January •
January 8 –
Lady Gaga's debut single "
Just Dance" hit number one on the
Billboard Hot 100 after 22 weeks – the second longest climb to number one since November 2000 (27 weeks). •
January 16 –
February 1 – The
Big Day Out festival takes place in
Australia and
New Zealand, headlined by
Neil Young,
The Shiny Brights,
The Prodigy and
Arctic Monkeys.
The Vines, who are originally on the lineup, cancel all appearances due to concerns around frontman
Craig Nicholls' mental health. •
January 17 –
Koncerthuset, a new concert hall, is officially opened in
Copenhagen, by Queen
Margrethe II of Denmark. •
January 18 – As part of the inaugural celebration of US President
Barack Obama, an inaugural concert entitled "
We Are One" is held at the Lincoln Memorial. Performers include
Mary J. Blige,
Garth Brooks,
Renée Fleming,
Caleb Green,
Josh Groban,
Herbie Hancock,
Heather Headley,
Beyoncé,
Bettye LaVette,
Pete Seeger,
Shakira,
Bruce Springsteen,
James Taylor,
U2 and
Stevie Wonder. Several of the songs performed had been used by
Obama's presidential campaign. •
January 20 – Artists including
Mariah Carey,
Jay-Z,
Alicia Keys,
Shakira,
Sting,
Faith Hill,
Mary J. Blige,
Maroon 5,
Stevie Wonder and
Will.i.am perform at the
inaugural ball for President
Barack Obama February •
February 8 • At the
51st Grammy Awards which took place at the Staples Center, Los Angeles: •
Alison Krauss and
Robert Plant win five Grammys for their duet album
Raising Sand which also won Album of the Year •
Lil Wayne wins four awards, including Best Rap Album for
Tha Carter III. •
Coldplay win three awards including Song of the Year for
Viva La Vida. •
Adele wins two awards including Best New Artist. •
Blink-182 announce that they are to reunite for a tour and new album. •
February 10 –
Rihanna cancels her Malaysian concert in the
Good Girl Gone Bad Tour amid reports that she accused her boyfriend R&B star
Chris Brown of assault. Organizers had announced that she would shun skimpy outfits to conform with Muslim-majority Malaysia's strict rule on performers' dress. •
February 18 •
Pet Shop Boys win the outstanding contribution to music award at the
Brit Awards, held in
Earl's Court, London.
Duffy dominates the awards. Her album,
Rockferry, the U.K. top seller in 2008, wins best British album, and she also wins best British female and British breakthrough •
Kings of Leon (best international group) win best international album for
Only by the Night. •
Katy Perry wins best international female trophy.
March •
March 2 –
Elton John and
Billy Joel's tour dates are mostly configured for 360-degree view in order to maximize arena capacity. The duo's previous tour, in 2003, grossed $USD 45.8 million from only 24 sellouts according to
Billboard Boxscore. •
March 22 •
Fleetwood Mac embark on their first world tour in five years, with a possible new studio album to follow. •
Lady Gaga's single "
Poker Face" gives her a second number 1 on the
UK Singles Chart, remaining there for a further two weeks. It goes on to become the biggest-selling single of 2009 and the biggest-selling digital single ever in the UK. •
March 27 – Rapper
T.I. is sentenced to a one-year and one day prison sentence on federal weapons charges.
April •
April 4 •
Ringo Starr and
Paul McCartney perform together (for the first time since 2002) at the
Radio City Music Hall for the David Lynch Foundation. • The 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place, welcoming new inductees
Little Anthony & The Imperials,
Bobby Womack,
Jeff Beck as a solo artist,
Run-D.M.C., and
Metallica. Metallica, citing the drama surrounding Blondie and Van Halen's inductions, includes Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted, both former bassists for the band, in the induction. Newsted also performs with band in its first rendition as a 5-piece band featuring two bass guitarists. •
April 11 –
Susan Boyle's version of the song "
I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical
Les Misérables on ''
Britain's Got Talent'' becomes a worldwide sensation, as it is seen over 200 million times on YouTube and other video outlets. •
April 13 – Music producer
Phil Spector is found guilty of the 2003
murder of actress
Lana Clarkson; Spector, who was acclaimed for his
Wall of Sound production techniques, was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment the following month. •
April 26 – UK grime rapper
Tinchy Stryder's collaboration with
N-Dubz, "
Number 1", goes to the No.1 spot, shifting 72,000 copies in its first week. Stryder's single was the only ever song entitled "Number One" to reach the No.1 spot – even though there have been 23 other songs with the same name.
May •
May 3 – A concert at
Madison Square Garden to celebrate the 90th birthday of
Pete Seeger features
Bruce Springsteen,
Joan Baez,
Roger McGuinn,
Dave Matthews and
Eddie Vedder among others •
May 5 –
Tina Turner concludes her
50th anniversary tour at
Sheffield Arena in the
United Kingdom. It is her final performance before her retirement from live touring later in the year. •
May 16 –
Alexander Rybak wins the
Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with his song "
Fairytale" in Moscow, giving
Norway its third victory. Within a couple of days, the song reaches the top ten in charts in most of Europe, including a No. 10 entry in the
UK Singles Chart •
May 20 –
Kris Allen defeats
Adam Lambert to win the
eighth season of
American Idol.
June •
June 4-7 •
Wakarusa 2009. •
Oasis begin the summer stadium leg of their
world tour with 3 sold-out homecoming concerts at the 70,000 capacity
Heaton Park. •
June 11-14 –
Bonnaroo 2009. •
June 12-14 – The annual
Download Festival takes place at
Donington Park in
Leicestershire, UK. The main stage is headlined by
Faith No More,
Slipknot and
Def Leppard, the second stage by
Mötley Crüe,
The Prodigy and
Trivium, the Tuborg stage by
Meshuggah,
Anvil and
Go:Audio, and the Red Bull Bedroom Jam stage by
Blackhole,
The Blackout and
We Are the Ocean. •
June 13 –
Men at Work are sued by Larrikin Records for their No. 1 1982
Billboard hit "
Down Under" for the flute riff from a part of the song. It was claimed to be stolen from an Australian nursery song "
Kookaburra". •
June 24-28 –
Glastonbury Festival 2009 •
June 25 – A fortnight before his
This Is It series of concerts is scheduled to begin,
Michael Jackson dies in his Los Angeles home, of an accidental overdose of propofil and benzodiazepines. •
June 30 – The
U2 360° Tour begins in
Barcelona's
Camp Nou Stadium in front of a sell out crowd.
July •
July 2-3 –
Blur's 20-year reunion and superconcert at
Hyde Park. •
July 2-5 –
Heineken Open'er Festival in
Gdynia, Poland •
July 3 –
Yahoo! Music announces that Taylor Swift's album
Fearless and
Flo Rida's single "
Right Round" are the top-selling album and single, respectively, of the first half of the year. •
July 6–12 – Australian Radio station
Triple J holds its 'Hottest 100 of All Time' with
Nirvana's "
Smells Like Teen Spirit" coming in first for the third consecutive time a 'Hottest 100 of All Time' has been held 1991, 1998 and 2009. This is the largest music poll in the world with more than half a million people voting. •
July 9–12 – 10th
EXIT festival takes place in the
Petrovaradin Fortress of
Novi Sad, Serbia, with more than 190,000 visitors. •
July 21 – Shortlist announced for the 2009
Mercury Prize. •
July 22-25 –
2009 10,000 Lakes Festival •
July 25–26 –
Indietracks Festival, Derbyshire, UK • The
Splendour in the Grass music festival is held in
Byron Bay,
Australia, headlined by
Bloc Party and
The Flaming Lips. •
July 30 – Justice Peter Jacobson of the Federal Court of Australia makes a preliminary ruling that Larrikin did own copyright on the song "
Down Under", but the issue of whether or not
Men at Work had plagiarised the riff was set aside to be determined at a later date.
August •
August 7–9 –
Lollapalooza 2009 •
August 14–16 – Bloodstock Open Air Festival, Derbyshire, UK •
August 20–22 –
Hip Hop Kemp in
Hradec Králové, Czech Republic •
August 21–23 – The Green Festival in
New Brunswick, Canada •
August 28 – After another fight with his brother
Liam,
Noel Gallagher leaves
Oasis. Initial reports shortly afterwards suggested that Oasis had broken up, but Liam later stated that they have not broken up. The remaining members of Oasis eventually decide to discontinue the band name and start recording under a new name,
Beady Eye. •
August 28 –
The Black Eyed Peas Malaysian concert in celebration of beer giant
Guinness's 250th anniversary in Kuala Lumpur is restricted to only non-Muslims since the sponsor is an alcoholic brand and it is considered inappropriate for Muslims to attend the concert which scheduled in September. •
August 30 –
ICS Vortex &
Mustis leave
Dimmu Borgir, with Mustis threatening legal action.
September •
September 8 – Winner of the 2009
Mercury Prize announced. •
September 9 • The entire catalogue of
The Beatles is re-released as digital remasters with rare pictures, short documentaries, original and newly written liner notes with replicated original UK artwork for the first time since 1987. •
"Obsessed" by
Mariah Carey enters the top ten and peaks at No. 7 on Billboard's Hot 100. The track is Carey's 27th top ten hit, lifting her into a three-way tie for fifth-most top 10s since the Hot 100 launched in 1958. She also tied with
Janet Jackson for second-place among women. "Obsessed" was the lead single from her 12th studio album,
Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, and went on to be certified platinum by the end of the year. •
September 12 – The first ever outdoor Sunset Strip Music Festival is held in West Hollywood, featuring performances from more than fifty bands including
Ozzy Osbourne and
Korn. •
September 13 – At the
2009 MTV Video Music Awards, held in New York City at Radio City Music Hall,
Lady Gaga,
Beyoncé and
Green Day win three awards. During Taylor Swift's acceptance speech for Best Female Video,
Kanye West walks on stage and interrupts her saying that Beyoncé had one of the greatest videos of all time. •
September 16 – The
Spice Girls reunite for dinner and drinks in London except for Victoria (
Posh Spice), who was in Los Angeles. It was the first time all four Spice Girls reunited in public since their "
Return of the Spice Girls Tour" in 2007/8. This 'public reunion' sparked rumours that the girls would reform again. •
September 17 •
Avril Lavigne and husband
Deryck Whibley split after three years of marriage. •
VH1 Divas returns after a five-year absence with appearances by
Kelly Clarkson,
Jordin Sparks,
Jennifer Hudson,
Leona Lewis,
Adele, and
Miley Cyrus with host
Paula Abdul •
September 21 •
Genesis release the fourth of 5 planned box sets,
Genesis Live 1973–2007. • Winner of the
2009 Polaris Music Prize announced. •
September 25–27 – The inaugural Rotor Festival for Contemporary Music, an initiative of the International Music Institute (IMD) and the
Ensemble Modern, is held in
Frankfurt am Main, featuring music by
Iannis Xenakis and
Helmut Lachenmann, amongst others.
October •
October 28 – ''
Michael Jackson's This Is It'', featuring behind the scenes footage in the days before his death, is released. It enters the chart at No. 1, and becomes the best selling documentary of all time, raising over $250 million.
November •
November 11 – The
Country Music Association Awards will take place in
Nashville, Tennessee, United States, from
Bridgestone Arena.
Brad Paisley and
Carrie Underwood's second year hosting. •
November 17 – Canadian pop/R&B singer
Justin Bieber becomes the first artist ever to have seven songs from a debut album chart on the
Billboard Hot 100 when his debut album,
My World is released. •
November 22 • The AMAs feature notable performances by
Lady Gaga,
Shakira, and
Rihanna, but the ceremony is most remembered for the performance by
Adam Lambert of his debut single "
For Your Entertainment". •
Stan Walker is crowned the winner of the
seventh and final season of
Australian Idol, defeating
Hayley Warner.
December •
December 7 –
Chris Brown makes a comeback by releasing his third studio album
Graffiti months after he was charged for felony assault against female pop singer
Rihanna. •
December 13 –
Lady Gaga becomes the first female artist in British chart history to achieve three number 1 singles in a single year, when her song "
Bad Romance" reaches the top of the
UK Singles Chart. •
Joe McElderry is named winner of the
sixth series of
The X Factor UK.
Olly Murs is named runner-up, while
Stacey Solomon and
Danyl Johnson finish in third and fourth place respectively. •
December 20 –
Rage Against the Machine takes the Christmas number one slot in the United Kingdom with "
Killing in the Name", after a massive Facebook campaign. •
December 22 –
Per Eriksson & Niklas Sandin replace The Norrmans in
Katatonia. ==Bands formed==