This topic covers notable events and articles related to 2008 in music. This year was the peak of record sales in the United States, with sales declining year on year since then.[1]
January 19–
February 3 –
Rage Against the Machine headline the
Big Day Out festivals in Australia and New Zealand, their first shows outside the United States since reforming, and their first Australian shows in 12 years.[4] They join co-headliners
Björk, who pulled out of the Sydney festival under doctor's orders, and
Arcade Fire.
January 29 –
Face to Face announce that they will reunite for select shows in the US and internationally.[5]
February 11 – After pleading
no contest to a
felony weapons charge,
The Game was sentenced to 60 days in jail, 150 hours of community service, and three years of
probation in connection with an incident where he was alleged to have brandished a gun at a basketball game in
South Los Angeles in February 2007.[9]
The reunited
Face to Face perform together for the first time in four-and-a-half-years at The Bamboozle Left in
Irvine, California, US.[5]
Leona Lewis single "
Bleeding Love" reached number 1 in 35 countries and became the first song to top the
Billboard Hot 100 chart by a female British solo artist in 20 years since
Kim Wilde did with "
You Keep Me Hangin On" back in 1987. Her single was later proclaimed as the best selling single of 2008 worldwide and Lewis was named Top New Artist by Billboard.
April 12 –
"Touch My Body" becomes
Mariah Carey's 18th number 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, putting her into second place among artists with the most number 1 singles in the rock era, and first place as a solo artist, surpassing Elvis Presley.[citation needed]
April 15 – Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa officially proclaims Mariah Carey Day in Los Angeles, California, US.[22] On this day,
Mariah Carey also releases
E=MC², her eleventh studio album. It debuts at #1 on the
Billboard 200 albums chart with the highest first-week sales of her career.
April 22 – Andrey Baranov of Russia wins First Prize in the Second Benjamin Britten International Violin Competition in London.[23]
May 14 – The "Spirit of Change" Gospel Choir celebrates its tenth anniversary with the 20th Zündorfer Gospelnacht concert in the Catholic Parish Church of St. Mariae Geburt, in Zündorf.[25]
May 25 – The Slovak preliminary round of the first Bluegrass competition (toward the annual Czech Festival Banjo Jamboree) is held in
Hviezdoslavovo námestie,
Bratislava.[27]
Westlife play their 10th anniversary concert at Europe's fourth biggest stadium,
Croke Park, in
Dublin, Republic of Ireland.[28]
A fire at Universal Studios in
Universal City, California, destroys as many as 175,000
master tapes containing as many as half a million songs by 20th and 21st century artists, some of which had never been released or digitized. The full extent of the damage was not made public until 2019.[29]
July 5 – Staatsminister Rainer Robra and
Halberstadt Oberbürgermeister Andreas Henke preside as the notes A♭ and C are added in the sixth sound change of the performance of
John Cage's Organ²/ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible) that began on 5 September 2001 and is to conclude on 5 September 2640, in Halberstadt, Germany.[39]
August 19 –
LeRoi Moore, saxophonist and founding member of
Dave Matthews Band, dies from complications from an ATV accident suffered earlier in the summer.
Filipino rock band
Eraserheads hold their one-night-only reunion concert in the Fort open field, their first concert since 2001. After the 20-minute break, vocalist
Ely Buendia is rushed to the hospital because of chest pain due to emotional stress.[citation needed]
American Idol Season 7 runner-up David Archuleta's debut single "
Crush" scores the highest debut of a song on the
Billboard Hot 100 by an American Idol finalist not performed on the show. The track opened at No. 2 after selling 166,000 downloads in its first week of release.[citation needed]
September 19 – "Only by the Night" the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Kings of Leon, released worldwide in September 2008. –
Travis Barker and
Adam Goldstein (DJ AM) survive a
plane crash that claims four lives.[47]
October 12 – Opening of the VII Festival Internazionale di Musica e Arte Sacra, in Rome and the Vatican City (until November 30).[51]
October 16 –
Britney Spears sets a new record for the biggest jump to number one on the
Billboard Hot 100, rising from number 96 to number one in just one week, with her single "
Womanizer". It is Spears' first American number one since her debut single "
...Baby One More Time".[52] (The record is subsequently broken by
Kelly Clarkson). It also garners first-week download sales of 286,000, the biggest opening-week tally by a female artist.
November 1–9 – The Southbank Centre in London, UK presents "Klang: A Tribute to
Stockhausen", a festival curated by
Oliver Knussen, with a series of concerts focusing on works from the composer's last decade, including the world premieres of Urantia and Zodiac for Orchestra, as well as late-night performances, lectures, and master classes.[54]
December 22 –
Live Nation announce that Madonna's
Sticky & Sweet Tour is the highest-grossing tour for a solo artist, with US$280 million in ticket sales and 2,350,282 fans attending the 58 shows during the three-leg tour across Europe and the Americas.[62]
^
abunattributed (January 29, 2008).
"We're back!……….sort of". FaceToFace.com. Archived from
the original on April 16, 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
^Thurber, Jon (November 5, 2008).
"Ray Ellis Dies At 85". Los Angeles Times. Archived from
the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
This topic covers notable events and articles related to 2008 in music. This year was the peak of record sales in the United States, with sales declining year on year since then.[1]
January 19–
February 3 –
Rage Against the Machine headline the
Big Day Out festivals in Australia and New Zealand, their first shows outside the United States since reforming, and their first Australian shows in 12 years.[4] They join co-headliners
Björk, who pulled out of the Sydney festival under doctor's orders, and
Arcade Fire.
January 29 –
Face to Face announce that they will reunite for select shows in the US and internationally.[5]
February 11 – After pleading
no contest to a
felony weapons charge,
The Game was sentenced to 60 days in jail, 150 hours of community service, and three years of
probation in connection with an incident where he was alleged to have brandished a gun at a basketball game in
South Los Angeles in February 2007.[9]
The reunited
Face to Face perform together for the first time in four-and-a-half-years at The Bamboozle Left in
Irvine, California, US.[5]
Leona Lewis single "
Bleeding Love" reached number 1 in 35 countries and became the first song to top the
Billboard Hot 100 chart by a female British solo artist in 20 years since
Kim Wilde did with "
You Keep Me Hangin On" back in 1987. Her single was later proclaimed as the best selling single of 2008 worldwide and Lewis was named Top New Artist by Billboard.
April 12 –
"Touch My Body" becomes
Mariah Carey's 18th number 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, putting her into second place among artists with the most number 1 singles in the rock era, and first place as a solo artist, surpassing Elvis Presley.[citation needed]
April 15 – Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa officially proclaims Mariah Carey Day in Los Angeles, California, US.[22] On this day,
Mariah Carey also releases
E=MC², her eleventh studio album. It debuts at #1 on the
Billboard 200 albums chart with the highest first-week sales of her career.
April 22 – Andrey Baranov of Russia wins First Prize in the Second Benjamin Britten International Violin Competition in London.[23]
May 14 – The "Spirit of Change" Gospel Choir celebrates its tenth anniversary with the 20th Zündorfer Gospelnacht concert in the Catholic Parish Church of St. Mariae Geburt, in Zündorf.[25]
May 25 – The Slovak preliminary round of the first Bluegrass competition (toward the annual Czech Festival Banjo Jamboree) is held in
Hviezdoslavovo námestie,
Bratislava.[27]
Westlife play their 10th anniversary concert at Europe's fourth biggest stadium,
Croke Park, in
Dublin, Republic of Ireland.[28]
A fire at Universal Studios in
Universal City, California, destroys as many as 175,000
master tapes containing as many as half a million songs by 20th and 21st century artists, some of which had never been released or digitized. The full extent of the damage was not made public until 2019.[29]
July 5 – Staatsminister Rainer Robra and
Halberstadt Oberbürgermeister Andreas Henke preside as the notes A♭ and C are added in the sixth sound change of the performance of
John Cage's Organ²/ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible) that began on 5 September 2001 and is to conclude on 5 September 2640, in Halberstadt, Germany.[39]
August 19 –
LeRoi Moore, saxophonist and founding member of
Dave Matthews Band, dies from complications from an ATV accident suffered earlier in the summer.
Filipino rock band
Eraserheads hold their one-night-only reunion concert in the Fort open field, their first concert since 2001. After the 20-minute break, vocalist
Ely Buendia is rushed to the hospital because of chest pain due to emotional stress.[citation needed]
American Idol Season 7 runner-up David Archuleta's debut single "
Crush" scores the highest debut of a song on the
Billboard Hot 100 by an American Idol finalist not performed on the show. The track opened at No. 2 after selling 166,000 downloads in its first week of release.[citation needed]
September 19 – "Only by the Night" the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Kings of Leon, released worldwide in September 2008. –
Travis Barker and
Adam Goldstein (DJ AM) survive a
plane crash that claims four lives.[47]
October 12 – Opening of the VII Festival Internazionale di Musica e Arte Sacra, in Rome and the Vatican City (until November 30).[51]
October 16 –
Britney Spears sets a new record for the biggest jump to number one on the
Billboard Hot 100, rising from number 96 to number one in just one week, with her single "
Womanizer". It is Spears' first American number one since her debut single "
...Baby One More Time".[52] (The record is subsequently broken by
Kelly Clarkson). It also garners first-week download sales of 286,000, the biggest opening-week tally by a female artist.
November 1–9 – The Southbank Centre in London, UK presents "Klang: A Tribute to
Stockhausen", a festival curated by
Oliver Knussen, with a series of concerts focusing on works from the composer's last decade, including the world premieres of Urantia and Zodiac for Orchestra, as well as late-night performances, lectures, and master classes.[54]
December 22 –
Live Nation announce that Madonna's
Sticky & Sweet Tour is the highest-grossing tour for a solo artist, with US$280 million in ticket sales and 2,350,282 fans attending the 58 shows during the three-leg tour across Europe and the Americas.[62]
^
abunattributed (January 29, 2008).
"We're back!……….sort of". FaceToFace.com. Archived from
the original on April 16, 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
^Thurber, Jon (November 5, 2008).
"Ray Ellis Dies At 85". Los Angeles Times. Archived from
the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2008.