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Featured Events
2014Sam Smith releases his debut album, In the Lonely Hour, in the US.
2008With Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne becomes the first artist since 50 Cent in 2005 to sell more than 1 million copies of an album in a single week. It goes on to sell 3 million.
2006Shakira lands her first #1 hit on the Hot 100 when her single "Hips Don't Lie," featuring Wyclef Jean, reaches the top of the tally. It also breaks the record for the most-played pop song in a single week when it's aired on American radio 9,637 times.More
2000Eighteen months after Billboard starts factoring airplay into their Hot 100 chart, "Try Again" by Aaliyah becomes the first song to hit the top spot based on airplay alone, as the song is not available for purchase as a single.
1997When Ozzy's voice gives out before the Ozzfest date in Columbus, Ohio, he doesn't appear but the show goes on without him. Fans, who aren't told until later that he won't be there, don't take the news well and trash the venue.More
1994With the United States hosting the World Cup, the opening ceremonies are held at Soldier Field in Chicago. In one of the production numbers, Diana Ross sings "I'm Coming Out" while she takes a penalty kick. She misses, but the goal splits open anyway and she runs through to complete the bit.More
1994Megadeth is kicked off their tour with Aerosmith after Dave Mustaine is heard in an interview saying that his band should be the headliners. Jackyl and 4 Non Blondes open the remaining dates on the US tour.
1972Grateful Dead keyboard player and founding member Ron "Pigpen" McKernan plays his last show with the band at a Hollywood Bowl concert. Health problems force him to stop touring, and he dies in March 1973 at age 27.
17
In Music History
2016Tom DeLonge reveals his true reason for leaving blink-182: to investigate UFOs. In an interview with Mic, the "Aliens Exist" singer claims the truth is out there: "There's been hundreds and hundreds of thousands of eyewitness accounts. Trace evidence that's been analyzed by scientists across the world. Events have happened on the ground. It's all around us. I know of stuff I can't talk about right now."
2016Red Hot Chili Peppers release The Getaway, their first album since 2011 and their first since 1991 without Rick Rubin producing - Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton is the producer.
2016Prince Be of P.M. Dawn dies of kidney disease at age 46.
2006Rolf Harris is honored with a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II.
2006Ron Wood of The Rolling Stones enters rehab to kick his drinking habit, but recovers in time to join the band on their latest world tour a month later.
2002U2 guitarist The Edge gets married for the second time, this time to Morleigh Steinberg, the belly dancer on their 1992-1993 Zoo TV tour.
1999Suffering from depression, Screaming Lord Sutch commits suicide at age 58. The singer, who also founded the UK political party Official Monster Raving Loony Party, worked with several artists, including Keith Moon, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck.
1997Switchfoot's debut album, The Legend of Chin, is released under the independent label Re:think Records.
1995Rod Stewart sets an attendance record at Wembley Stadium in London when 83,000 fans attend his concert. The record holds until 2009, when U2 draws 88,000 on their 360 tour.
1989Pop singer Simone Battle (of G.R.L.) is born in Los Angeles, California.
1989Ringo Starr announces the second annual line-up of his All-Starr Band, featuring Billy Preston, Joe Walsh, Dr. John, Nils Lofgren and Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, and The Band's Levon Helm and Rick Danko.
1987Rod Stewart becomes the proud parent of his fourth child, daughter Ruby, from his girlfriend, model Kelly Emberg.
1986Longtime radio personality Kate Smith dies of respiratory arrest at age 79 after years of struggling with diabetic complications.
Katy Perry Gives Up Gospel For Pop
2008
Katy Perry's major-label debut album, One of the Boys, is released, featuring the hit single "I Kissed a Girl." It's not her first album: In 2001 she released a gospel album under her real name, Katy Hudson.
Katy Hudson, the daughter of two Pentecostal ministers, grew up in a strict religious household that banned secular music and picketed pop concerts. She managed to sneak a few forbidden CDs from friends, but her primary musical outlet came in the form of gospel music. At 16 she released her self-titled debut through the Christian label Red Hill Records. She received accolades for her vocal talent and her lyrical maturity, but the album was a commercial failure and the label went bankrupt.
The following year, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a pop career, adopting her mother's maiden name, Perry, so she wouldn't be confused with actress Kate Hudson. After fruitless record deals with Java and Columbia Records, she landed at Capitol Records, where she was paired with hit pop producers Dr. Luke and Max Martin for her debut, One Of The Boys.
The star track is "I Kissed A Girl," which finds the pastors' daughter experimenting with bisexuality after a night of partying. The homosexual theme obviously causes a stir among the gospel community, who were already displeased with Perry for turning her back on Christian music. One church's marquis even reads, "I Kissed a Girl and I liked it, then I went to Hell." Christian media outlets start using Perry's sinful transformation as a cautionary tale for parents. But the song also draws ire from some critics who claim the straight singer is appropriating a gay lifestyle for personal gain, relying on bisexual curiosity for shock factor.
As for Perry, she explains she wrote the song in response to the culture's fascination with bisexuality. "It was a subject matter that was on the tip of everyone's tongue at that moment, so it was kind of like a snapshot of things that were happening in 2008."
"I Kissed A Girl" is a #1 hit in both the US and UK and earns Perry a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The album, which also features the singles "Hot n Cold," "Thinking Of You," and "Waking Up In Vegas," peaks at #9 on the albums chart.
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