76th Golden Globes
Jan 6 76th Golden Globes: "The Americans", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Green Book", Glenn Close and Rami Malek among the winners
Symphony No. 12
Jan 10 Philip Glass' Symphony No. 12 (Lodger), based loosely on David Bowie's 1979 album "Lodger" premieres with the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by John Adams, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California
First Female Rapper Inducted
Jan 12 Missy Elliott is the first female rapper to be inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame
"Hoodie SZN"
Jan 15 American rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie tops US album chart with album "Hoodie SZN" selling a record low 823 copies of just digital sales
Leaving Neverland
Jan 25 Documentary "Leaving Neverland" detailing singer Michael Jackson's relationship with two boys premieres at the Sundance Film Festival
61st Grammy Awards
Feb 10 61st Grammy Awards: Childish Gambino first rapper to win Best Song and Best Record for "This Is America"; Best Album "Golden Hour" Kacey Musgraves
- Feb 14 Singer Ryan Adams accused of sexual misconduct towards younger upcoming female singers in a report by "The New York Times"
- Feb 22 Musician Peter Frampton announces he has a degenerative muscular disease and his next tour will be his last
- Mar 3 South African music star Mampintsha shown hitting girlfriend Babes Wodumo on Instagram Live and later arrested for assault
- Mar 12 K-pop and Big Bang singer Seungri is arrested for procuring prostitutes, retires to fight the charges in South Korea
Music History
Mar 13 Cuban-American singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan and songwriter-musician Emilio Estefan receive Library of Congress Gershwin Prize at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
- Mar 19 Singer Sam Smith comes out as non-binary in interview on Jameela Jamil’s Instagram show
Music Concert
Mar 21 Ringo Starr's fourteenth All-Starr Band debuts in concert; members include: Steve Lukather, Gregg Rolie, Colin Hay, Hamish Stuart, Gregg Bissonette, and Warren Ham
- Mar 27 British indie-rock duo "Her's" - English guitarist-singer Stephen Fitzpatrick (24) and Norwegian bassist Audun Laading (25), and American manager Trevor Engelbrektson (37) killed in car crash in Arizona
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Mar 29 34th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: The Cure; Def Leppard; Janet Jackson; Stevie Nicks; Radiohead; Roxy Music; and The Zombies
When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Mar 29 American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish (17) releases her debut studio album "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?"
Music History
Mar 31 Elton John joins George Clooney's call to boycott hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei after Brunei plans new anti-gay laws to make homosexual sex punishable by death
- Mar 31 Rapper and activist Nipsey Hussle fatally shot outside his clothing store in Los Angeles
Music History
Apr 15 Aretha Franklin posthumously receives the Pulitzer Prize Special Citation honor, first individual woman to win it since 1930
Billboard Music Awards
May 1 26th Billboard Music Awards: Drake wins 12; Arian Grande, Ella Mai, and Luke Combs win
- May 16 "Rocketman" film based on life of singer Elton John starring Taron Egerton premieres at the Cannes Film Festival
- May 19 64th Eurovision Song Contest won by Duncan Laurence of the Netherlands
- May 30 Singer R. Kelly charged with 11 new counts of sexual assault and abuse in Chicago
CMT Music Awards
Jun 5 18th CMT Video Music Awards: Carrie Underwood, and Kane Brown win
- Jun 9 Ali Stroker becomes the first actress in a wheelchair to win a Tony award for musical "Oklahoma!"
Music History
Jun 11 "The New York Times" reveals an estimated 500,000 song titles, including masters of Chuck Berry, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald, lost in 2008 warehouse fire on Universal backlot in Los Angeles
Western Stars
Jun 14 Columbia Records releases Bruce Springsteen's 19th studio album "Western Stars"
Glastonbury Festival
Jun 26 Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, England opens: American rock band The Killers headline; Kylie Minogue plays the Pyramid stage 14 years after cancer forced her to cancel; other performers include Bastille, Hozier, and Mavis Staples
Music History
Jul 10 Taylor Swift named the world's highest paid entertainer by Forbes earning $185 million in 2018
#1 in the Charts
Jul 29 Record for longest run at the top of US singles chart made by country rap single "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X remixed with Billy Ray Cyrus, No. 1 for 17 weeks
Music History
Aug 2 Singer songwriter Ed Sheeran's Divide tour becomes the most attended and highest grossing tour of all time overtaking U2 after 893 days on the road
- Aug 14 American rapper ASAP Rocky found guilty of assault in Stockholm and given a suspended sentence
Music History
Sep 9 John Legend and wife Chrissy Teigen fire back at Donald Trump on social media after he calls them "boring" and "filthymouthed" in tweets over Criminal Justice Reform
Farm Aid Concert
Sep 21 Farm Aid held in East Troy, Wisconsin; performers include Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, Bonnie Raitt, Luke Combs, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Margo Price, Yola, Tanya Tucker, and Ho-Chunk Thundercloud Singers [1]
AI YoungBoy 2
Oct 11 NBA YoungBoy releases the album mixtape "AI YoungBoy 2" which debuts at #1 on the US Billboard 200
Music History
Oct 17 Lana Del Rey's ballad "Video Games" named song of the decade at Q Awards in London
- Oct 20 David Byrne's musical revue "American Utopia" opens at Hudson Theatre, NYC; runs for 106 performances
Music History
Oct 24 Jason Mraz endorses Bernie Sanders for president in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
Music History
Nov 3 Olivia Newton-John's black leather outfit from the film "Grease" sells for $405,700 at auction in Beverly Hills, California
Country Music Association Awards
Nov 13 53rd Country Music Association Awards: Garth Brooks, Maren Morris & Luke Combs win
Blinding Lights
Nov 19 The Weeknd releases his single "Blinding Lights" - goes on to become the longest charting song on Billboards Top 100 at 90 weeks
- Nov 24 47th American Music Awards: Taylor Swift wins six awards, including Artist of the Year and Artist of the Decade
- Nov 29 K-pop stars Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon sentenced to prison for gang-raping unconscious fans and distributing footage of it (Jung)
- Dec 3 Spotify say Drake the most streamed star of the 2010s with 28 billion streams, Ed Sheeran's "Shape Of You" most streamed track with 2.4 billion streams
- Dec 8 Vienna State Opera stages its first show by a female composer in 150 years - Olga Neuwirth’s opera, “Orlando”
Rock for the Rainforest
Dec 9 Rock for the Rainforest benefit concert held at The Beacon Theatre, NYC; performers include: Sting, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, John Mellencamp, Bob Geldof, Ricky Martin, Eurythmics, Deborah Harry, Shaggy, Zucchero, MC Rodriguez, and H.E.R.
All I Want For Christmas Is You
Dec 16 Mariah Carey's single "All I Want For Christmas Is You" reaches No. 1, 25 years after release
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
Rappers
Rock Singers