Though January 2020 seems like a decade ago, these 12 music highlights all happened this year — and are worth remembering.
1. At 18, Billie Eilish swept the Big Four awards at the 62nd Grammys in January, becoming only the second artist in history to do so.
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2. 103 million viewers watched Jennifer Lopez and Shakira deliver an electrifying performance in February for the Super Bowl halftime show in Miami.
3. After a 14-year hiatus, in March The Chicks (formerly The Dixie Chicks) released “Gaslighter,” the lead single off their eighth studio album (co-produced by Jack Antonoff) of the same name.
4. Bob Dylan released the 17-minute “Murder Most Foul” about President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, earning him his first No. 1 on a Billboard chart (Rock Digital Song Sales) in April.
5. Everyone from Ringo Starr to Chance the Rapper paid tribute to the legendary Little Richard, who died at 87 on May 9.
6. Amid worldwide protests following the police killing of George Floyd, BTS and its label, Big Hit Entertainment, donated $1 million to the Black Lives Matter movement in June.
7. Beyoncé celebrated Black excellence with her visual project Black Is King, which debuted on Disney+ in July.
8. Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s NSFW single “WAP” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in August with 93 million U.S. streams, the highest first-week total for any track.
9. Bad Bunny performed YHLQMDLG hits during his first virtual concert, delivered Sept. 20 from atop a moving bus traveling through New York.
10. Post Malone won top artist and eight other awards — out of 16 nominations, the most for any artist — at the Billboard Music Awards on Oct. 14.
11. The 2014 Coldplay hit “A Sky Full of Stars” earned a 1,335% sales bump after being included in a light show following President-elect Joe Biden’s acceptance speech.
12. In December, Shawn Mendes released his fourth studio album, Wonder, which was preceded by the Netflix concert documentary Shawn Mendes: In Wonder.
This article originally appeared in the Dec. 19. 2020 issue of Billboard.