"Hamilton" Premieres
Jan 20 Musical "Hamilton" starring Lin-Manuel Miranda and Anthony Ramos premieres at The Public Theater in Lower Manhattan, New York (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2016)
"White Iverson"
Feb 4 Post Malone uploads his debut single "White Iverson" to his SoundCloud account
Glitter Found Guilty
Feb 5 70's glam rocker Gary Glitter (real name Paul Gadd) found guilty of attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault, and one of having sex with a girl under the age of 13 between 1975 and 1980
- Feb 8 57th Grammy Awards: Best Song "Stay With Me" by Sam Smith; Best Album "Morning Phase" by Beck
BRIT Awards
Feb 25 BRIT Awards: Best Single "Uptown Funk", Best Album "X" by Ed Sheeran
- Feb 27 70's glam rocker Gary Glitter (real name Paul Gadd) sentenced to 16 years in prison for various child sex convictions
See You Again
Mar 10 "See You Again" released by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth commissioned by film "Furious 7" as tribute to Paul Walker (Billboard Song of the Year 2015)
Music History
Mar 10 The family of Marvin Gaye win a record $7.3 million lawsuit for music copyright infringement against Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and T.I.
Music History
Mar 25 British musician Zayn Malik announces he is leaving the band One Direction
Music History
Apr 17 American jazz composer and saxophonist John Coltrane is awarded a posthumous Special Citation by the Pulitzer Prize board
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Apr 18 30th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band; Green Day; Joan Jett and the Blackhearts; Lou Reed; Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble; Bill Withers; The "5" Royals; and Ringo Starr
Academy of Country Music Awards
Apr 19 50th Academy of Country Music Awards: Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, and Miranda Lambert win
Music History
Apr 30 Whitney Museum of American Art holds ribbon cutting ceremony with Michelle Obama and NY Mayor Bill de Blasio, for its new building designed by Renzo Piano
Appointment of Interest
May 3 Chris Isaak is confirmed as a judge on the seventh season of "The X Factor Australia"
- May 5 "Traveller" debut album by Chris Stapleton is released (Grammy Award Best Country Album, 2016; Billboard Album of the Year, 2016)
Blurryface,
May 17 "Blurryface," 4th studio album by Twenty One Pilots is released (1st album ever to have every track gold-certified)
Billboard Music Awards
May 17 22nd Billboard Music Awards: Taylor Swift wins top artist & 7 other awards
Music History
May 21 Flavor Flav is arrested near Las Vegas on charges including speeding and driving under the influence
Talk
May 22 Daniel Johns releases "Talk", his debut album as a solo artist
CMT Music Awards
Jun 10 14th CMT Video Music Awards: Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan win
Glastonbury Festival
Jun 24 Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, England opens: Kanye West, and The Who headline; other performers include Lionel Richie, Motörhead, Burt Bacharach, The Libertines, and Pharrell Williams
Music History
Jun 30 Misty Copeland becomes the 1st African American principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre
Music History
Jul 15 Robbie Williams announces he is returning to boy band Take That
- Aug 9 At Ferguson anniversary of the shooting of unarmed Michael Brown, a man is shot and a state of emergency declared
Music History
Aug 12 US Postal Service issues a second postage stamp featuring rock singer Elvis Presley, as part of its Music Icon series; design is a black & white photograph taken by William Speer in 1955
- Aug 30 Rap artist Kanye West announces he will run for President in 2020 at the MTV Video Music Awards
Mamma Mia!
Sep 15 Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus' musical "Mamma Mia!", featuring the songs of ABBA, closes at The Broadhurst Theatre, NYC, after 5,733 performances
Farm Aid Concert
Sep 19 Farm Aid (30th Anniversary) held in Chicago, Illinois; performers include Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, Imagine Dragons, Jack Johnson, Kacey Musgraves, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Mavis Staples [1]
Music History
Oct 8 American actress and singer Selena Gomez reveals she has Lupus
- Oct 9 Selena Gomez releases her studio album "Revival", goes to #1 on Billboard 200
- Nov 4 49th Country Music Association Awards: Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton & Miranda Lambert win
Music History
Nov 4 Katy Perry is the highest paid musician of the year, earning $135 million, according to Forbes Magazine
Love Yourself
Nov 9 "Love Yourself" single released by Justin Bieber (Billboard Song of the Year 2016, Grammy Song of the Year)
- Nov 18 American singer-songwriter Willie Nelson receives Library of Congress Gershwin Prize at the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, D.C.
- Nov 20 XL/Columbia releases "25", 3rd studio album by Adele (Grammy Award for Album of the Year, 2017; 2016 Billboard Album of the Year); features the singles "Hello" and "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)"
- Nov 22 43rd American Music Awards: Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande, One Direction & Luke Bryan win
Bowie Attends Lazarus Opening
Dec 7 David Bowie’s final public appearance, at the opening of his musical "Lazarus" at New York Theatre Workshop, NYC
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Dec 14 "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" directed by J.J. Abrams and starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Harrison Ford has its world premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
Rappers
Rock Singers