2012 in American music
The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in 2012 in music in the United States.
Notable events
January
- 7 – 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 – Etta James dies of leukemia at age 73.
February
- 4 – 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.
- February 5 – During Super Bowl XLVI Kelly Clarkson performs the "National Anthem" and artists Madonna, LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., and Cee Lo Green perform at 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 – Pop 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 – Adele wins six Grammy awards for her album 21, including Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year. 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 – Terrorizer released her first album in six years, Hordes of Zombies.
- 28 – Corrosion of Conformity released her first album in seven years, Corrosion of Conformity.
- 29 – Davy Jones of the band The Monkees dies in Florida after suffering a severe heart attack at the age of 66.
March
- 3 – 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 – Madonna releases 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.
- March 26 – Joan Osborne released her first album in ten years, Bring It On Home.
April
- 1 – The Academy of Country Music Awards took place in Las Vegas. This was the last year Reba McEntire hosted until 2018.
- 4 – 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 – Counting Crows released their first album in four years, Underwater Sunshine .
- 26 – Chiodos' original lead singer, Craig Owens, rejoins the band after being let go in September 2009, replacing Brandon Bolmer, who departed Chiodos in March.
- 28 – Gotye became the first Belgian-Australian solo artist to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Somebody That I Used To Know".
- 29 – Kevin Richardson rejoined the Backstreet Boys permanently, after roughly six years of departure.
May
- 1 – Pennywise releases All or Nothing, their first album to feature Ignite singer Zoli Téglás on lead vocals, following the August 2009 departure of original lead singer Jim Lindberg.
- 4 – Rapper Adam "MCA" Yauch of the Beastie Boys dies of cancer at the age of 47.
- 8 – Jermaine Paul wins the second season of The Voice.
- 15 – Garbage released her first album in seven years, Not Your Kind of People.
- *Tenacious D released her first album in six years, Rize of the Fenix.
- 17 – Donna Summer, known as "The Queen of Disco", dies of cancer at age 63.
- 20 – The Billboard Music Awards took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas
- 23 – Phillip Phillips is crowned winner of American Idol while Jessica Sanchez is named the runner-up.
- 29 – Doc Watson dies after complications from abdominal surgery at age 89.
June
- 15 – Justin Bieber tops the charts and goes platinum for the fourth time after the release of his third studio album Believe.
- 29 – Chris Brown goes to number 1 on the charts a second time after the release of his fifth studio album Fortune.
August
- 1 – No Use for a Name frontman Tony Sly dies at the age of 41 of a drug overdose.
- *Snoop Dogg officially changes his name to Snoop Lion.
- 2 – Blink-182 celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band with a worldwide tour simply called 20th Anniversary Tour.
- 4 – Ministry reunited at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany.
- 7 – Sixpence None the Richer released their first album in four years, Lost in Transition.
- 9 – The Monkees announce that Michael Nesmith rejoined the band for a twelve city tour of the U.S..
- 12 – Katy Perry's "Wide Awake" peaks at No. 2, becoming her ninth and final Top 10 single from the Teenage Dream era.
September
- 4 – Matchbox Twenty released their first album in ten years, North.
- 6 – The MTV Video Music Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
- 11 – DMX released her first album in six years, Undisputed.
- 21 – Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day has a meltdown at the iHeartRadio Festival when the tour promoters cut their performance short to extend time for Usher's performance. During their performance of Basket Case, he decides to stop the song and goes on a profanity-filled rant, even going as to say that he's "not Justin Bieber". Billie then smashes his guitar alongside Mike Dirnt, flips off the officials and throws the microphone. He enters rehab the next day.
- 25 – No Doubt released their first album in eleven years, Push and Shove.
October
- 22 – Taylor Swift released her anticipated album, Red. The album sold 1,208,000 copies in its first week in the U.S, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, the second highest debut for a female artist.
- 30 – The Coup released their first album in six years, Sorry to Bother You.
November
- 1 – The CMA Awards took place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
- 13 – The Weeknd releases Trilogy, a compilation album of 3 mixtapes: House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence, all released in 2011.
- 19 – Rihanna released her new album Unapologetic, scoring her first #1 album on the US charts.
December
- 8 – Cassadee Pope wins the third season of The Voice.
Bands formed
- 3rdeyegirl
- Body/Head
- The Chainsmokers
- Chelsea Light Moving
- The Collective
- Dan + Shay
- Device
- Emblem3
- Fifth Harmony
- Flying Colors
- The Griswolds
- Haim
- Honeyblood
- Magic!
- Milky Chance
- Perfect Pussy
- Preoccupations
- PVRIS
- Rixton
- Slaves
- Union J
- The Vamps
- The Winery Dogs
- X Ambassadors
Bands reformed
- 98 Degrees
- The Afghan Whigs
- At the Drive-In
- The Beach Boys
- Black Tambourine
- Cannibal Ox
- Coal Chamber
- Desaparecidos
- Die Kreuzen
- Firehouse
- Garbage
- Grandaddy
- Jonas Brothers
- Matchbox Twenty
- The Monkees
- I Mother Earth
- Nasum
- No Doubt
- The Obsessed
- Phantom Planet
- The Procussions
- Refused
- The Replacements
- SikTh
- Treble Charger
- Van Halen
Bands on hiatus
- Staind
- The Black Eyed Peas
- Gorillaz
- Foo Fighters
- Incubus
- Oceano
- Rage Against the Machine
- Scissor Sisters
- She Wants Revenge
- Thrice
- Thursday
- LMFAO
Bands disbanded
- Beastie Boys
- Behind Crimson Eyes
- The Books
- Buffalo Springfield
- The Carrier
- Creed
- Das Racist
- David Crowder Band
- Defiance
- Diddy-Dirty Money
- The Dubliners
- Girls
- Handsome Furs
- Hole
- INXS
- It Dies Today
- Jack's Mannequin
- Jet
- Made Out of Babies
- MC5
- Meg & Dia
- Pretty Ricky
- Revis
- Rock Bottom Remainders
- Selena Gomez & the Scene
- Sons and Daughters
- A Static Lullaby
- This Time Next Year
- Vains of Jenna
- Ween
- Women
- WU LYF
Albums released in 2012
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Top hits on record
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 Hits- "Sexy and I Know It" – LMFAO
- "We Found Love" – Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris
- "Set Fire to the Rain" – Adele
- "Stronger " – Kelly Clarkson
- "Part of Me" - Katy Perry
- "We Are Young" – fun. feat. Janelle Monáe
- "Somebody That I Used to Know" – Gotye feat. Kimbra
- "Call Me Maybe" – Carly Rae Jepsen
- "Whistle" – Flo Rida
- "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" – Taylor Swift
- "One More Night" – Maroon 5
- "Diamonds" – Rihanna
- "Locked Out of Heaven" – Bruno Mars
- "5 O'Clock" – T-Pain feat. Wiz Khalifa and Lily Allen
- "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" – Train
- "Adorn" – Miguel
- "As Long as You Love Me" – Justin Bieber feat. Big Sean
- "Ass Back Home" – Gym Class Heroes feat. Neon Hitch
- "Back in Time" – Pitbull
- "Beauty and a Beat" – Justin Bieber feat. Nicki Minaj
- "Begin Again" – Taylor Swift
- "Blow Me " – Pink
- "Blown Away" – Carrie Underwood
- "Both of Us" – B.o.B feat. Taylor Swift
- "Boyfriend" – Justin Bieber
- "Brokenhearted" – Karmin
- "Call Me Maybe" – Carly Rae Jepsen
- "Catch My Breath" – Kelly Clarkson
- "Climax" – Usher
- "Clique" – Kanye West, Jay-Z and Big Sean
- "Cruise" – Florida Georgia Line
- "Dance " – Big Sean feat. Nicki Minaj
- "Dance Again" – Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull
- "Diamonds" – Rihanna
- "Die in Your Arms" – Justin Bieber
- "Die Young" – Kesha
- "Domino" – Jessie J
- "Don't Wake Me Up" – Chris Brown
- "Don't You Worry Child" – Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin
- "Drive By" – Train
- "Drunk on You" – Luke Bryan
- "Everybody Talks" – Neon Trees
- "Eyes Open" – Taylor Swift
- "Feel So Close" – Calvin Harris
- "Gangnam Style" – PSY
- "Girl on Fire" – Alicia Keys feat. Nicki Minaj
- "Give Me All Your Luvin'" – Madonna feat. Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.
- "Give Your Heart a Break" – Demi Lovato
- "Glad You Came" – The Wanted
- "Good Feeling" – Flo Rida
- "Good Girl" – Carrie Underwood
- "Good Time" – Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen
- "Headlines" – Drake
- "Ho Hey" – The Lumineers
- "Home" – Phillip Phillips
- "I Cry" – Flo Rida
- "I Knew You Were Trouble." – Taylor Swift
- "I Will Always Love You" – Whitney Houston
- "I Won't Give Up" – Jason Mraz
- "International Love" – Pitbull feat. Chris Brown
- "It Will Rain" – Bruno Mars
- "It's Time" – Imagine Dragons
- "Let Me Love You " – Ne-Yo
- "Let's Go" – Calvin Harris feat. Ne-Yo
- "Lights" – Ellie Goulding
- "Live While We're Young" – One Direction
- "Locked Out of Heaven" – Bruno Mars
- "Mercy" – Kanye West feat. Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz
- "Mistletoe" – Justin Bieber
- "Moves like Jagger" – Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera
- "Mr. Know It All" – Kelly Clarkson
- "Niggas in Paris" – Jay-Z and Kanye West
- "Not Over You" – Gavin DeGraw
- "One More Night" – Maroon 5
- "Paradise" – Coldplay
- "Part of Me" – Katy Perry
- "Party Rock Anthem" – LMFAO feat. Lauren Bennett and GoonRock
- "Payphone" – Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa
- "Pound the Alarm" – Nicki Minaj
- "Pumped Up Kicks" – Foster the People
- "Rack City" – Tyga
- "Red" – Taylor Swift
- "Red Solo Cup" – Toby Keith
- "Rolling in the Deep" – Adele
- "Ronan" – Taylor Swift
- "Rumour Has It" – Adele
- "Scream" – Usher
- "Scream & Shout" – will.i.am feat. Britney Spears
- "Set Fire to the Rain" – Adele
- "Sexy and I Know It" – LMFAO
- "Skyfall" – Adele
- "So Good" – B.o.B
- "Some Nights" – fun.
- "Somebody That I Used to Know" – Gotye feat. Kimbra
- "Someone like You – Adele
- "Springsteen" – Eric Church
- "Starships" – Nicki Minaj
- "State of Grace" – Taylor Swift
- "Stereo Hearts" – Gym Class Heroes feat. Adam Levine
- "Stronger " – Kelly Clarkson
- "Swimming Pools " – Kendrick Lamar
- "Take a Little Ride" – Jason Aldean
- "Take Care" – Drake feat. Rihanna
- "The A Team" – Ed Sheeran
- "The Motto" – Drake feat. Lil Wayne
- "The One That Got Away" – Katy Perry
- "Thrift Shop" – Macklemore and Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz
- "Titanium" – David Guetta feat. Sia
- "Too Close" – Alex Clare
- "Try" – Pink
- "Turn Me On" – David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj
- "Turn Up the Music" – Chris Brown
- "Want U Back" – Cher Lloyd
- "Wanted" – Hunter Hayes
- "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" – Taylor Swift
- "We Are Young" – fun. feat. Janelle Monáe
- "We Found Love" – Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris
- "What Makes You Beautiful" – One Direction
- "Where Have You Been" – Rihanna
- "Whistle" – Flo Rida
- "Wide Awake" – Katy Perry
- "Wild Ones" – Flo Rida feat. Sia
- "Without You" – David Guetta feat. Usher
- "Work Hard, Play Hard" – Wiz Khalifa
- "Work Out" – J. Cole
- "Young, Wild & Free" – Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa feat. Bruno Mars