99 Fun Facts About Current Music

Which 2024 diss track swept all five of its Grammy nominations, including Record and Song of the Year?

Not Like Us was such a hit at its live debut, Lamar's Pop Out concert on Juneteenth 2024, that he performed it five times in a row.

Which May 2024 Kendrick Lamar diss track alleged that Drake was hiding a secret daughter?

Meet the Grahams is written as a letter, with verses addressed to Drake's son, his parents, his alleged daughter and Drake himself.

About how long before Cowboy Carter had a Black woman's album last won Album of the Year?

About 25 years had passed since Lauryn Hill's album won in 1999, and Cowboy Carter also won Best Country Album.

Which three country legends act as radio DJs on Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter?

Parton, Martell and Nelson host the album's fictional radio broadcast, which also features Beyoncé's version of Parton's 'Jolene'.

Which Beyoncé single made her the first Black woman to top Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart?

Texas Hold 'Em arrived during Super Bowl LVIII after a Verizon ad starring Beyoncé, and it also became her ninth number one on the Hot 100.

About how much did Taylor Swift's Eras Tour gross in total?

About $2 billion made the Eras Tour the first tour to pass both $1 billion and $2 billion in ticket sales.

In which city did the Eras Tour play its final show in December 2024?

The Eras Tour closed with three shows at Vancouver's BC Place in December 2024, 21 months after it opened in Glendale, Arizona.

Midnights made Taylor Swift the first artist to occupy the entire top what of the Billboard Hot 100?

Midnights filled the Hot 100's entire top 10, going further than the Beatles, who held the whole top five in April 1964.

Which rapper features on 'Fortnight', the chart-topping lead single from The Tortured Poets Department?

Post Malone features on Fortnight, the album's opening track, and The Tortured Poets Department went on to spend 17 weeks at number one.

In which country did Taylor Swift record The Life of a Showgirl?

Taylor Swift recorded in Sweden, flying to Max Martin and Shellback's Stockholm studios between European Eras Tour shows in 2024.

Which singer guests on the title track of Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl?

Sabrina Carpenter, one of the Eras Tour's opening acts, sings on the title track, which closes the album.

The singer of 'Espresso' first became known as Maya Hart on which Disney Channel show?

Girl Meets World was the Boy Meets World spin-off, and its star later played Cady Heron in Mean Girls on Broadway just before COVID-19 closed the show.

'Espresso' stalled at number three in the US, so which song became its singer's first Hot 100 number one?

'Please Please Please' got a video in which Barry Keoghan, then her boyfriend, played the convict she falls for.

The 2025 album Man's Best Friend, by the singer of 'Espresso', drew controversy over what?

Its cover artwork, showing a man grabbing the singer's hair as she kneels, drew backlash, so she issued an alternate cover she called 'approved by God'.

Kayleigh Rose Amstutz performs under which stage name, taken from her grandfather?

Chappell Roan took Chappell from her late grandfather Dennis Chappell, and Roan from his favourite song, the Western ballad 'The Strawberry Roan'.

Which 2020 song by the 2025 Grammy Best New Artist reached UK number one five years later?

Atlantic Records dropped its singer months after releasing 'Pink Pony Club' in 2020, yet the song reached UK number one in March 2025.

Charli XCX's Brat cover art was adopted by which 2024 US presidential campaign?

Kamala Harris's campaign account rebranded as 'Kamala HQ' in Brat's lime-green style after Charli XCX tweeted 'kamala IS brat'.

Shaboozey's 'A Bar Song (Tipsy)' tied which song for 19 weeks at number one on the Hot 100?

Shaboozey matched Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' at 19 weeks with a song that interpolates the clean version of J-Kwon's 2004 hit 'Tipsy'.

Whose 'Lose Control' climbed from number 99 to number one on the Hot 100?

Teddy Swims's 'Lose Control' went on to spend 112 weeks on the Hot 100, the longest run in the chart's history.

Rosé and Bruno Mars's 'APT.' was inspired by what?

'APT.' is built on the chant of a Korean drinking game Rosé taught Bruno Mars, and IFPI named it 2025's best-selling global single.

Blackpink's Rosé grew up in Melbourne, but where was she born?

Rosé was born in Auckland, New Zealand, moved to Melbourne at seven, and joined YG Entertainment after a 2012 audition in Sydney.

'Die with a Smile' by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars closes which 2025 Gaga album?

Mayhem closes with 'Die with a Smile', the last song Gaga wrote for it, because she wanted to leave the record with a 'sense of peace'.

Lady Gaga drew a record-breaking free crowd in 2025 on which beach?

Gaga's free show at Copacabana drew an estimated 2.1 to 2.5 million people, the biggest crowd ever for a concert by a female artist.

Which Kendrick Lamar and SZA duet won Record of the Year at the 68th Grammys, his second win in a row?

It samples Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn's 1982 version of 'If This World Were Mine' and spent 13 weeks at number one.

Which Kendrick Lamar album is named after a high-spec model of the Buick that brought him home from hospital?

GNX is named after the 1987 Buick Grand National Experimental, and Lamar later bought one of the limited-run cars.

Which was the first Spanish-language album to win the Grammy for Album of the Year?

Debí Tirar Más Fotos also won Album of the Year at the Latin Grammys, making it the first album to take the top prize at both ceremonies.

Where was Bad Bunny's 2026 Super Bowl LX halftime show, the first by a Latino solo headliner, staged?

Levi's Stadium hosted Bad Bunny's set, sung almost entirely in Spanish, and Lady Gaga joined him for a salsa version of 'Die with a Smile'.

Bad Bunny's 2025 concert residency, No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí, was held where?

Bad Bunny played 31 shows in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and saved the first nine nights for island residents only.

Which Billie Eilish song won Song of the Year at the 68th Grammys, her and Finneas's record third?

'Wildflower' also became the longest-charting song by a solo woman in Hot 100 history, spending 72 weeks on the chart.

Which Billie Eilish album charted all ten of its songs in the Hot 100's top 40 in its first week?

Hit Me Hard and Soft put all ten songs in the top 40 at once, and 'Birds of a Feather' later climbed to number two, her best peak since 'Therefore I Am'.

Which Miley Cyrus hit earned her first-ever Grammy wins, including Record of the Year?

'Flowers' won Best Pop Solo Performance and Record of the Year, and its eight weeks atop the Hot 100 made it her longest-running number one.

Which Harry Styles song spent 15 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100?

'As It Was' was the last song Styles wrote for its album, and its 15 weeks on top made it the longest-running US number one by a UK act.

Which 2022 album took its title from a record by Japanese musician Haruomi Hosono?

Harry Styles named Harry's House after Hosono House, a record he heard while spending time in Japan, and the album won Album of the Year.

'Drivers License' (2021) made its 17-year-old singer the youngest artist ever to do what?

Its singer became the youngest artist ever to enter the Hot 100 at No. 1, and the song set Spotify's single-day record for a non-holiday song.

Members of which band were retroactively given writing credits on 'Good 4 U' from the album Sour?

Paramore's Hayley Williams and Josh Farro were added as co-writers over the chorus's likeness to their 2007 hit 'Misery Business'.

SZA's 'Kill Bill' spent eight weeks at number two before a remix with which rapper took it to No. 1?

SZA's 'Kill Bill' finally reached number one when the Doja Cat remix arrived, and it spent a then-record 21 weeks atop Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

Morgan Wallen's 2023 Hot 100 number one was the first by a solo male country artist since which 1981 song?

Eddie Rabbitt's 'I Love a Rainy Night' topped the Hot 100 in early 1981, and 'Last Night' went on to become Billboard's number one song of 2023.

Luke Combs's 'Fast Car' cover won Tracy Chapman CMA Song of the Year, making her the first what to win it?

Tracy Chapman became the first Black person to win CMA Song of the Year, 35 years after 'Fast Car' was released as her debut single.

Which song was named the best-performing song of all time on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 2021?

'Blinding Lights' passed Chubby Checker's 'The Twist' for the title after becoming the first song to spend an entire year in the top ten.

Which band's 'Heat Waves' took 59 weeks to climb to number one on the Billboard Hot 100?

Glass Animals' 'Heat Waves' took off on TikTok and in FIFA 21, and its 59-week climb to number one set a Hot 100 record.

Which Dua Lipa song topped Billboard's 2021 year-end Hot 100 without ever reaching number one?

'Levitating' peaked at number two, and it was the first year-end chart-topper without a weekly number one since Lifehouse's 'Hanging by a Moment' in 2001.

BTS's 'Dynamite' was the band's first song recorded fully in which language?

'Dynamite', BTS's first English-language single, debuted at number one and earned the band their first Grammy nomination.

Adele's 'Easy on Me' is the lead single from an album titled after what?

Adele named 30 for her age when she wrote it, as she did with 19, and 'Easy on Me' pleads for understanding over her divorce.

Megan Thee Stallion, who has spoken of opening assisted-living facilities in Houston, earned a degree in what?

Health administration: she kept taking classes at Texas Southern as her rap career took off, and graduated in 2021.

Who won Album of the Year at the 64th Grammys for We Are, the first ceremony held in Las Vegas?

Jon Batiste, then Stephen Colbert's Late Show bandleader, led the night with 11 nominations and won five Grammys, including Album of the Year.

Beyoncé's 2023 wins made her the most-awarded person in Grammy history, passing which conductor?

Georg Solti, longtime music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, had held the record with 31 Grammys until Beyoncé reached 32.

Which comedian hosted the Grammy Awards for six consecutive years, ending with the 68th ceremony?

Trevor Noah first hosted in 2021, at a pandemic ceremony with no audience, and came back every year through the 2026 show.

Which rap producer led the first Super Bowl halftime show centred on hip hop, which also won an Emmy?

Dr. Dre's 2022 show brought out Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar, and won the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special.

Rihanna's 2023 halftime show became famous when it was revealed she was what?

Rihanna revealed she was pregnant during the show, her first live performance in over five years, and later confirmed it was her second child.

Which singer headlined the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show in Las Vegas?

Usher had sung 'OMG' as a guest at the Black Eyed Peas' 2011 halftime show, 13 years before headlining his own in Las Vegas.

Which country won the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö with 'The Code'?

Switzerland's Nemo became Eurovision's first openly non-binary winner, and the disqualified Netherlands still kept its right to vote.

Which country won Eurovision 2025 with JJ's 'Wasted Love'?

Austria won the jury vote and the combined vote but only placed fourth in the public televote.

Which city hosted the opening night of the Oasis Live '25 reunion tour?

Oasis opened in Cardiff on 4 July 2025, their first show in 16 years, before five homecoming nights at Manchester's Heaton Park.

Ozzy Osbourne's final concert, Back to the Beginning, was held in July 2025 at which stadium?

Villa Park stands in Aston, near where Black Sabbath formed in 1968, and Osbourne sang from a throne before dying 17 days later.

'Golden' from KPop Demon Hunters was the first K-pop song to win which two awards?

'Golden' won a Grammy and an Oscar, and co-writer Ejae is also the singing voice of Rumi in the film.

In KPop Demon Hunters, what is the name of Huntrix's rival boy band?

The Saja Boys are demons posing as a K-pop boy band, and their songs 'Soda Pop' and 'Your Idol' both reached the Hot 100's top ten.

Which singer's 'Ordinary' spent 12 straight weeks at number one in the UK in 2025?

Alex Warren's 'Ordinary' reached 13 weeks at number one in all, and its unbroken 12-week run was the longest ever by an American male soloist.

Kendrick Lamar and SZA's 2025 stadium tour set what record?

Billboard named their run the highest-grossing co-headlining tour ever after its 23 North American shows took $256.4 million.

Tyler, the Creator's Chromakopia was released on which unusual day of the week?

Chromakopia came out on a Monday, though new albums have been released worldwide on Fridays since the industry set Global Release Day in 2015.

Hozier's 'Too Sweet', a US number one in 2024, was released as the opening track of which EP?

Unheard gathered four songs left off Unreal Unearth, and 'Too Sweet' beat the number-two peak of 'Take Me to Church' to become Hozier's first US number one.

Noah Kahan's 'Stick Season' went to number one in the UK after which artist covered it on BBC Radio 1?

Olivia Rodrigo's BBC Radio 1 cover sent 'Stick Season' viral, although Noah Kahan had feared a song about Vermont wouldn't connect elsewhere.

Lorde's 2025 album Virgin marked a return to electronic pop after which polarising 2021 record?

Solar Power's acoustic indie-folk sound drew polarised reviews, and Virgin swapped it for pulsing synthesizers and breakbeats.

Lil Nas X's 2021 chart-topper 'Montero' takes its title from what?

Montero is his real first name; the subtitle references the 2017 film, and the song was first teased in a Super Bowl LV commercial.

Bad Bunny's Un Verano Sin Ti was the first Spanish-language record to do what?

Un Verano Sin Ti was the first Spanish-language album shortlisted for the top Grammy, Album of the Year, and IFPI named it 2022's best-performing album worldwide.

Which country won Eurovision 2026 with 'Bangaranga', its first ever victory?

Bulgaria's Dara won both the jury vote and the televote, the first entry to sweep both since Portugal in 2017.

In which city's symphony orchestra did Rosalía record her 2025 album Lux?

Rosalía recorded Lux with the London Symphony Orchestra, and its lyrics span 14 languages, each tied to a different female saint.

Which singer won Best New Artist at the 68th Grammys, the first British winner since Dua Lipa?

Olivia Dean was the ninth woman in a row to win Best New Artist, and 'Man I Need' gave her a first UK number one and a US number two.

Which director reached EGOT status by winning Best Music Film at the 68th Grammys?

Steven Spielberg's Tony came from co-producing A Strange Loop, and his Grammy for Music by John Williams made him the 22nd EGOT winner.

Sombr's breakout 2025 hits 'Back to Friends' and 'Undressed' appear on which debut album?

I Barely Know Her gathered both TikTok breakouts, and 'Back to Friends' went on to win Best Alternative Video at the 2025 VMAs.

Which singer of 'About Damn Time' played a crystal flute once owned by President James Madison on stage in 2022?

Lizzo, a classically trained flautist, borrowed it from the Library of Congress; the 1813 gift to Madison had been rescued from the White House as British troops entered Washington.

A 2020 TikTok of a man skateboarding to work while sipping Ocean Spray juice revived which Fleetwood Mac song?

Dreams topped Billboard's rock download chart after Nathan Apodaca filmed the clip when his truck broke down in Idaho, and Mick Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks filmed replies of their own.

Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill' topped the UK chart in 2022, 37 years after release, thanks to which Netflix series?

Stranger Things used the song in its fourth season, and at 63 Bush became the oldest woman to top the UK chart, 44 years after 'Wuthering Heights' did the same.

In April 2020, Travis Scott's 'Astronomical' concert drew over 27 million players inside which video game?

Fortnite ran the virtual show five times over three days with visuals based on his Astroworld tour, and sold players outfits modelled on the rapper.

Which band's 2023 single 'Now and Then' used machine-learning software to lift a late member's voice from an old demo?

The Beatles finished it with software named MAL after their road manager Mal Evans, built for Peter Jackson's Get Back documentary, and it won a Grammy for Best Rock Performance.

Which Disney film produced 'We Don't Talk About Bruno', only the studio's second animated-movie song to top the Hot 100?

Encanto's ensemble number by Lin-Manuel Miranda out-charted Frozen's 'Let It Go' and matched a feat last managed by 'A Whole New World' from Aladdin in 1993.

Which pop group ended a 40-year gap between albums with Voyage in 2021, then launched a concert performed by avatars?

ABBA worked with the effects company Industrial Light & Magic on motion capture so that the 'ABBAtars' perform as the group looked in 1979, backed by a live ten-piece band.

Which pop star's 13-year conservatorship, run largely by her father, was ended by a judge in 2021 after a fan campaign?

Britney Spears had lived under it since 2008, and the #FreeBritney movement swelled after a 2021 documentary; the judge suspended her father Jamie weeks before ending it.

Which ticket seller's website crashed during the 2022 Eras Tour presale, leading to a US Senate hearing the next year?

Ticketmaster blamed unprecedented demand after 3.5 million fans registered for the presale, then cancelled the general sale altogether for lack of tickets.

Which singer became the oldest artist to top the Hot 100 when her 1958 Christmas single reached number one in 2023?

Brenda Lee was 78 when 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree' finally reached the top, helped by a new music video she filmed for it, and took the women's age record from Cher.

Which singer called the Grammys corrupt after his hit album After Hours received no nominations for the 2021 ceremony?

The Weeknd later said he would no longer let his label submit his music to the Grammys, and the Recording Academy's chief answered that it would have loved to have him on its stage.

Which veteran singer topped the UK chart in 2021 with 'Cold Heart', a dance remix recorded with Dua Lipa?

Elton John's hit stitches together pieces of his older songs, including 'Rocket Man' and 'Sacrifice', and was assembled by the dance group Pnau.

Which British band teamed with BTS on 'My Universe', a 2021 single that debuted at number one on the Hot 100?

Coldplay recorded it for the album Music of the Spheres, and it became the first song by two co-billed groups to top the US chart.

Which French electronic duo announced its split in 2021 with a video titled 'Epilogue', after 28 years together?

Daft Punk grew out of Darlin', an indie rock band that lasted about six months and played only two gigs before its members turned to dance music.

Which pop star earned an Oscar nomination for playing Glinda in the 2024 film of the musical Wicked?

Ariana Grande starred opposite Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba, six years after singing a number from the stage show on an NBC Halloween special.

Billie Eilish became the first person born this century to win an Oscar with the theme to which James Bond film?

No Time to Die made her, at 17, the youngest artist to record a Bond theme, and it was the third in a row to take the Academy Award after Adele's and Sam Smith's.

Which UK city hosted Eurovision 2023 on behalf of Ukraine, whose Kalush Orchestra had won the previous year?

Liverpool stepped in because Ukraine could not stage the contest during the Russian invasion, and the BBC ran the show for Ukraine's public broadcaster.

Benson Boone, singer of 'Beautiful Things', quit which TV talent show in 2021 just after reaching its Top 24?

American Idol had invited him straight to its Hollywood Week, but he withdrew to focus on his own career, having begun by sharing singing videos on TikTok.

Which rock band returned in 2024 with Dead Sara's Emily Armstrong as its new co-vocalist and the album From Zero?

Linkin Park went on hiatus after Chester Bennington died in 2017; the band met Armstrong in 2019 and began making music with her soon afterwards.

Neil Young pulled his music from which streaming service in 2022 in protest at Joe Rogan's podcast?

Spotify also lost Joni Mitchell and Crosby, Stills and Nash, who removed their songs in solidarity after Young accused the podcast of spreading COVID-19 misinformation.

Which rock band, once buskers in Rome, finished second on Italy's X Factor before winning Eurovision 2021?

Måneskin also won the Sanremo festival that year, then reached charts around the world with their version of the song 'Beggin''.

Which singer became the first openly transgender artist to win a major-category Grammy, for 'Unholy' with Sam Smith?

Kim Petras shared the Pop Duo/Group Performance award, and the song had already made her the first openly transgender solo artist to top the Hot 100.

Which Colombian singer's Mañana Será Bonito was the first all-Spanish album by a woman to top the Billboard 200?

Karol G won her first Grammy for the record, and had sung its single 'Provenza' live for the very first time at the Coachella festival in 2022.

Rema, whose 'Calm Down' remix with Selena Gomez reached number three on the Hot 100, was born in which country?

Nigeria's Benin City is where Rema was born Divine Ikubor, and his self-titled debut EP topped the country's Apple Music chart in 2019.

Which Johannesburg singer's 'Water' won the first Grammy for Best African Music Performance in 2024?

Tyla blends pop with amapiano, and her breakthrough single made her the first South African soloist on the Hot 100 in 55 years.

'Naatu Naatu', the first song from an Indian film to win the Best Original Song Oscar, comes from which Telugu epic?

RRR's showpiece dance number was also the first Indian song to win the Golden Globe, and the Telugu word in its title means something like 'local' or 'rustic'.

In 2023 a New York jury cleared Ed Sheeran of copying which Marvin Gaye hit in his ballad 'Thinking Out Loud'?

Let's Get It On was co-written by Ed Townsend, whose family sued in 2016, and a second claimant with a stake in its copyright sought $100 million.

Taylor Swift's ten-minute 'All Too Well' became the longest Hot 100 number one, a record held for decades by which song?

American Pie by Don McLean runs 8 minutes and 42 seconds and had kept the record for almost 50 years, since 1972.

Which 'Escapism' singer won a record six Brit Awards in one night after leaving a label that shelved her debut album?

Raye left Polydor in 2021 saying it had refused to release her album, then put out My 21st Century Blues independently and became the first woman named Brit Songwriter of the Year.

Which fashion house made Pharrell Williams its men's creative director in 2023, succeeding the late Virgil Abloh?

Louis Vuitton already knew him as a designer: Williams had co-created a line of eyewear and jewellery for the house back in 2008.