50 Fun Facts About 2021 Music

Which Disney series actress spent eight weeks at number one from January 2021 with her debut single Drivers License?

Olivia Rodrigo wrote the ballad with producer Dan Nigro, and it broke Spotify's record for the most streams of a song in a single week. She was 17 when it came out.

Scottish postal worker Nathan Evans sparked a TikTok craze in early 2021 by singing which type of traditional song?

Sea shanties spread so fast that the trend was nicknamed ShantyTok. His cover of Wellerman, a folk song about New Zealand whalers, went on to top the British singles chart.

Which sportswear giant sued over the Satan Shoes that Lil Nas X launched with his 2021 single Montero?

Nike never approved the 666 customised pairs of its Air Max 97, each said to contain a drop of human blood. A settlement let buyers return them for a refund.

Which Swedish pop group released Voyage in November 2021, its first album of new songs in forty years?

ABBA's last studio album had been The Visitors, in 1981. The comeback led to a London concert residency starring digital avatars of the four members.

Which pop star's conservatorship, in place for nearly 14 years, was ended by a Los Angeles judge in November 2021?

Britney Spears had lived under the arrangement since 2008, with her father controlling her finances for most of that time. The documentary Framing Britney Spears had put the case on television that February.

Which country legend sang a reworked version of Jolene while receiving the COVID vaccine she helped fund, in March 2021?

Dolly Parton had given $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, money that paid for early work on the Moderna vaccine. She had her own shot at Vanderbilt.

Which Canadian singer put $7 million of his own money into headlining the Super Bowl halftime show in February 2021?

The Weeknd performed with no guest stars, a rarity for the show. His dancers wore red blazers like his, with their faces wrapped in bandages.

The man photographed as a swimming baby for which Nirvana album cover sued the band in August 2021?

Nevermind shows four-month-old Spencer Elden underwater, reaching for a dollar bill on a fishhook. He had recreated the photo several times as an adult before going to court.

Which British singer ended a six-year wait for a new album with 30, released in November 2021?

Adele wrote the record about her divorce and its effect on her young son. Lead single Easy on Me broke Spotify's record for the most streams of a song in one day.

Which French electronic duo ended a 28-year partnership in February 2021 with a farewell video titled Epilogue?

Daft Punk said goodbye with a scene from their 2006 film Electroma, in which one robot explodes and the other walks away. Their publicist confirmed the split without giving a reason.

Which K-pop group topped the Billboard Hot 100 for ten weeks in summer 2021 with the English-language single Butter?

BTS broke a 23-year-old record held by Aerosmith for the longest-running number-one debut by a group. Butter was only the band's second single sung in English.

Which rock band won the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam in May 2021, months after winning Italy's Sanremo festival?

Måneskin started out busking on the streets of Rome. Their winning entry, Zitti e buoni, was the first rock song to take the Eurovision title in 15 years.

Which Taylor Swift song's ten-minute version became the longest track to top the Billboard Hot 100, in November 2021?

All Too Well took the record from Don McLean's American Pie, which had held it since 1972. The version on the original 2012 album ran under five and a half minutes.

Drummer Charlie Watts, who died in August 2021, had played with which British rock band since 1963?

The Rolling Stones kept him behind the kit for 58 years, and he also helped design their tour stages. Away from rock he led his own jazz quintet.

Which pop star sang the national anthem at Joe Biden's January 2021 inauguration in a Schiaparelli gown and brooch?

Lady Gaga shared the ceremony with Jennifer Lopez and with Garth Brooks, who sang Amazing Grace and asked the public to join him for the final verse.

Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the songs for which Disney film about a magical Colombian family, released in November 2021?

Encanto produced We Don't Talk About Bruno, only the second song from a Disney animated film to top the Billboard Hot 100. The first was A Whole New World, from Aladdin, in 1993.

Which film director restored 1969 studio footage into The Beatles: Get Back, a three-part series from November 2021?

Peter Jackson persuaded Disney to leave the band's swearing in, with a warning before each episode. His cut builds to the full 42-minute rooftop concert.

Which singer's four wins at the Grammy Awards in March 2021 made her the most-awarded woman in the ceremony's history?

Beyoncé reached 28 career Grammys that night, passing the bluegrass star Alison Krauss. Her nine-year-old daughter Blue Ivy shared one of the wins, for Best Music Video.

Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak topped the Hot 100 in 2021 with Leave the Door Open under which duo name?

Silk Sonic got its name from funk veteran Bootsy Collins, who also acts as guest host on the duo's album. The pair had become friends on tour in 2017.

Which veteran director remade West Side Story in 2021, casting newcomer Rachel Zegler as María?

Steven Spielberg dedicated the film to his father, who died during production aged 103. Rita Moreno, who played Anita in the 1961 film, returned in a new role.

Which Dua Lipa hit was named Billboard's top Hot 100 song of 2021 despite never reaching number one on the weekly chart?

Levitating peaked at number two and became her longest-running top ten hit. Only three earlier songs had led the year-end list without a week at number one, the last of them in 2001.

Which Australian rapper and singer joined Justin Bieber on Stay, a number one in more than 20 countries in 2021?

The Kid Laroi spent 14 straight weeks at number one in Australia with the song, the longest run of 2021 there. It was his first Hot 100 chart-topper and his duet partner's eighth.

Which mathematical symbol titles the Ed Sheeran album released in October 2021, home to Bad Habits and Shivers?

Equals continued his run of arithmetic album titles, which had begun with Plus a decade earlier. Lead single Bad Habits reached number one in Britain and number two in America.

Kanye West named which 2021 album after his late mother, previewing it at stadium listening parties in Atlanta?

Donda took so long to finish that he moved into a locker room at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and turned it into a studio. He had also named his creative company after her.

Which Drake album from September 2021 produced a then-record nine Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles?

Certified Lover Boy wore a Damien Hirst cover made of twelve pregnant-woman emojis. Its lead single, Way 2 Sexy, gave the rapper his ninth American number one.

Jennifer Hudson played which music legend in the 2021 biopic Respect, a project the singer herself helped develop?

Aretha Franklin stayed involved in planning the film until her death in 2018. It had been stuck in development for years while a suitable lead was sought.

Which rock star sold his recordings and songwriting rights to Sony in December 2021 for a reported $500 million?

Bruce Springsteen handed over his master recordings and his publishing in a single deal. In 2024 Forbes estimated his fortune at $1.1 billion.

Which Puerto Rican star was Spotify's most-streamed artist worldwide in 2021, for the second year in a row?

Bad Bunny had become the first act who does not record in English to top the list a year earlier. He led it again in 2022.

Which veteran star scored his first British number one in 16 years in 2021 with Cold Heart, a duet with Dua Lipa?

Elton John became the first solo artist with a British top ten single in six different decades. The remix stitches together four of his older songs, including Rocket Man and Sacrifice.

Ariana Grande headlined the Rift Tour, a virtual concert staged five times in August 2021 inside which online game?

Fortnite had hosted concerts before, but hers was the first to tie in to several parts of the game itself. The show ran over three days.

Which 95-year-old crooner's 2021 album Love for Sale made him the oldest person to release an album of new material?

Tony Bennett made the Cole Porter tribute as his 61st and final studio album, five years after an Alzheimer's diagnosis. He retired from the stage after two last nights at Radio City Music Hall.

Which fruit names the Justin Bieber single with Daniel Caesar and Giveon that debuted at number one in spring 2021?

Peaches was the 50th song ever to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It gave both of its guest singers their first chart-topper.

Which Billie Eilish album, released in July 2021, was recorded in the basement studio of her brother Finneas?

Happier Than Ever was written by the siblings together, and Finneas produced it and played every instrument. Its first single, My Future, came out exactly a year ahead of the album.

Which singer drew on a 2019 trip to Antarctica for Solar Power, her 2021 album made with producer Jack Antonoff?

Lorde spent five days at New Zealand's Scott Base and wrote a memoir about the visit, Going South. She had paused work on the album after the death of her dog, Pearl.

Walker Hayes's viral 2021 country hit Fancy Like prompted which restaurant chain to bring back its Oreo Cookie Shake?

Applebee's had dropped the shake during the pandemic and revived it after the song name-checked it. The track took off when Hayes posted TikTok videos made with his children.

Which comedian made the 2021 Netflix musical special Inside alone in his guest house, with no crew or audience?

Bo Burnham became the first person to win three individual Emmys in a single year, for directing, writing and music direction. One of the special's songs also won a Grammy.

Which composer turned down Christopher Nolan's Tenet to score the 2021 film Dune, a favourite book from his youth?

Hans Zimmer built the score around female choir voices and percussion, having never watched the 1984 film version. It won him his second Oscar.

Which 2008 album did Taylor Swift re-record and release in April 2021 as the first of her Taylor's Version projects?

Fearless became the first re-recorded album ever to reach number one on the Billboard 200. Owning the new masters let her control how the songs are licensed.

Megan Thee Stallion won which Grammy in March 2021, the first female rapper to take it since Lauryn Hill in 1999?

Best New Artist was one of three Grammys she won that night. The others, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance, both honoured the remix of her hit Savage.

Which Harry Styles song won the 2021 Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance after he opened the ceremony with it?

Watermelon Sugar had become his first American number one the previous August. It also won Song of the Year at the Brit Awards in 2021.

Which band joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, making frontman Dave Grohl a two-time inductee?

Foo Fighters got in during their first year of eligibility, 25 years after their debut album. Grohl had already been inducted in 2014 as a member of Nirvana.

Which country finished last at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021 with no points from either the juries or the public?

United Kingdom entrant James Newman scored nothing with his song Embers, the first zero since a new voting system arrived in 2016. It was the country's fifth last-place finish.

Which composer of Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods died in November 2021, aged 91?

Stephen Sondheim began his career writing the lyrics for West Side Story, and a new film of that musical reached cinemas the month after his death. Five of his shows were named the year's top musical on Broadway.

Which rapper, whose first five albums all debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, died in April 2021 aged 50?

DMX had sold more than 75 million records worldwide by the time of his death. He was rushed to hospital after a heart attack at home and died a week later.

Which country singer's Dangerous: The Double Album spent ten weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 in 2021?

Morgan Wallen's record was the best-selling album of the first half of 2021. It later became the first album since the 1950s cast recording of My Fair Lady to spend four years in the year-end top ten.

Which British band previewed its 2021 single Higher Power to an astronaut aboard the International Space Station?

Coldplay showed the video to French astronaut Thomas Pesquet before the public saw it, calling the stunt an extraterrestrial transmission. The song was produced by pop hitmaker Max Martin.

Which American rock band became the first to sell a newly released album as an NFT, in March 2021?

Kings of Leon offered When You See Yourself as three kinds of token. The album went on to become the first NFT displayed at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Which musician made his directing debut with Summer of Soul, the 2021 documentary about a 1969 Harlem festival?

Questlove built the film from concert footage that had sat in a basement for 50 years. It won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

Which Nigerian star's 2021 hit Essence, featuring Tems, carried Afrobeats into the Billboard Hot 100 top ten?

Wizkid first put the song on his 2020 album Made in Lagos, and it became the first Nigerian song to chart on the Hot 100. A remix with Justin Bieber followed in August 2021.

Which Blackpink member's debut solo video broke YouTube's one-day viewing record for a soloist in September 2021?

Lisa, the group's Thai rapper, named the single Lalisa after her own given name. Its video was watched 73.6 million times in 24 hours.