2 January: the Italian singer Valentina Giovagnini at age 28, dies in a car crash.
8 January: 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 Creed "With Arms Wide Open" in November 2000 (27 weeks). Just Dance also reaches number 1 on the UK Singles Chart three days later, a week after it debuted at number 3.
16 January: The film Notorious, based on the life of rapper Notorious B.I.G. is released.
18 January: As part of the inaugural celebration of Barack Obama, an inaugural concert "We Are One" was held at the Lincoln Memorial.
28 January: Kelly Clarkson breaks record for the biggest jump to number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 when her single "My Life Would Suck Without You" soars from number 97 to number one fueled by 280,000 digital downloads on the first week of release.
29 January: Madonna announces that she will extend her record-breaking Sticky & Sweet Tour during summer of 2009, to visit cities that were excluded during the first run. The tour will kick-off in The O2, London on July 4. The extension will take Sticky & Sweet Tour to a total of over 80 shows, putting it among the top five tours of all time.
February: Lily Allen's "The Fear" jumps 168 spots to reach the number one spot on the UK Singles Chart, ending Lady Gaga's three-week reign at the top.
1 February: Bruce Springsteen, Faith Hill and Jennifer Hudson perform at Super Bowl XLIII
8 February: 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 wins 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.
10 February: Rihanna cancelled 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.
12 February:
"Crack a Bottle", performed by Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent, sets a new record for opening week download sales in the United States, at 418,000 copies. The previous record (335,000) was set by "Live Your Life".
Billboard announces that Madonna is the highest-earning entertainer of 2008, with US$242,176,466, mostly from her sold-out Sticky & Sweet Tour.
18 February:
Pet Shop Boys win the outstanding contribution to music award at the Brit Awards.
Duffy dominates the Brit Awards, held in Earl's Court, London. Her album, Rockferry, the U.K top seller in 2008, won best British album, and she also won best British female and British breakthrough
Kings of Leon (best international group) also win best international album for Only By The Night.
Katy Perry wins best international female trophy.
Flo Rida breaks his own record when his single "Right Round" is downloaded 636,000 units in the opening week. His 2008 chart-topper "Low" set the previous record for most downloaded song with 467,000 units sold on the first week of release.
24 February: Lamb of God album Wrath debuts at number 2 on the Billboard 200, making it the highest charting extreme metal album in the last fifteen years.
26 February: Vocalist Steven Page leaves the Barenaked Ladies.
28 February: Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's first song as a group in nine years entitled "The Game Ain't Ready" on MySpace. The sudden rush caused MySpace to crash for the rest of the day.
1 March: Fleetwood Mac embark on their first world tour in five years, with a possible new studio album to follow.
2 March: Elton John and Billy Joel The tour dates are mostly configured for 360-degree view in order to maximize arena capacity. The duo's last tour, in 2003, grossed $USD 45.8 million from only 24 sellouts according to Billboard Boxscore.
3 March: Britney Spears launches her highly anticipated The Circus Starring Britney Spears world tour at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her first world tour in five years, and first tour since her public breakdown will take her across North America, Europe, and will end in Australia. Spears will complete a 97 show world tour.
5 March: Michael Jackson announces in London his last concert series, This Is It.
6-8 March: Phish's reunion shows at Hampton Coliseum in Virginia.
10 March: Infernus won the Gorgoroth name dispute.
12 March: Electroclash singer Miss Kittin reunited with The Hacker to release the duet album Two.
13-22 March: The 2009 South by Southwest Conference and Festival.
16 March: Paradise Lost, Hires, Adrian Erlandsson.
22 March: 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.
26 March: Beyoncé Knowles begins her I Am... Tour in Edmonton, Canada at the Rexall Place.
27 March:
Rapper T.I. was sentenced to a one year and one day prison sentence.
N Dubz start their first ever tour, The Uncle B Tour.
1 April: Lady Gaga becomes the first artist in nearly ten years (after Christina Aguilera in 1999 and 2000) to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with their first two chart entries ("Just Dance" and "Poker Face").
4 April:
Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney performed 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 took 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, Black Sabbath, and Van Halen's inductions includes Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted both former bassists for the band in the induction. Jason Newsted also performs with band in its first rendition as a 5-piece band featuring two bass guitarists.
5 April: Carrie Underwood won the ACM Entertainer of the Year award, becoming only the 7th female to do so in the history of the ceremony's 44 years.
11 April: 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.
12 April: Carrie Underwood's song "I Told You So" from her album "Carnival Ride topped the country songs chart as her tenth straight number one and became the only country artist in history to have their first 10 singles hit number one off their first two albums.
17-19 April: Coachella 2009
21 April: Heavy metal band Iron Maiden releases a motion picture documentary of their current Somewhere Back in Time World Tour, titled Flight 666.
23 April: Taylor Swift kicks off her sold-out Fearless Tour, her first headlining tour, in Evansville, Indiana, joined by opening acts Gloriana and Kellie Pickler.
26 April: UK grime rapper Tinchy Stryder's collaboration with N-Dubz, "Number 1", went to the No.1 spot, shifting 72,000 copies in its first week. Tinchy Stryder's single was the only ever song entitled 'Number One' to reach the No.1 spot – even though there's been 23 other songs with the same name.
28 April: A side project by Burton C. Bell & Dino Cazares from weeks prior changes into Fear Factory Rehiring Dino & Hiring Gene Hoglan.
2-3 May: The Bamboozle festival in East Rutherford, New Jersey
3 May: Concert at Madison Square Garden to celebrate the 90th birthday of Pete Seeger. Featured Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn, Dave Matthews and Eddie Vedder amongst others
16 May:
David Cook and David Archuleta give a concert in the Philippines at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds.
Alexander Rybak with his song "Fairytale" wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 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 #10 entry in the UK Singles Chart.
18 May:
Rapper Dolla is shot and killed in Beverly Hills, California at the Beverly Center.
Shock rocker Marilyn Manson reunited with Twiggy Ramirez to release Marilyn Manson's album The High End of Low.
19 May: Eminem returns with a brand new album titled Relapse which reaches #1 on the worldwide chart selling over a million copies in just one week.
20 May: Kris Allen defeats Adam Lambert to win the eighth season of American Idol.
June: The Puerto Rican pop singer Ricky Martin announced he was working on a new studio album
1 June: Pearl Jam are first musical guests on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, performing new songs.
4-7 June:
Wakarusa 2009
Oasis begins the summer stadium leg of their world tour with 3 sold-out homecoming concerts at the 70,000 capacity Heaton Park.
Phish start their first tour since their "break up" in 2004.
11 June: The Pussycat Dolls perform in the Philippines at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds.
11-14 June:
Bonnaroo 2009
Download Festival
13 June: DefQon 1, arranged by Q-Dance
14 June: Pixie Lott topped the U.K charts with her debut single Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)
20 June: Jonas Brothers kick off the American leg of their Jonas Brothers World Tour 2009 in Dallas, Texas.
21 June: Demi Lovato kicks off her summer tour with pop singer David Archuleta
23 June: Dream Theater releases his last album with [Mike Portnoy], Black Clouds & Silver Linings
24-28 June: Glastonbury Festival 2009
25 June-5 July: Summerfest
25 June: Worldwide popular entertainer Michael Jackson dies at 50 years old in the midst of planning a comeback/farewell tour.
26 June: Warped Tour begins in Pomona, California, and will go around the United States and Canada
30 June: The U2 360° Tour begins in Barcelona's Nou Camp Stadium in front of a sell out crowd.
2-3 July: Blur's 20 year reunion and superconcert at Hyde Park.
2-5 July: Heineken Open'er Festival in Gdynia, Poland
3 July: 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.
4 July: Madonna starts the second run of her record-breaking Sticky & Sweet Tour in London, England.
6 July: Ryan Ross and Jon Walker leave Panic! at the Disco and go on to form The Young Veins.
6-12 July: 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.
7 July: A public memorial for Michael Jackson is held at the Staples Center. Artists such as Stevie Wonder, Usher, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer, Lionel Richie, Shaheen Jafargholi, and his brother, Jermaine Jackson performed.
9-12 July: 10th EXIT festival takes place in the Petrovaradin Fortress of Novi Sad, Serbia, with more than 190,000 visitors.
10 July-15 August: Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, headlined by Marilyn Manson and Slayer
13 July: Lady Gaga becomes the first performer to have three songs from a debut album reach #1 on an American Billboard chart since Avril Lavigne and Ace of Base.
14 July: Owl City releases "Fireflies" which is released on iTunes as "Free Single Of The Week". This single later becomes a #1 on American Billboard.
16-19 July: Rock Fest
17, 18 & 21 July: Paul McCartney performs three sold out concerts at Citi Field to open the stadium with opening act, The Script. This is because on August 15, 1965, The Beatles performed the first concert at Shea Stadium and McCartney joined Billy Joel on stage a year ago for the last concert there. Joel joined McCartney again on the first night.
18 July: Tool goes on tour for the first time in two years.
21 July: shortlist announced for the 2009 Mercury Prize.
22-25 July: 2009 10,000 Lakes Festival
24 July: Start of blink-182's reunion tour, with Fall Out Boy and Weezer as opening acts, kicks off.
25-26 July: IndieTracks Festival, Derbyshire UK
7-9 August: Lollapalooza 2009
14-16 August: Bloodstock Open Air Festival, Derbyshire, UK
20-22 August: Hip Hop Kemp in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
21 August: Vocalist Jim Lindberg announces his departure from Pennywise.
21-23 August: The Green Festival in New Brunswick, Canada
28 August:
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.
Adam Goldstein, better known as DJ AM, is found dead at his Manhattan apartment. He had died of a drug overdose. He was 36.
28-31 August:
Greenbelt Festival in Cheltenham, UK
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.
30 August: ICS Vortex & Mustis are fired from Dimmu Borgir
31 August: Ingrid Michaelson kicks off her "Everybody" tour in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
3 September: Michael Jackson is buried at Forest Lawn for a private burial.
7 September: Muse release their new single, "Uprising".
8 September: Winner of the 2009 Mercury Prize announced.
9 September:
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.
The Beatles: Rock Band is released.
10 September: Nine Inch Nails performs their final concert in Los Angeles.
12 September: 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.
13 September:
The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards is held in New York City at Radio City Music Hall.
Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Green Day win three awards.
16 September: 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' has since sparked numerous rumours that the girls will be reforming again. The girls have not denied this, but said that anything "work related" was not 'concrete' yet.
17 September:
Avril Lavigne and husband Deryck Whibley split after three years of marriage.
VH1 Divas returns with a appearances by Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks, Jennifer Hudson, Leona Lewis, Adele, and Miley Cyrus with host Paula Abdul
21 September:
Winner of the 2009 Polaris Music Prize announced.
Sugababes singer Keisha Buchanan left the group, surrounding days of speculation that arguments had occurred in the band. 2009 Eurovision song contest entrant Jade Ewen replaced her, leaving no members of the group's original lineup remaining.
24 September: Chiodos fires their lead singer, Craig Owens.
25-27 September: 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.
29 September: Paramore releases third album Brand New Eyes, the band's highest charting album to date and starts the Brand New Eyes World Tour.
30 September: Kylie Minogue kicks off first ever US Tour in Oakland, California.
2 October:
Beyoncé Knowles is named Woman of 2009 by Billboard.
Dethklok and Mastodon begin touring on the Adult Swim Tour.
2-4 October: Austin City Limits 2009
11 October: Robbie Williams makes his first appearance on TV in over 3 Years with "Bodies" and it was also his come back performance on The X Factor
15 October: Britney Spears's "3" debuted at number one on Billboard Hot 100. This is her third number one on Billboard Hot 100 and the first non-American Idol related single to debut at number one since Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)" occupied the penthouse on November 14, 1999.
19 October: Green Day released their UK and US single "East Jesus Nowhere".
23 October: Akon performs a concert in the Philippines.
24 October: Lock Up play their final show.
25 October: Cheryl Cole debut solo song "Fight For This Love" reaches number one in UK.
28 October: Michael Jackson's This Is It, featuring behind the scenes footage in the days before his death, is released. It debuts at #1, and becomes the best selling documentary of all time, raising over $250 million.
31 October: Lil Wayne releases his Most famous Mixtape No Ceilings.
12 November: Steven Tyler not quitting Aerosmith, despite rumors that the band would be in need of a new lead singer.
17 November:
American rock band Fall Out Boy releases their first Believers Never Die - Greatest Hits compilation album and announce an indefinate hiatus shortly after.
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.
22 November: The AMAs featured notable performances by Lady Gaga, Shakira, and Rihanna, but is most remembered for the performance by Adam Lambert of his debut single "For Your Entertainment".
8 December: 30 Seconds to Mars release their highly anticipated 3rd studio album, This Is War.
11 December: Garth Brooks came out of retirement for a solo acoustic show at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas.
13 December: 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.
16 December: John Frusciante announces his second departure from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
20 December: Rage Against the Machine takes the Christmas number one slot in the United Kingdom with Killing in the Name, after a massive Facebook campaign.
22 December: Per Eriksson & Niklas Sandin, Replace The Norrmans in Katatonia.
25 December: The folk singer and songwriter Vic Chesnutt commits suicide.
28 December: The Rev, drummer of metalcore band Avenged Sevenfold is found dead at his home in Huntington Beach. He was 28.
30 December: Rowland S. Howard, former guitarist for The Birthday Party, dies of cancer at age 50.
31 December: Kesha's "Tik Tok" becomes the final number-one single of the decade.
Classical Music
JOHN ADAMS
String Quartet, No. 2
THOMAS ADÈS
Lieux Retrouvés, for cello and piano
RICHARD BARRETT
Mesopotamia for 17 instruments and electronics
HARRISON BIRTWISTLE
The Corridor scena for two singers and ensemble
JOHN BRUNNING
Sahara (for guitar)
ELLIOTT CARTER
Duettino for Violin & Cello
Figment V for marimba
LUDOVICO EINAUDI
Nightbook
LORENZO FERRERO
Op.111 – Bagatella su Beethoven for piano solo
Three Simple Songs for flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello and piano
Fantasy Suite No.2 for violin and orchestra
HOWARD GOODALL
Enchanted Voices
PHILIP GLASS
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, No.2, "The American Four Seasons"
premiere in December
Sonata for Violin & Piano
String Sextet
MAGNUS LINDBERG
Graffiti for chorus and orchestra
CHRISTOPHER ROUSE
Zhizn
STEVEN STUCKY
Dust Devil, for solo marimba
JOHN TAVENER
Tu ne sais pas, for mezzo-soprano, timpani and stings
The Peace that Passeth Understanding (choral)
MARK-ANTHONY TURNAGE
Five Processionals, for clarinet, violin, cello & piano
Opera
PHILIP GLASS
Kepler
premiere on 20 September, Linz, Austria
ALEXANDER GOEHR
Promised End, opera in twenty-four preludes to lyrics from Shakespeare's King Lear
KAREL GOEYVAERTS
Aquarius
premiere on 9 June, Antwerp
PAUL MORAVEC
The Letter
premiere on 25 July, Santa Fe Opera
MICHAEL NYMAN
Sparkie: Cage and Beyond, with Carsten Nicolai
ANDRÉ PREVIN
Brief Encounter
World Premier, 1 May 2009, Houston Grand Opera
THANAPOOM SIRICHANG
The Lunch Box
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
Prima Donna
Please address any comments concerning this page to The Music Maestro
Mark Chard BSc, PLY
Page created: 9th August 2009
Last edited: 18th May 2017
