60 Fun Facts About 2022 Music

Which album won the 2023 Grammy for Album of the Year, the first by a British male solo artist since 1989?

It beat four other nominees including Adele's 30. George Michael's Faith had been the last winner by a British man, 34 years earlier.

Which Lizzo single won Record of the Year at the 65th Grammy Awards, making her the first Black woman to win it since Whitney Houston in 1994?

A TikTok dance by Jaeden Gomez pushed the song to number one in the summer of 2022. Whitney Houston's winner had been 'I Will Always Love You'.

Which veteran blues singer won Song of the Year for 'Just Like That' at the 65th Grammys?

She beat a field of pop superstars, and became the first female solo songwriter to win the category since Amy Winehouse in 2008.

Which jazz singer won Best New Artist at the 65th Grammys, the first from the genre since Esperanza Spalding?

Joy beat higher-profile nominees including Måneskin, Latto and Anitta. She had only released her second album, Linger Awhile, a few months earlier.

Who passed Georg Solti in 2023 as the most-awarded artist in Grammy history, with 32 wins?

The record-breaking win was Best Dance/Electronic Album for a 2022 record. Solti had held the record since 1997 with 31.

Which US number-one single led the July 2022 album Renaissance?

It samples Robin S.'s 1990 house classic 'Show Me Love' and Big Freedia. 'Cuff It' became the album's second big hit months later.

Taylor Swift's Midnights, released in October 2022, was which number studio album for her?

It was framed as thirteen sleepless nights from across her life. The Eras Tour was announced on Good Morning America eleven days after the album came out.

Which Midnights lead single topped the week Taylor Swift held every spot in the Hot 100 top 10?

Its video has Swift confronting a giant version of herself. Drake had previously held nine of the top ten, in 2021.

How many tickets did the Eras Tour sell on the first day of its US presale in November 2022, a record?

Ticketmaster's site buckled and the general sale was cancelled, prompting a US Senate hearing. Robbie Williams had held the record with 1.6 million in 2005.

How many weeks did Harry Styles's 'As It Was' spend at number one on the Hot 100 in 2022?

It was still only the number two song of the year on the Hot 100, behind a track that had been on the chart since early 2021.

Which British band's 'Heat Waves' took a record 59 weeks to reach the top of the Hot 100?

The song had been released in 2020 on the album Dreamland and crept up the chart for more than a year before finally hitting number one in March 2022.

Which 1985 Kate Bush song hit UK number one in June 2022 after featuring in Stranger Things?

It had originally peaked at number three in 1985. In the US it climbed to number three on the Hot 100, far above its original peak of 30.

At what age did Kate Bush become the oldest female artist ever to top the UK singles chart, in June 2022?

It was also a record 37 years between a song's release and its reaching number one, and a 44-year gap since her previous chart-topper, 'Wuthering Heights'.

Which Encanto song topped the Hot 100 for five weeks in 2022, only the second Disney animated song to do so?

The first was 'A Whole New World' from Aladdin in 1993. Disney had submitted 'Dos Oruguitas' for the Oscar instead, and it lost.

Who wrote the eight original songs on the chart-topping Encanto soundtrack?

Germaine Franco composed the score. It was the first Disney soundtrack to reach number one since Frozen II in 2019.

Which 2022 album was Spotify's most streamed and the first Spanish-language Album of the Year Grammy nominee?

Its maker was Spotify's most-streamed artist for the third year running. The album spent 13 non-consecutive weeks on top of the Billboard 200.

Which country won the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Turin with the song 'Stefania' by Kalush Orchestra?

The winners took a record 439 televote points. Since the country could not safely host, the 2023 contest was staged in Liverpool on its behalf.

Which singer's 'Space Man' finished second for the UK at Eurovision 2022?

Ryder had built his following posting covers on TikTok during lockdown. It was the UK's sixteenth runner-up finish, a record.

Which rapper made a surprise appearance at the February 2022 Super Bowl halftime show?

He performed 'In da Club' hanging upside down. It was the first halftime show built entirely around hip hop, and the first to win a Primetime Emmy for a live variety special.

Which Foo Fighters drummer died in Bogotá in March 2022, hours before a festival show?

He was 50, and had drummed for Alanis Morissette before joining the band in 1997. Tribute concerts at Wembley and the Kia Forum followed in September.

Which country legend initially declined her 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination, then accepted?

She went on to record a rock album, Rockstar, in 2023 to earn the honour properly. Eminem, Duran Duran and Lionel Richie were inducted the same night.

Kim Petras became the first openly transgender woman to win a Grammy for which 2022 duet with Sam Smith?

It topped the Hot 100 after going viral on TikTok a month before release, and won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Nicki Minaj's August 2022 number-one single is built on a sample of which 1981 Rick James hit?

The same riff powered MC Hammer's 'U Can't Touch This' in 1990. The song was 'Super Freaky Girl'.

Which K-pop girl group's Born Pink was the first album by a female Korean act to top the Billboard 200, in 2022?

It also became the first K-pop girl-group album to hit number one in the UK. The lead single was 'Shut Down', built on a Paganini violin caprice.

Which former member of the Internet hit number one in 2022 with 'Bad Habit'?

The song was the first ever to top both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop and Hot Rock & Alternative charts at the same time. Lacy recorded early tracks on an iPhone.

Who won Album of the Year for We Are at the April 2022 Grammys, the first held in Las Vegas?

Batiste, then bandleader on The Late Show, won five awards that night, the most of anyone. The ceremony had been postponed from January because of Omicron.

Silk Sonic won Record and Song of the Year in 2022 for which song?

The retro-soul duo then withdrew the album from the following year's Grammys, saying they had already won enough for it.

Who won Best New Artist at the Grammys in April 2022, the year after 'Drivers License' and Sour?

She also took Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance that night. Doja Cat's win came in the duo/group category, for 'Kiss Me More'.

ABBA Voyage, the virtual residency that opened in London in 2022, shows the band as they looked in which year?

The 'ABBAtars' were built from weeks of motion capture with the four members, who were in their seventies, and perform with a live ten-piece band.

Which visual-effects company, famous for Star Wars, created the digital 'ABBAtars' used in ABBA Voyage?

The show runs in a purpose-built arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, with a live ten-piece band playing alongside the avatars.

Elton John's 2022 duet 'Hold Me Closer' was whose first release after a long conservatorship ended?

The track stitches together 'Tiny Dancer', 'The One' and 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart', and debuted at number six in the US.

Rihanna's 'Lift Me Up' was recorded as a tribute to Chadwick Boseman for which film?

It was co-written with Tems and Ludwig Göransson and earned an Oscar nomination. Rihanna announced her Super Bowl halftime show a few weeks earlier.

Which BTS member was the first to enlist for South Korean military service, in December 2022?

As the oldest member he had already deferred as long as the law allowed. The group had announced a pause on group activities that June to pursue solo projects.

Which Spanish singer's album Motomami won Album of the Year at the 2022 Latin Grammys and Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album at the Grammys?

The album mixes reggaeton, flamenco and experimental pop, with 'Saoko' as its opening track and 'Despechá' as a late-summer hit.

Drake's surprise-released June 2022 album Honestly, Nevermind was a departure into which style?

He announced it on Instagram just hours before it dropped, and it still debuted at number one, his eleventh US chart-topping album.

Kendrick Lamar's 2022 Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers ended a five-year gap since which album?

It was his final release with Top Dawg Entertainment and Aftermath, and his first under his own company, pgLang.

Which actor narrates the Weeknd's January 2022 album Dawn FM as the voice of its purgatory radio station?

Quincy Jones and Josh Safdie also have spoken parts. It is the second album in a trilogy that began with After Hours.

In June 2022 Justin Bieber postponed tour dates after which condition paralysed one side of his face?

The condition is caused by the chickenpox virus reactivating near the ear. He played his last show in Rio that September and cancelled the rest of the tour.

Which Fleetwood Mac keyboardist, who wrote 'Songbird' and 'Little Lies', died in November 2022 aged 79?

Born Christine Perfect, she twice won Melody Maker's best female vocalist award with the blues band Chicken Shack before joining Fleetwood Mac.

Which country legend, subject of the 1980 film Coal Miner's Daughter, died in October 2022 aged 90?

Sissy Spacek won an Oscar for playing her. She was born Loretta Webb in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky.

Which 'Gangsta's Paradise' rapper died in Los Angeles in September 2022, aged 59?

The song, from Dangerous Minds, interpolates Stevie Wonder's 'Pastime Paradise' and won him a Grammy in 1996.

Which Grease star, singer of 'Physical', died in California in August 2022 aged 73?

She had been treated for breast cancer three times over three decades and became a prominent advocate for cancer research.

Meat Loaf, the singer of Bat Out of Hell, died in January 2022 aged 74. What was his birth name?

He later legally changed his first name to Michael. Bat Out of Hell has sold an estimated 43 million copies worldwide.

Which member of Migos was shot and killed in Houston on November 1, 2022, aged 28?

He was the youngest member of the trio, Quavo's nephew, and the group had scored its first number one with 'Bad and Boujee' in 2017.

Which rock and roll pioneer nicknamed 'The Killer' died in October 2022 aged 87?

'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On' and 'Great Balls of Fire' made him a star in 1957. He was the last surviving member of Sun Records' 'Million Dollar Quartet'.

In April 2022 Ed Sheeran won a UK copyright case over which hit, accused of copying the song 'Oh Why'?

The judge found he had 'neither deliberately nor subconsciously copied' the song. Sheeran faced a separate US trial over 'Thinking Out Loud' in 2023 and won that too.

When Ye dropped out of headlining Coachella 2022 two weeks before the festival, who replaced him?

Harry Styles and Billie Eilish were the other headliners. It was the first Coachella since 2019 after two pandemic cancellations.

At which venue did Adele's postponed Las Vegas residency finally begin in November 2022?

She cited production delays and COVID cases on her team. The residency, Weekends with Adele, ran until November 2024.

Which 1986 Metallica song first charted after Eddie Munson played it in Stranger Things' season-four finale?

Eddie shreds it in the Upside Down to lure the Demobats. Metallica said they were 'blown away' by the scene and jammed with actor Joseph Quinn at Lollapalooza.

For which single did Adele win Song of the Year at the 2022 Brit Awards?

Comedian Mo Gilligan hosted at the O2. Adele had asked for the show to be moved so it would not clash with her postponed Las Vegas dates.

Jack Harlow's 'First Class' (2022) heavily samples which 2006 Fergie hit?

The original featured Ludacris and was produced by Polow da Don. It was Harlow's first solo number one, after 'Industry Baby' with Lil Nas X.

Who won the 2022 Mercury Prize for Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, months after Best New Artist at the Brits?

Born Simbiatu Ajikawo in north London, she had already released three albums before the win. Wet Leg took the prize the following year.

Which sportswear giant ended its Yeezy partnership with Kanye West in October 2022?

The split reportedly cost the company more than a billion euros in unsold stock, and Forbes said West lost his billionaire status as a result.

Which two guests joined Paul McCartney during his headline set at Glastonbury 2022?

McCartney had originally been booked for the cancelled 50th-anniversary festival in 2020.

Who became the youngest headliner in Glastonbury's history in June 2022?

She replaced Taylor Swift on the postponed 2020 bill and shared the top slots with Kendrick Lamar and Paul McCartney.

SZA's December 2022 album SOS features a posthumous appearance by which Wu-Tang Clan rapper?

The album spent thirteen weeks at number one across three separate years and gave SZA her first Hot 100 chart-topper, "Kill Bill".

Which Puerto Rican superstar wrestled at WWE's 2022 Royal Rumble after debuting at WrestleMania 37?

He was also 2022's top touring artist, with Un Verano Sin Ti the year's most successful album worldwide.

Which singer joined Latto on the March 2022 remix of "Big Energy" that pushed it into the top three?

Both the original and Carey's own "Fantasy" draw on Tom Tom Club's 1981 track "Genius of Love".

In September 2022 the NFL said Apple Music would replace which ten-year Super Bowl halftime sponsor?

Days later the league named Rihanna as the first headliner of the Apple Music era.

Which band received the Global Icon Award at the 2022 MTV VMAs, presented by Cheech & Chong?

The Newark ceremony was hosted by LL Cool J, Nicki Minaj and Jack Harlow.