50 Fun Facts About 2020s Music

Which Weeknd single spent a record 90 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100?

It came from his fourth album, After Hours, and became the biggest Hot 100 song of all time.

Which Taylor Swift song made her the first artist to hold the entire Hot 100 top 10 at once?

Its parent album went on to win Album of the Year at the 66th Grammys.

Which 2020 Swift album spent a record eight weeks atop the Billboard 200 and won Album of the Year?

Journalists filed it and its sister album Evermore as "pandemic projects" built on indie folk and chamber pop.

Which ten-minute track became the longest song ever to reach number one on the Hot 100?

It was never even released as a single; it appeared on Red (Taylor's Version) in 2021.

Which was the first re-recorded album ever to reach number one on the Billboard 200?

It and Red (Taylor's Version) were the two best-selling country albums of 2021.

Which Olivia Rodrigo single debuted at number one in January 2021 and won Best Pop Solo Performance?

She also took Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album for Sour at the same ceremony.

Which singer broke through in 2024 with "Espresso" after opening for Taylor Swift on tour?

Her album Short n' Sweet put "Espresso", "Please Please Please" and "Taste" all in the Hot 100 top three.

Whose single "Good Luck, Babe!" preceded a Best New Artist win at the 67th Grammys?

Her debut album is The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, home to "Pink Pony Club" and "Hot to Go!".

Which Miley Cyrus song became the fastest to reach 100 million Spotify streams, within a week?

It brought her first Grammy wins: Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.

Which Billie Eilish song from the Barbie soundtrack won her a second Academy Award?

Her first Oscar was for the Bond theme "No Time to Die".

Which Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande duet from Chromatica topped the Hot 100?

It won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 63rd Grammys.

Which Dua Lipa album produced "Don't Start Now" and "Levitating"?

Both singles peaked at number two in the US, and the album won Best Pop Vocal Album.

What was Harry Styles' first Billboard Hot 100 number one, in 2020?

It came from his 2019 album Fine Line and won Best Pop Solo Performance.

How many non-consecutive weeks did "As It Was" spend at number one on the Hot 100?

Its album, Harry's House, took Album of the Year at the 65th Grammys.

Which Weeknd song reached number one seven years after its original 2016 release?

It came from Starboy; an Ariana Grande remix helped push it to the top.

What was SZA's first Hot 100 number one, from her album SOS?

All 23 tracks on SOS charted on the Hot 100 in the same week.

How many weeks did SOS spend atop the Billboard 200, a record for a female R&B artist since 1986?

The previous mark belonged to Whitney Houston's self-titled debut.

Who scored a first number one with "Bad Habit" and won Best Progressive R&B Album for Gemini Rights?

He came up as the guitarist in the band The Internet before his solo run.

Which Kendrick Lamar diss track won both Record and Song of the Year at the 67th Grammys?

He performed it at the Super Bowl halftime show with SZA shortly afterwards.

Which Nicki Minaj single was the first by a female rapper to debut at number one since 1998?

The last to do it had been Lauryn Hill with "Doo Wop (That Thing)".

What was Doja Cat's first number-one single?

Her album Planet Her went on to spend 26 weeks in the Billboard 200 top 10.

Which Megan Thee Stallion collaboration with Beyoncé won Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance?

She was named Best New Artist at the same 63rd Grammys.

Who became only the third woman to win Best Rap Album, for Alligator Bites Never Heal?

The mixtape spawned "Nissan Altima" and "Denial Is a River".

Which 2022 Beyoncé album took her into house music and won Best Dance/Electronic Album?

Its lead single "Break My Soul" went to number one and "Cuff It" won Best R&B Song.

Which number one single led Beyoncé's first country album, Cowboy Carter?

The album won Album of the Year and Best Country Album at the 67th Grammys despite zero CMA nominations.

Which 2024 Charli XCX album became her biggest seller and spawned "Apple" and "Guess"?

It won Best Dance/Electronic Album, and "Von Dutch" took Best Dance Pop Recording.

Which Lizzo single won Record of the Year at the 65th Grammys?

It was the lead single from her fourth album, Special, and reached number one on the Hot 100.

Which BTS song earned the first Grammy nomination for a Korean pop act, in November 2020?

They were nominated again the following year with "Butter".

Which Blackpink album was the first girl-group number one on the Billboard 200 since 2008?

It also topped the US and UK album charts simultaneously, a girl-group first since Destiny's Child's Survivor in 2001.

Which Japanese duo's "Idol" was the first Japanese-language song to top Billboard Global Excl. US?

Oricon and Billboard Japan both named it the best-performing song of 2023 at home.

Which Italian band's Eurovision 2021 win with "Zitti e buoni" launched them worldwide?

Their cover of the Four Seasons' "Beggin'" landed at 66 on Billboard's 2021 year-end Hot 100.

Which band's "Heat Waves" held number one on Billboard's Alternative chart for seven weeks in 2021?

It was the British band's breakout song, years after its release.

Whose Dangerous: The Double Album opened with four weeks at number one, a country first since 2003?

The previous one was Shania Twain's Up!; his next album, One Thing at a Time, led for nine straight weeks.

Which American Idol finalist's debut "I Hope" topped Hot Country Songs in 2020?

It was the first debut single by a woman to top that chart since 2006.

Which Hozier song gave him his first Hot 100 number one, in 2024?

It arrived on a reissue of his third album, Unreal Unearth.

Which Encanto song became the soundtrack's breakout hit in 2022?

Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the soundtrack; the salsa number eclipsed the Oscar-nominated "Dos Oruguitas".

Which Machine Gun Kelly album took pop-punk to number one on the Billboard 200 in 2020?

Blink-182's Travis Barker produced it and became the go-to collaborator of the pop-punk revival.

Which Paramore album, their first in six years, won Best Rock Album at the 66th Grammys?

Its title track also won Best Alternative Music Performance.

Which supergroup's debut album The Record won three Grammys including Best Alternative Music Album?

Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker saw it debut at number one in the UK.

Which AC/DC album hit number one in the US, UK and Australia in 2020?

Iron Maiden followed in 2021 with Senjutsu, their first top-five album on the Billboard 200.

Which 2023 Metallica album ended their streak of six straight number one albums?

It still debuted in the Billboard 200 top five, as did Megadeth's 2022 album.

What was the title of the 2023 track billed as "the final Beatles record"?

AI de-mixing technology from the Get Back documentary rescued John Lennon's vocal from an old demo.

Which Coldplay tour, launched in 2022, became the most-attended in history?

It was also credited with pioneering sustainability practices in live entertainment.

Which Bad Bunny album became Spotify's most-streamed Spanish-language album within months?

After it, Spanish-language songs filled 20 to 25 percent of an average Hot 100 week, up from 5 to 10 percent in 2020.

Which Brazilian singer's "Envolver" was the first by a Latin woman to top Spotify's global chart?

It also reached number two on the Billboard Global 200.

Whose "Calm Down", featuring Selena Gomez, became the best-selling Afrobeats song ever?

South Africa's Tyla followed in 2023 with the global hit "Water".

In 2020, vinyl LP sales in the US outsold CDs for the first time since which year?

LPs brought in $619.6 million that year while CD revenue fell 23 percent.

Which app got its own Billboard chart in September 2023 to track viral audio?

The platform's comedy skits, fan edits and dance routines had become the decade's main hit-maker.

Which Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding single spent eight weeks at UK number one in 2023?

It was the pair's third collaboration and earned a Grammy nomination.

Which Rosalía album was the best-reviewed and most-discussed album of 2022 on Metacritic?

Its singles "La Fama" and "Saoko" carried its reggaeton influences to an international audience.