The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in 2012 in music in the United States.
Notable events
January
- 7 â Katy Perry's single "The One That Got Away" reaches #1 on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart, making her album, Teenage Dream, the first album in history to have seven songs from the same album reach #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. It is also only the third album in history to have six singles from the same album reach the top five on the Billboard Hot 100.
- 20 â Etta James dies of leukemia at age 73.
February
- 4 â Adele's single "Set Fire to the Rain" reaches #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making her album, 21, the first album in history to have three #1 songs from the same album by a British female artist.
- 5 â During Super Bowl XLVI Kelly Clarkson performed the National Anthem, and Madonna performed during the halftime show. The twelve-minute performance becomes the most watched television event of all time, gathering a record 118 million viewers, six more than the game itself. Subsequently, "Give Me All Your Luvin'" becomes Madonna's 38th top ten hit and her 41st #1 hit on the dance charts.
- 11 â Music icon Whitney Houston is found dead at the age of 48 in her Los Angeles hotel room hours before a pre-Grammy party hosted by Clive Davis. Further investigations reveal cocaine in her system, but the cause of death is ruled as heart disease and drowning. Sales of her albums spike, and "I Will Always Love You" re-enters the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100.
- 12 â The 54th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Adele won six awards for her album 21, including Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year (the latter two for "Rolling in the Deep"). Bon Iver wins Best New Artist. Kanye West and the Foo Fighters swept in their respective categories, with Kanye winning 4 Grammys and the Foo Fighters taking 5.
- 28 â Terrorizer released their first studio album in six years, Hordes of Zombies.
- 28 â Corrosion of Conformity released their first studio album in seven years, Corrosion of Conformity.
- 29 â Davy Jones of the band The Monkees dies in Florida after suffering a severe heart attack at the age of 66.
March
- 3 â Adele becomes the first female artist to have three singles in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time, and the first female artist to have two albums in the top five of the Billboard 200 and two singles in the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously.
- Katy Perry's single "Part of Me" debuts at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming only the 20th song in history to debut atop the chart. It is her seventh consecutive top five single on the chart.
- 26 â Madonna released her twelfth studio album MDNA, which becomes her eighth #1 album on the Billboard 200, debuting with 359,000 copies sold in the second week.
- 26 â Joan Osborne released her first studio album in four years, Bring It on Home.
April
- 1 â The Academy of Country Music Awards took place in Las Vegas. This was the last year Reba McEntire hosted until 2018.
- 4 â Justin Bieber's single, "Boyfriend", has the second-highest first week sales of a new single, debuting at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, later on surpassed by Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" with 623,000 sales making Bieber the third highest first week sale.
- 10 â Counting Crows released their first album in four years, Underwater Sunshine (or What We Did on Our Summer Vacation).
- 26 â Chiodos' original lead singer, Craig Owens, rejoins the band after being let go in September 2009, replacing Brandon Bolmer, who departed Chiodos in March. Drummer Derrick Frost also rejoins the band, replacing Tanner Wayne, who left with Bolmer in March.
- 28 â Gotye became the first Belgian-Australian solo artist to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Somebody That I Used To Know".
- 29 â Kevin Richardson rejoined the Backstreet Boys permanently, after roughly six years of departure.
May
August
September
October
November
December
Bands formed
Bands reformed
Bands on hiatus
Bands disbanded
Albums released in 2012
List of 2012 albums
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Top songs on record
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 Songs
Billboard Hot 100 Top 20 Hits
All songs that reached the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the year, complete with peak chart placement.
Deaths
See also
References