110 Fun Facts About 2010s Music

On 21 December 2012, which song's video became the first on YouTube to reach one billion views?

Gangnam Style's horse-riding dance took Psy about a month to invent, because he wanted something original.

Billboard pulled Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' from which genre chart?

Hot Country Songs dropped it as not country enough; Billy Ray Cyrus tweeted his support, joined the remix, and the song went on to top the Hot 100 for 19 weeks.

'Despacito' was the first mostly Spanish-language Hot 100 number one since which 1996 hit?

Macarena, by Spain's Los del Río, broke through in the US after Miami's Bayside Boys remixed it with English lyrics, then held No. 1 for 14 weeks.

In 2017 'Despacito' tied which Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men ballad's record of 16 weeks at No. 1?

One Sweet Day fused two songs of grief: Carey's for her friend David Cole and Nathan Morris's for Boyz II Men's late road manager, which fit over the same chords.

Kimbra, Gotye's duet partner on 'Somebody That I Used to Know', comes from which country?

New Zealand's Kimbra landed the duet after a better-known singer cancelled at the last minute and the song's mixer, who had produced her debut album, recommended her.

Pharrell Williams's 'Happy' was written for the soundtrack of which animated film?

Despicable Me 2's Happy was written for CeeLo Green, but his label passed, so Pharrell sang it himself.

Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky' featured Pharrell Williams and which veteran Chic guitarist?

Nile Rodgers had Daft Punk mute everything on their Get Lucky demo except the drums, then played guitar until he found the groove.

With 'Royals' in 2013, Lorde became the youngest woman to top the Hot 100 since which 1980s teen star?

Tiffany was 16 when 'I Think We're Alone Now' hit No. 1, after producer George Tobin sent her to sing for free in shopping malls across the US.

In 2015 a jury found Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines' infringed which Marvin Gaye song?

Before the Got to Give It Up verdict, Thicke admitted in a deposition he was high on Vicodin and alcohol in the studio and that Pharrell wrote almost all of it.

Which producer was credited on 'Uptown Funk', the 2015 hit featuring Bruno Mars?

Mark Ronson's hit later added the Gap Band's writers to its credits after their publisher claimed it borrowed from 'Oops Up Side Your Head'.

Which 17-year-old ended the record run of 'Old Town Road' at number one in 2019 with 'Bad Guy'?

Billie Eilish made the song with her brother Finneas, who produced her debut album in his small bedroom studio in Los Angeles.

Which 2017 album became the first work outside classical and jazz to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music?

Damn. by Kendrick Lamar closes with DUCKWORTH., the true story of how his future label boss spared Lamar's father while planning to rob the KFC where he worked.

Who sang 'Let It Go' in Frozen (2013) and performed it at the Oscars, where it won Best Song?

Idina Menzel voiced Elsa, who was first written as a villain until Let It Go, a song about embracing her powers, turned her into a heroine.

Which country is 'Call Me Maybe' singer Carly Rae Jepsen from?

Canada's Carly Rae Jepsen got a huge boost when Justin Bieber tweeted that Call Me Maybe was possibly the catchiest song he'd ever heard.

Which singer topped the Hot 100 in 1994 while still unsigned, a feat Macklemore's 'Thrift Shop' matched in 2013?

Lisa Loeb's friend Ethan Hawke passed 'Stay (I Missed You)' to director Ben Stiller, who put it in Reality Bites.

Which Imagine Dragons song spent a then-record 87 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100?

Radioactive grew slowly through ads and trailers rather than a radio push, taking 42 weeks to climb into the top five.

Which soul singer provided the uncredited vocals on Avicii's 2013 hit 'Wake Me Up'?

Aloe Blacc sang it live when Avicii debuted the song at Ultra with a full band, and its folk sound confused many dance fans.

One Direction were formed in 2010 on which television show?

The X Factor judges put five boys who had failed as solo contestants into a group, and even then they finished only third.

'See You Again' by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth was a Paul Walker tribute for which 2015 film?

Charlie Puth wrote the Furious 7 tribute in minutes, drawing on grief for a friend killed in a motorcycle accident in 2012.

'This Is America', the first rap song to win Record and Song of the Year, was released under which stage name?

Childish Gambino is Donald Glover, who released the song while he was hosting Saturday Night Live and appearing as its musical guest.

Cardi B's 2017 hit 'Bodak Yellow' made her the first female rapper with a solo Hot 100 number one since whom?

Lauryn Hill did it with 'Doo Wop (That Thing)', and the title 'Bodak Yellow' nods to Kodak Black because Cardi B's flow echoed his song No Flockin'.

Which Ed Sheeran single became the first song to pass three billion streams on Spotify, in 2021?

Ed Sheeran wrote Shape of You with Rihanna in mind, but his label boss asked why he wanted to give it away, so he kept it.

Which Adele single became the first song to sell a million US downloads in a single week?

Hello took six months to finish: Adele wrote half of it with producer Greg Kurstin, who then wasn't sure she would ever come back to complete it.

Which song from Adele's 21 won Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 2012 Grammys?

Adele wrote Rolling in the Deep the day after her breakup, channelling her anger at being told her life would be boring and lonely without the relationship.

Taylor Swift's 2014 album 1989 is named after what?

Swift named 1989 after her birth year to signal a symbolic rebirth from country to pop, steeped in the Eighties synth-pop she admired.

Which album first sent five singles to Hot 100 number one, a feat Katy Perry's Teenage Dream matched?

Bad's title track was planned as a duet with Prince, who declined because he balked at trading its opening line with Michael Jackson.

Lady Gaga performed the Oscar-winning 'Shallow' with which actor-director?

Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga sang their scenes live on set instead of lip-syncing, so the production sound became the film's vocal track.

Fun.'s 'We Are Young', Song of the Year at the 2013 Grammys, featured which guest singer?

Janelle Monáe guested on the song, and a Chevrolet ad during the 2012 Super Bowl helped it explode at radio and retail on the way to No. 1.

Beyoncé's Lemonade was surprise-released in April 2016 exclusively on which streaming service?

Tidal belonged to Beyoncé's husband Jay-Z, who bought its parent company, Aspiro, in 2015 and relaunched it as an artist-owned service.

Which songwriter won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature for 'new poetic expressions' in the American song tradition?

Bob Dylan skipped the Nobel ceremony, so Patti Smith sang his 'A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall' there instead.

What made 8 January 2016, when David Bowie released Blackstar, significant?

It was his 69th birthday: Bowie died two days later after an 18-month battle with cancer, and producer Tony Visconti called the album a parting gift.

The video for Sia's 'Chandelier' (2014) made a star of which young dancer, then known from Dance Moms?

Maddie Ziegler, then 11, got the part when Sia tweeted her an invitation, and she danced in a blonde wig matching the one Sia used to promote the album.

The Chainsmokers' 2016 chart-topper 'Closer' featured which singer?

Halsey sings the verse about a Blink-182 song they'd played to death in Tucson, and the Chainsmokers' Andrew Taggart later gave two different answers for which song it was.

Hozier's 'Take Me to Church' video drew attention to the persecution of gay people in which country?

Russia's anti-gay violence spurred the video, while Hozier wrote the song about a church undermining humanity by teaching shame about sexual orientation.

Sam Smith's 'Stay with Me' earned Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne a co-writing credit for its likeness to which song?

I Won't Back Down's publisher spotted the likeness, and Sam Smith's co-writers, who had not known the song, amicably agreed to credit Petty and Lynne.

Which K-pop group first topped the US Billboard 200 in May 2018 with Love Yourself: Tear?

BTS drew congratulations from South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who said the group's songs and dreams had given strength to young people around the world.

In which US state did Kanye West record most of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)?

Hawaii was Kanye West's self-imposed exile, and he kept Honolulu's Avex studio staffed 24 hours a day, never sleeping in a bed during one editor's visit.

Camila Cabello's 'Havana', her first solo number one in January 2018, featured which rapper?

Young Thug joined a song first released as a mere promotional single; its success with fans then made Havana the album's lead single.

The video for LMFAO's 'Party Rock Anthem', in which the duo wake from comas, parodies which zombie film?

28 Days Later inspired director Mickey Finnegan's concept: an epidemic that leaves everyone possessed, wanting only to shuffle.

Bon Iver took its name from 'bon hiver', a 'good winter' greeting heard on which 1990s TV series?

Northern Exposure kept Justin Vernon company while he was bedridden with mono, and he first used 'Bon Iver' to sign off a thank-you letter.

Whose album Morning Phase beat Beyoncé to Album of the Year at the 2015 Grammys?

Beck's win drew Kanye West onstage in a mock replay of his 2009 VMAs stunt, and West later said Beck should have given the award to Beyoncé.

Arcade Fire, whose The Suburbs won the Grammy for Album of the Year, formed in which city?

Montreal is where Arcade Fire formed, but The Suburbs looks back on Win and Will Butler's childhood in the suburbs of Houston, Texas.

Which 2014 debut single spent eight weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100?

All About That Bass stumped labels that didn't know what to do with it, until L.A. Reid heard Meghan Trainor sing it and signed her to Epic.

Justin Bieber's 2010 hit 'Baby' featured which rapper?

Ludacris joined Baby because he and Justin Bieber both lived in Atlanta, and his verse is about his own first love.

Foster the People's 'Pumped Up Kicks' is sung from whose perspective?

A youth with homicidal thoughts narrates it; Mark Foster wrote the song after reading about the growing trend in teenage mental illness.

Which DJ produced and featured on Rihanna's hit 'We Found Love'?

Calvin Harris's track got a video shoot in a Northern Irish field until farmer Alan Graham halted filming over Rihanna's state of undress.

Which 2015 Drake hit samples Timmy Thomas's 1972 song 'Why Can't We Live Together'?

Hotline Bling's video, with Drake dancing alone in colour-drenched rooms, inspired countless memes and parody videos after its October 2015 release.

Besides Mean Girls, Bring It On and Legally Blonde, which film did Ariana Grande's 'Thank U, Next' video recreate?

13 Going on 30 made the cut, and Legally Blonde's Jennifer Coolidge later credited the video with reviving her career.

Which November 2019 release became the first song to spend a full year in the Hot 100's top ten?

Blinding Lights still earned The Weeknd zero Grammy nominations, and he responded that the Grammys remain corrupt.

Gwyneth Paltrow covered CeeLo Green's 'Forget You' as a guest star on which TV series?

Glee cast Paltrow as a substitute teacher, and she later sang the song with CeeLo Green himself at the 2011 Grammys.

The Tupac 'hologram' at Coachella 2012 used a modern version of which Victorian stage illusion?

Pepper's ghost reflected a flat image of Tupac onto an angled screen, so for all the billing, no true hologram was involved.

Spotify, the streaming service founded by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, comes from which country?

Sweden's Spotify grew from Ek and Lorentzon's 2006 idea for a legal music platform when illegal file-sharing sites dominated music online.

Shortly before Channel Orange came out in 2012, which singer posted an open letter revealing his first love was a man?

Frank Ocean had written the letter for the album's sleeve notes, but posted it on Tumblr after listening events stirred speculation about his lyrics.

Nicki Minaj's hit 'Super Bass' came from the deluxe edition of which debut album?

Pink Friday's Super Bass got a boost when a YouTube cover by young cousins Sophia Grace and Rosie went viral and landed them on Ellen.

Adele's 25 broke the US first-week album sales record set in 2000 by which boy band?

NSYNC's No Strings Attached came out after the band jumped from Lou Pearlman's label to Jive, a move that drew a $150 million lawsuit.

Justin Timberlake's 'Can't Stop the Feeling!' was written for which 2016 animated film?

Trolls earned the song an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, but it lost to 'City of Stars' from La La Land.

Which Miley Cyrus single ended the nine-week reign of Lorde's 'Royals' at number one on the Hot 100?

Wrecking Ball lasted just one week back on top before Eminem's 'The Monster' took over and sent it tumbling to No. 5.

Which Drake single of 2018 was the most-streamed song of the year on both Spotify and Apple Music?

Drake shot the God's Plan video in Miami and handed out about $175,000 to strangers during filming.

Which rapper features on Post Malone's 2017 chart-topper "Rockstar"?

21 Savage, later revealed to be a British citizen born in London, scored his first US number one with Rockstar alongside Post Malone.

Which songwriter co-wrote and played piano on Adele's "Someone like You"?

Dan Wilson helped write it, and after Adele sang it at the 2011 Brit Awards, it leapt from No. 47 to No. 1 in the UK.

At the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga accepted Video of the Year in a dress made of what?

Raw beef made up the dress, hat, boots and purse, and taxidermists later preserved the outfit as a kind of jerky for display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

U2 angered listeners in 2014 when Songs of Innocence appeared, unasked, in every account on which music service?

iTunes gave the album to all its customers at no cost on the day of an Apple launch event, and Bono later apologised in his memoir, saying he took full responsibility.

Which singer was found dead in a Beverly Hilton hotel bathtub in February 2012, the day before the Grammy Awards?

Whitney Houston had been expected at Clive Davis's pre-Grammy party that evening, and at the ceremony the next day Jennifer Hudson sang 'I Will Always Love You' in tribute.

Which singer quit One Direction in March 2015, saying he wanted to live as a normal 22-year-old?

Zayn Malik walked away midway through the On the Road Again Tour, and his solo debut Mind of Mine came out exactly a year after his departure.

Beyoncé's 2013 Super Bowl halftime show reunited which girl group, shortly before a blackout halted play?

Destiny's Child's Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams were launched up through the stage floor to join her, and a power failure early in the third quarter then stopped the game for 34 minutes.

Which singer's debut single 'Tik Tok' became the first Hot 100 number one of the 2010s?

Kesha held the top spot for nine weeks, and 'Tik Tok' went on to be the best-selling single in the world in 2010.

Adele sang the first James Bond theme ever to win the Oscar for Best Original Song, for which film?

Skyfall ended a long drought, as no Bond theme had even been nominated since 'For Your Eyes Only' in 1981, and Adele said her first draft took ten minutes.

Ylvis, the comedy brothers who asked what the fox says in the 2013 viral hit 'The Fox', come from which country?

Norway's Ylvis made the song as a deliberate anti-hit to promote their television talk show, and it climbed to number six on the Hot 100 instead.

'Everything Is Awesome', performed at the 2015 Oscars beside a costumed Batman, was written for which animated film?

The Lego Movie's theme was sung by Tegan and Sara with the Lonely Island, and Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh joined them at the Oscars in a Lego version of his band's energy-dome hat.

Lin-Manuel Miranda co-wrote the songs for which 2016 Disney film, starring Dwayne Johnson as the demigod Maui?

Moana's 'How Far I'll Go' brought Miranda an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, and most of the film's cast are of Polynesian descent.

'Cups', a 2013 top-ten hit with a cup tapped as percussion, was first performed in which 2012 film comedy?

Pitch Perfect's lead actress took the song to number six on the Hot 100, and the tune itself reworks a Carter Family folk song from 1931.

Which rapper's 2010 number one 'Love the Way You Lie' had Rihanna singing the chorus?

Eminem's best-selling single began as a demo by Skylar Grey, and its video cast Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan as lovers in a violent relationship.

Which Colombian singer recorded 'Waka Waka', the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa?

Shakira built the track on a Cameroonian makossa song by Golden Sounds and recorded it with the South African band Freshlyground.

Maroon 5's 'Moves like Jagger' paired Adam Levine with Christina Aguilera, his fellow coach on which TV talent show?

The Voice hosted the song's first performance in June 2011, and it went on to become the band's second Hot 100 number one and one of the best-selling singles ever.

Which British singer died of alcohol poisoning at her Camden home in July 2011, aged just 27?

Amy Winehouse's death at 27 drew comparisons with other musicians who died at that age, the so-called 27 Club, and a coroner recorded a verdict of misadventure.

Which Marvel film's Awesome Mix Vol. 1 was the first soundtrack of only old songs to top the Billboard 200?

Guardians of the Galaxy's soundtrack was even sold on cassette for Record Store Day, the first tape released by Disney's music arm since 2003.

Which rapper and producer co-founded the headphone brand that Apple bought for $3 billion in 2014?

Dr. Dre started Beats with record executive Jimmy Iovine in 2006, and when Apple agreed its largest ever acquisition he boasted of being hip hop's first billionaire.

Which singer of 'Stitches' built his following with six-second song covers on the app Vine?

Shawn Mendes posted a Justin Bieber cover in 2013 and had 10,000 likes by the next day, and within a year he was the third most-followed musician on Vine.

Rae Sremmurd's 'Black Beatles' reached number one in 2016 as the soundtrack to which viral video craze?

The Mannequin Challenge is thought to have begun with students at a high school in Jacksonville, Florida, and Rae Sremmurd once paused a concert to film one live on stage.

Which Baauer dance track debuted at number one in 2013, just as Billboard began counting YouTube views?

Harlem Shake had hardly sold until a February 2013 YouTube video turned it into a meme, and it held the top spot for a third week even as its video streams fell.

Camila Cabello left which girl group, known for the 2016 hit 'Work from Home', in December of that year?

Fifth Harmony's 'Work from Home' had been the first top-five Hot 100 single by a girl group in a decade, and the remaining four carried on until a hiatus in 2018.

Which singer, born Abel Tesfaye, posted music anonymously before topping the Hot 100 with 'Can't Feel My Face'?

The Weeknd first posted songs to YouTube without revealing who he was, and his 2015 album Beauty Behind the Madness went on to produce two Hot 100 number ones.

Which rapper's 2014 number one 'Fancy', featuring Charli XCX, had a video recreating the film Clueless?

Iggy Azalea played Cher Horowitz in the video, and the song's seven weeks on top beat Lil' Kim's mark for the longest-leading Hot 100 number one by a female rapper.

Which teenager's 2011 viral song 'Friday', recorded for $4,000, became one of YouTube's most disliked videos?

Rebecca Black was 13 when her mother paid Ark Music Factory for the song and video, and the original upload was pulled from YouTube that June in a legal dispute.

Which rapper guested on Katy Perry's 2010 summer number one 'California Gurls'?

Snoop Dogg rapped on what Perry called her answer to 'Empire State of Mind', the New York anthem by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, and it led the Hot 100 for six weeks.

Which Broadway musical's 2015 cast recording became the first cast album to top Billboard's Rap Albums chart?

Hamilton's album kept climbing for years, and in 2020 it became the highest-charting cast recording since Hair in 1969, in its 250th straight week on the Billboard 200.

Ed Sheeran's first three studio albums, released between 2011 and 2017, all take their titles from what?

Maths symbols name the albums Plus, Multiply and Divide, and Sheeran later completed the set with Equals in 2021 and Subtract in 2023.

Hayley Williams, who sang the chorus of B.o.B's 2010 hit 'Airplanes', fronts which rock band?

Paramore's spring tour kept Williams away when B.o.B shot the video, so she filmed her scenes afterwards and the two performers were never in the same room.

Which manager discovered Justin Bieber online and in 2019 bought the masters of Taylor Swift's first six albums?

Scooter Braun found Bieber, then 13, after accidentally clicking on one of his YouTube videos, and the 2019 Big Machine deal set off a long public dispute with Swift.

Which singer, born Elizabeth Grant, broke through in 2011 with a homemade webcam video for 'Video Games'?

Lana Del Rey had earlier sung in New York clubs under names such as Sparkle Jump Rope Queen, and the viral video won her a record deal.

Daft Punk composed the score for which 2010 Disney sci-fi sequel, appearing on screen as DJs in a nightclub scene?

Tron: Legacy was the first film score by the French duo, who set their electronics against an 85-piece orchestra recorded in London.

Which guitarist of the band Fun. went on to co-produce Taylor Swift's 1989 and Lorde's Melodrama?

Jack Antonoff also fronts the band Bleachers, and he later won the Grammy for Producer of the Year three times running, from 2022 to 2024.

Trent Reznor, who won an Oscar in 2011 for scoring The Social Network, founded which industrial rock band?

Nine Inch Nails' frontman shared the award with Atticus Ross, and the pair won the Oscar for Best Original Score again a decade later for Pixar's Soul.

Which producer co-wrote Katy Perry's 'Roar', Maroon 5's 'One More Night' and Taylor Swift's 'Blank Space'?

Max Martin made his name in the late 1990s writing for Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys, and in 2024 he passed John Lennon's total of Hot 100 number ones.

Which artist's gospel-tinged mixtape Coloring Book became the first streaming-only album to win a Grammy?

Chance the Rapper's mixtape won Best Rap Album in 2017, and it had earlier become the first release to reach the Billboard 200 on streams alone, peaking at number eight.

Which dubstep producer, once the singer of From First to Last, won three Grammys in 2012?

Skrillex won Best Dance Recording, Best Dance/Electronic Album and Best Remixed Recording that night, and was nominated for Best New Artist as well.

Which group reached number one on the Hot 100 in 2010 with the club hit 'Like a G6'?

Far East Movement became the first Asian American group to top the Hot 100 when the single, made with the Cataracs and Dev, reached number one in October 2010.

Which jazz bassist beat Justin Bieber and Drake to the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2011?

Esperanza Spalding won on the strength of Chamber Music Society, an album that had peaked at just number 34, and Florence and the Machine were among the other beaten nominees.

Which children's song by South Korea's Pinkfong reached number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 2019?

Baby Shark charted because Billboard had been counting YouTube views since 2013, and in November 2020 its dance video became the most-viewed on the site.

Ed Sheeran made a much-criticised 2017 cameo as a singing soldier in which fantasy TV series?

Game of Thrones producers had spent years trying to book him as a surprise for Maisie Williams, a fan, whose character Arya hears his Lannister soldier singing.

Ariana Grande organised the One Love benefit concert in June 2017 after a bombing at her show in which English city?

Manchester's Old Trafford cricket ground hosted the concert just two weeks after the attack, with 55,000 people watching Coldplay, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber join her.

Which Puerto Rican singer co-wrote and recorded the 2017 hit 'Despacito' with rapper Daddy Yankee?

Luis Fonsi filmed the video in the La Perla neighbourhood of Old San Juan, and it became the first on YouTube to reach three billion views.

Which 2018 Drake number one inspired a viral challenge of dancing beside a slowly moving car?

In My Feelings took off after the comedian Shiggy posted a clip of himself dancing to it, and the craze alarmed authorities enough to bring fines in the Philippines.

Which reunited band scored a first Hot 100 number one in 2019 with 'Sucker', its video starring the members' partners?

Jonas Brothers made 'Sucker' the first Hot 100 number one by a boy band since B2K's 'Bump, Bump, Bump' in 2003, and the video featured Priyanka Chopra and Sophie Turner.

Which singer's 2017 song 'Truth Hurts' became a number one two years later after featuring in a Netflix film?

Lizzo's song had missed the charts on release, then went viral on TikTok and in the film Someone Great before reaching number one in 2019.

Which film musical's soundtrack, featuring 'This Is Me', was the best-selling album of 2018 in both the US and UK?

The Greatest Showman's soundtrack spent 28 weeks at number one in Britain, the longest reign of the decade, beating the 23 weeks of Adele's 21.

Post Malone and Swae Lee's 2018 hit 'Sunflower' was written for an animated film about which superhero?

Spider-Man's animated outing gave the pair a number one in January 2019, the first by two co-billed male leads with no other acts since George Michael and Elton John in 1992.

Which country singer's Golden Hour won Album of the Year at both the 2019 Grammys and the CMA Awards?

Kacey Musgraves made it the first country album to win the top Grammy since 2010, and the record jumped back into the top ten the week after.

Ariana Grande gave up 90 percent of the songwriting royalties on '7 Rings' for borrowing a tune from which musical?

The Sound of Music's 'My Favorite Things' supplies the melody of the verses, and the deal with the show tune's publisher was struck only weeks before the single came out.

Which singer of the 2017 hit 'New Rules' went on to win Best New Artist at the 2019 Grammys?

Dua Lipa was born in London to Kosovo Albanian parents, moved to Pristina with her family as a child and came back to London alone at 15.