defendant had to a song.
March 6, 2020 The South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, becomes the first major American festival cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Other tours and festivals around the world are called off soon after in efforts to limit the outbreak.More
March 4, 2020 At 58, Garth Brooks becomes the youngest recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Past recipients of the award include Gloria & Emilio Estefan, Tony Bennett, Willie Nelson, Billy Joel, Carole King, and Paul McCartney, among others.
February 20, 2020 Five Finger Death Punch play their first show in Hungary, where their guitarist and founding member Zoltan Bathory was raised under communist rule. "We had this idea that a Hungarian musician can't break out of here," he says before the sold-out show in Budapest. "I feel like I broke the curse."
February 19, 2020 In a promotion for Buffalo Wild Wings, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony announce they have changed their name to Boneless Thugs-N-Harmony because they love the restaurant's boneless wings.
February 10, 2020 While performing at the Get Out The Vote rally in New Hampshire in support of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, The Strokes debut the animated video for their new single "At The Door." They also perform the forthcoming followup single "Bad Decisions" for the first time.More
January 26, 2020 Billie Eilish, 18, wins big at the Grammys as the death of Kobe Bryant and an internal scandal cast a cloud on the ceremony.More
January 22, 2020 Neil Young, born in Canada but a resident of California since 1966, finally becomes a US citizen.
January 21, 2020 Ever the trendsetter, Dolly Parton creates a viral meme that shows off four sides of her personality, as represented by LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Tinder. Celebrities like Oprah, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Garner, and Miley Cyrus join in on the fun with their own versions.More
December 13, 2019 Harry Styles releases his highly anticipated second album, Fine Line, which includes the hits "Adore You" and "Watermelon Sugar." It's a global smash, putting Styles way ahead of his One Direction bandmates in solo success.
November 28, 2019 The Pussycat Dolls, who broke up in 2010, announce their reunion. They perform on X Factor UK two days later, but their tour is called off due to COVID. Lead singer Nicole Scherzinger and group founder Robin Antin trade lawsuits, but in 2026 the group returns to action, this time with just three members, including Scherzinger.
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