Bruno Mars
was the big winner at this years American Music Awards, hosted by Tracee Ellis Ross.
He took home 7 awards, including "Artist of the Year".
"Collaboration of the Year" went to
Despacito,
Niall Horan
won "New Artist of the Year", and
Diana Ross
was honored with the AMA for Lifetime Achievement.
Malcolm Young, founding member and guitarists of
AC/DC,
passed away at the age of 64. Young had been
fighting an ongoing battle with dementia for the last three years, which forced him to leave
the band in 2014. The musician also suffered from a bout of lung cancer in 2008 that
was treated successfully, as well as an unspecified heart condition which later necessitated a pacemaker.
(In Memoriam: January 6th, 1953 - November 18th, 2017)
Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman will be ending the full touring iteration of the punk institution in 2018.
However, Warped Tour will return 2019 for its 25th anniversary.
Stone Temple Pilots
have announced their new lead singer two years after frontman Scott Weiland passed away.
Their new singer is Jeff Gutt, a Detroit native and former "The X-Factor" contestant.
Taylor Swift's
new album "Reputation" became the first album to sell over 1 million copies in its first week in nearly 2 years,
since Adele's
25 in 2015.
Chuck Mosley, former frontman of
Faith No More,
passed away at the age of 57.
Drug paraphernalia was discovered at the scene, with police suspecting
a heroin overdose as the cause of death
(In Memoriam: December 26, 1959 - November 9, 2017)
Sean "Diddy" Combs
announced he's changing his name again, to "Love".
He said:
"I know it's risky because it could come off as corny to some people. So my new name is Love,
aka Brother Love. I will not be answering to Puffy, Diddy, Puff Daddy, or any of my other monikers...
I'm just not who I am before. I'm something different.”
Beyonce
will play Nala in the remake of "The Lion King", along with
Donald Glover
as Simba. It is set to be released July 19, 2019.
New Orleans icon
Fats Domino,
one of the original pioneers of rock and roll music, passed away at the age of 89.
(In Memoriam: February 26, 1928 - October 24, 2017)
Offset
proposed to
Cardi B
onstage at Power 99's Powerhouse concert in Philadelphia.
It was officially announced that
Justin Timberlake
will perform at this years Super Bowl LII in February.
Ed Sheeran
canceled several of his upcoming tour dates
after breaking both arms in a bicycle accident.
Sheeran has fractures in his right wrist and left elbow
"that will leave me unable to perform live concerts for the immediate future".
At this years BET Hip-Hop Awards,
Kendrick Lamar
took home four awards, including album of the year for "DAMN"
and Best Hip-Hop Video for
Humble.
Cardi B's
Bodak Yellow
won the award for single of the year, as well as best new hip-hop artist.
DJ Khaled
was
also a multiple winner
for Best Collabo,DJ of the Year, and MVP of the Year.
Iconic rock singer-songwriter
Tom Petty
passed away at the age of 66 from a heart attack.
(In Memoriam: October 20, 1950 - October 2, 2017 )
The Weeknd
has announced a collaboration with Marvel Comics.
"The Weeknd and Marvel presents : STARBOY", a new comic book coming soon.
Marilyn Manson
has cancelled a number of tour dates following an injury on stage at New York's Manhattan Center Hammerstein Ballroom.
A large stage prop fell on the performer.
Manson will not be able to perform any dates
from October 2-14 and "hopes to return to the stage soon"
It was announced that
Luke Bryan
will be a judge on the reboot of American Idol.
Katy Perry
was previously announced. The rebooted show will air in March on ABC.
Neil Young
was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame.
The ceremony took place at Toronto's Massey Hall .
Grant Hart, drummer and co-songwriter for
Husker Du
passed away at the age of 56 from liver cancer.
(In Memoriam: March 18, 1961 - September 13, 2017)
Selena Gomez
revealed that she received a kidney transplant from actress
Francia Raisa. The transplant was needed from complications related to Lupus,
first diagnosed in October 2015.
Lady Gaga
canceled a performance after being hospitalized for pain.
She later announced she suffers from fibromyalgia,
a medical condition characterized by chronic pain. The cause of FM is unknown.
Ezra Koening of
Vampire Weekend
created an anime, called "Neo Yokio", that will air on Netflix on September 22nd.
He is also hard at work on a new album for
Vampire Weekend,
that is almost completed.
Puddle of Mudd
frontman Wes Scantlin was arrested for attempting to bring a BB gun onto a flight to Texas.
The Antlers
unofficially announced their break up via Twitter, responding to a fan.
Walter Becker, guitarist, vocalist, and co-founder of
Steely Dan,
passed away at the age of 67.
(In Memoriam: February 20, 1950 - September 3, 2017)
Kendrick Lamar
won 'Video of the Year' for
HUMBLE
at the
2017 MTV VMAs. Other winners included
Ed Sheeran
for 'Artist of the Year' and
Khalid
for 'Best New Artist'.
Chvrches
will appear in the new Archie Comics series.
They'll be making their debut at the end of 'The Archies #2'. In later issues,
they'll be acting as mentors to The Archies band.
Drake
ended his
record streak for most consecutive weeks on the Billboard Top 100.
For the first time since
Best I Ever Had
debuted on the chart in 2009, until
the latest Hot 100 (dated Aug. 26)
when
Passionfruit
and
Signs
fell off.
The streak was over 8 years, 431 weeks total. The next artist to even come close was
Lil Wayne
who spent 326 weeks straight on the Top 100.
Taylor Swift
won her case against former KYGO radio DJ Robert Mueller, who was fired in 2013 after
Swift accused him of groping her prior to concert in Denver.
Swift sued for a symbolic $1, intended as
"an example to other women who may resist publicly reliving similar outrageous and humiliating acts.”
In memory of
Chris Cornell,
a statue
will be built in Seattle. The location has not yet been determined.
Country legend
Glen Campbell
passed away from complications from Alzheimer's disease at the age of 81.
(In Memoriam: March 20, 1976 - July 20, 2017 )
Chester Bennington, frontman of
Linkin Park,
passed away at the age of 41.
His death occurred on what would have been Chris Cornell's 53rd birthday.
Cornell, who was a close friend of Bennington, had also died of suicide by hanging two months prior.
He was also the godfather of Cornell's son Christopher.
(In Memoriam: March 20, 1976 - July 20, 2017 )
Billboard released their list of highest paid musicians for last year.
Beyonce took the top place,
earning over $62 million.
Guns N Roses
was second on the list with $42 million.
Bruce Springsteen,
Drake
and
Adele
rounded out the top 5.
DMX
was arrested on federal tax fraud charges. He owes the IRS at least $1.7 million for
allegedly concealing his income for years. If convicted, he faces 44 years in
federal prison.
Daddy Yankee
became the first Latin artist to become the number one most streamed artist on Spotify.
He has over 44 million listens, topping the previous record held by
Ed Sheeran.
Gavin Russom of
LCD Soundsystem
came out as being transgender at the age of 43.
Michelle Branch
and Patrick Carney of
The Black Keys
announced they are engaged. He proposed on Michelle's 34th birthday. They met when he co-produced her
latest album
"Hopeless Romantic".
Hayley Williams
of
Paramore
and
New Found Glory
guitarist Chad Gilbert announced they are separating. They previously
started dating in 2008, and just got married last year.
Chance the Rapper
became the youngest recipient to win the BET Humanitarian Award.
Other winners at the 2017 BET awards included
Beyonce
for Best Female R&B/Pop Artist
and Viewers' Choice Award and Video of the Year for
Sorry.
Bruno Mars
won Best Male R&B/Pop Artist,
Kendrick Lamar
for Best Male Hip-Hop Artist,
Remy Ma for
Best Female Hip-Hop Artist,
and
New Edition
won the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Prodigy,
of the legendary New York rap group
Mobb Deep,
passed away at the age of 42,
after having been hospitalized a few days earlier for complications related to his sickle-cell anemia.
(In Memoriam: November 2, 1974 - June 20, 2017)
Beyonce
has given birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Also
Jay-Z
became the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame,
and the occasion was marked by an introduction speech from
Barack Obama.
XXXtentacion
was attacked on stage during a performance in San Diego. The attacker rushed the stage and
knocked him out. A few more joined in before security got involved.
Local rapper Rob Stone was the reported assailant.
Drake
won his lawsuit
over sampling with "fair use" argument.
His song Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2
off the 2013 album "Nothing Was the Same",
sampled a 1982 spoken-word recording of "Jimmy Smith Rap”.
The judge ruled that
Drake's use "transforms Jimmy Smith's brazen dismissal of all non-jazz music into a statement
that 'real music,' with no qualifiers, is 'the only thing that's gonna last.'”
Thus the purpose is "sharply different” from the original artist's.
This case was notable because winning a "fair use” defense is rare in songs.
Gregg Allman,
Southern rock pioneer and founder of the
The Allman Brothers Band,
passed away at the age of 69.
(In Memoriam: December 8, 1947 - May 27, 2017)
Grunge icon
Chris Cornell,
frontman for bands
Soundgarden
and
Audioslave,
passed away at the age of 52.
He was found dead in his room at the MGM Grand in Detroit after performing at a show with
Soundgarden at the Fox Theatre. His death was determined to be a suicide by hanging.
(In Memoriam: July 20, 1964 - May 17, 2017)
Drake
was the big winner at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards,
including Top Artist and Top Male Artist.
He took home 13 awards, breaking the record for artist with the most wins in a single year,
beating Adele's record of 12.
Other winners included
Zayn,
who won Top New Artist.
Top Female Artist went to
Beyonce
and
Top Duo/Group
went to Twenty One Pilots
Katy Perry
announced she will be a judge on the rebooted American Idol.
Now titled just 'Idol', it is expected to premiere on ABC during the 2017-18 season.
Keith Mitchell, original drummer for Mazzy Star,
passed away from undisclosed causes on May 14th, 2017.
Former Black Flag bassist Cel Revuelta
passed away from a stage 4 glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer.
He was their bassist for their final tour of 1986, replacing Kira Roessler.
He also joined up for a string of 2003 reunion shows, alongside original Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn
Loretta Lynn
suffered a stroke and was hospitalized, according to a post on her Facebook page.
She was admitted to a Nashville hospital, after the incident occurred at her Hurricane Mills, Tennessee home.
She is expected to make a full recovery.
Ja Rule
apologized for the Fyre Festival debacle.
It was suppose to be a
luxury music festival in the Exuma Islands of the Bahamas, but devolved into chaos
for the would be concert-goers as the
"physical infrastructure was not in place on time".
A $100 million lawsuit was later filed against the festival co-founders.
J. Geils (born John Warren Geils Jr.), of
The J. Geils Band,
passed away at the age of 71. They had 17 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,
but were best known for the song
Centerfold.
(In Memoriam: February 20, 1946 - April 11, 2017)
The 2017 Billboard Music Awards nominations have been announced.
Drake
and
The Chainsmokers
have the most nominations with 22 each.
Twenty One Pilots
have 17 nominations,
Rihanna
has 14,
The Weeknd
has 13, and
Beyoncé
has 8.
The BMA's will air May 21st on ABC.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
founder Paul O'Neill passed away at the age of 61.
(In Memoriam: February 23, 1956 - April 5, 2017)
In an interview with People,
Barry Manilow, now 73,
revealed he is gay.
However, it was already reported in 2015 that he had wed his manager and longtime partner Garry Kief,
who he has been with for 39 years.
A movie musical inspired by
Pharrell Williams'
childhood in Virginia Beach is in the works. The project, titled 'Atlantis'
is being described as a 'Romeo and Juliet' style story.
Chuck Berry
passed away at the age of 90.
The legendary singer, songwriter and guitar great was widely
credited as one of the founding fathers of of Rock 'n Roll.
(In Memoriam: October 18th, 1926 - March 18th, 2017)
Ed Sheeran
will make a guest appearance in the upcoming seventh season of Game of Thrones.
According to showrunner David Benioff, his appearance was designed mostly
as a favor to Maisie Williams (aka Arya Stark) who's a big fan of Sheeran.
Future
became the first artist to release number one albums in consecutive weeks since 1968,
with HNDRXX and his self-titled album.
The last time it happened was when
Simon & Garfunkel
released "Bookends" followed by the soundtrack to "The Graduate".
The 1997 GMC Suburban that the
Notorious B.I.G.
was shot is being auctioned for $1.5 million.
The previous week it was announced the BMW
Tupac
was shot is being auctioned for the same price.
Adele
was this year's big winner at the
The 2017 Grammy Awards.
She took home "Album of the Year" and "Best Pop Vocal Album" for
25,
while
Hello
won "Record of the Year", "Song of the Year", and "Best Pop Solo Performance".
Other winners included:
• Chance The Rapper
for "Best New Artist", "Best Rap Album", and "Best Rap Performance"
No Problem
• Stressed Out by
Twenty One Pilots
for "Best Pop Duo/Group Performance"
•
Don't Let Me Down by
The Chainsmokers (feat. Daya)
for "Best Dance Recording"
•
Lemonade
by
Beyoncé
for "Best Urban Contemporary Album"
• Humble and Kind by
Tim McGraw
for Best Country Song
And David Bowie
won "Best Rock Song", "Best Rock Performance", and "Best Alternative Music Album" posthumously for
Blackstar
Mary Tyler Moore
(of the iconic Mary Tyler Moore Show)
passed away at the age of 80
from cardiopulmonary arrest complicated by pneumonia after having been placed on a respirator the previous week.
(In Memoriam: December 29, 1936 - January 25, 2017)
Beyoncé
is being sued for $20 million dollars by the estate of the late Messy Mya (Anthony Barre) for
allegedly using two of her lines at the beginning of
Formation
without permission.
The Game
was sentenced to 3 years probation for punching an off-duty cop during a pickup basketball game.
The charges were finally settled from the June 2015 incident.
Bonnaroo announced its lineup. The headliners are
U2 (as part of their Joshua Tree 30th anniversary tour),
the
Red Hot Chili Peppers,
The Weeknd and
Chance the Rapper.
The music festival will take place June 8th-11th in Manchester, TN.
U2
announced in celebration of the 30th anniversary of their 1987 album
The Joshua Tree, they will launch
an international tour from May to August where they play the album in it's entirety.
Beyoncé,
Kendrick Lamar and
Radiohead
will headline Coachella this year. Coachella 2017 takes place the weekends of April 14th and April 21st.
Trey Songz
was arrested after refusing to leave the stage at the Big Show in Detroit.
After he went over his set time, security tried to get him off the stage.
He starting dismantling and throwing stage equipment, hitting one police officer in the head in the process.
Police arrested him for malicious destruction of property and for resisting and obstructing arrest.