2022 Music History: Key Events, Band Formations & Album Releases
Acts Formed
January 13th
'Baby Shark' becomes the first ever video to reach 10 billion views on YouTube.
January 20th
Meat Loaf dies at 74 after a bout of COVID-19.
January 24th
Punk rock musician Brody Dalle testifies in court that her ex-husband, and Queens of the Stone Age frontman, Josh Homme headbutted her and fantasised about killing her. Homme denies the claims and is later awarded sole custody of the pair's three children.
February 4th
Black Country, New Road release Ants From Up There.
February 8th
Inflo becomes the first non-white person to win best producer at the Brit Awards.
February 10th
Sting sells his publishing rights to Universal Music Group for $300 million.
February 11th
Big Thief release Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You.
February 22nd
Mark Lanegan, of Screaming Trees, dies at 57 after a severe bout of COVID-19 left him in a coma.
February 25th
Russia is banned from the Eurovision Song Contest for invading Ukraine.
February 27th
Drum & Bass artist MC Skibadee dies at 47.
March 21st
The US version of the Eurovision Song Contest, the American Song Contest, is held in Universal City, California. The event has low ratings and is cancelled by NBC.
March 25th
Taylor Hawkins, of Foo Fighters, dies at 50 from acute mixed drug intoxication.
March 28th
Talking Heads members and married couple, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, survive a serious head-on collision after their vehicle is struck by a drunk driver in Connecticut. Weymouth breaks her sternum and three ribs.
April 3rd - Grammy Awards
Album of the Year: Jon Batiste - We Are
Song of the Year: Silk Sonic - 'Leave the Door Open'
Easter
The British singer Nadine Shah attempts suicide following struggles with PTSD and grief.
April 21st
The popular British rapper Little Simz cancels her US tour as it was commercially unviable.
April 30th
The country star Naomi Judd commits suicide at 76 via a self-inflicted gunshot wound. She suffered with bipolar disorder.
May 4th
Rapper Kidd Creole, from Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, is sentenced to 16 years in prison for stabbing a homeless man to death. Creolo alleges the man made sexual advances towards him.
May 9th
The arrest of Young Thug and Gunna on RICO charges spark a debate about the use of song lyrics as evidence in criminal court.
May 10th
The discontinuation of the iPod signals victory for streaming over ownership.
May 26th
ABBA Voyage debuts in London. The concert is performed by digital avatars of the original members.
June 8th
TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] opens at the Park Theatre in London. The production features characters including Princess Diana and Saddam Hussein.
June 9th
The Stradivarius violin used to record 'Over the Rainbow' for The Wizard of Oz is sold at auction for $15.3 million.
July 15th
black midi release Hellfire.
August
The 89-year-old Duchess of Kent and member of the British Royal Family, Katharine Kent, surprises many by revealing she is a fan of the gangsta rapper Ice Cube.
August 8th
Olivia Newton John dies at 73 of breast cancer.
August 24th
An AI-generated rapper, known as FN Meka, causes outrage by using the N word in his lyrics and posting an Instagram video where he is beaten by police in a jail cell. His debut single 'Florida Water' is pulled from release by Capitol Records.
September 5th
The Nevermind baby album art lawsuit against Nirvana is dismissed. Spencer Elden, who appears on the cover, was seeking damages of $150,000.
September 27th
Santigold cancels her tour due to skyrocketing costs.
October 7th
Alvvays release Blue Rev.
October 10th
Animal Collective cancel their European tour as it would operate at a loss even with sell-out shows.
October 18th - Mercury Prize
Best British Album: Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
October 31st
Taylor Swift becomes the first artist in history to occupy the top ten spots on the US singles chart simultaneously.
November 5th
Mimi Parker, of the slowcore band Low, dies at 55 after a battle with cancer.
November 7th
The rapper Tame One, from the Artifacts, dies at 52 of heart failure.
November 11th
Tyson Fury releases a cover of 'Sweet Caroline' by Neil Diamond to raise money for the mental health charity Talk Club.
November 12th
Jeff Bezos gives Dolly Parton $100 million to donate to charities of her choice.
November 18th
Weyes Blood releases And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow.
December 23rd
Maxi Jazz, of Faithless, dies at 65 after an illness.
December 15th
Three people die during a crowd crush at the O2 Brixton Academy in London. Security guards later admit to allowing unticketed fans entry in exchange for cash.
2022
Bandcamp hits 10 million users. The service offers direct-to-fan sales of music and merchandise.
2022
Vinyl outsells CDs in terms of units sold in the US for the first time since 1987. Vinyl sells 41 million units compared to CDs 33 million.
