This U2 album received widespread backlash after the band partnered with Apple to place tracks directly into users' iTunes libraries:
There's nothing wrong with finding partners to help promote an album. And if your partner is Apple? Even better. After all, when U2 released Songs of Innocence in 2014, iTunes was probably the biggest music platform going. So what went wrong? Someone made the decision to automatically download the newly released tracks onto every iTunes user's library. The backlash was loud and angry.
Who recorded the theme song for the Bond movie Skyfall? (Hint: the song is also titled Skyfall)
Adele's Skyfall theme is regarded as one of the best Bond songs of all-time... and that's a crowded field.
Who recorded the hit song Royals in 2012?
Lorde was only 17 when Royals became her breakthrough hit. Stunning.
At the end of what month do Green Day want you to wake them up?
If you remember anything from 2004, chances are one of those things is the catchy, mournful hook of Greenday's single, Wake Me Up When September Ends.
What song is the most viewed Youtube video of all-time?
Despacito is so staggeringly popular, you'd think it's broken the laws of physics. How can any song reach that many people?? As of this writing, it has more than 5 billion plays on Youtube... and counting. Meaning it's pushing to become the first Youtube video with more views than there are people on Earth.
Which of these options is a line from Nicki Minaj's SuperBass?
"He's always in the air, but he never flies coach" is all Nicki. The rest are lyrics from the man, the (self-proclaimed) legend... Kanye West.
Which of these options is NOT a Justin Bieber song?
Biebs. JB. Canadian Sinatra. Whatever you want to call him, there's no denying that Justin Bieber as put together a longer (and more varied) career than many predicted when he first burst onto the scene as a baby-faced crooner, known better for his origin story (discovered on Youtube by Usher) than the quality of his music. By the way, Right Here Right Now is the only song we made up of those options.
Who sings SexyBack?
Justin Timberlake may have started his career as a member of N'Sync (who could forget that spaghetti hair??) but he hardly stopped there. Between his work as an actor, producer, and solo artist, he's arguably one of the biggest entertainers on the face of the Earth.
Take Me to Church was a 2015 mega-hit for which artist?
It remains to be seen if Hozier will ever be able to follow up the massive worldwide success of Take Me to the Church. But even if it was a one-time thing... that's a pretty impressive debut.
Alecia Beth Moore is the real name of which recording artist?
Pink probably reached the height of her fame in 2008, when the song So What reached number one.
When the hiphop duo Andre 3000 and Bigboi collaborated, what was the name of their combined act?
OutKast is one of the most successful hiphop groups of all-time. They're iconic. Beyond winning 6 Grammy's and selling more than 25 million records, they're also cited as influences to some of today's biggest artists... like Chance the Rapper and Kendrick Lamar.
Who recorded the best-selling album of the 2000s (so far)?
Eminem might be approaching the age where he just stops being cool. It's hard to convince anyone as a rapper when you're pushing middle-age. But he can always boast about this honor (until someone passes him, that is). His 3rd studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP, sold more than 30 million copies.
Who released the single Complicated in May of 2002?
Avril Lavigne is legit Canadian royalty. For a while after the release of Complicated, it may just as well have been the country's national anthem. Of course, she would later go on to further cement her status as Canada's Princess of Pop by marrying another core member of the national music scene... Nickelback's Chad Kroeger
What was the name of Lady Gaga's debut album?
Music industry insiders already knew about Gaga (real name Stefani Germanotta) before her career truly took off: she'd been writing songs for other artists for a few years. But when her debut album, The Fame, dropped? She instantly catapulted into the stratosphere outselling other, more established, artists by the thousands.
Which singer released 'Hot N Cold' in September 2008?
Katy Perry had already made her big break when Hot N Cold hit the airwaves... but the song pushed her into another level of stardom. If you were paying attention at the time, chances are you were aware- the song was blasting out of every radio, computer, speaker and record player for weeks.
This person made headlines alongside Justin Timberlake at the 2004 SuperBowl Halftime Show:
The 2004 Superbowl Halftime Show, featuring Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson, might be more widely remembered than the game itself. Why's that? The infamous "wardrobe malfunction" which saw Jackson's... 'torso' exposed to the entire nation on live TV.
Which song includes these lyrics? ""They say the devil's water, it ain't so sweet. You don't have to drink right now." (Hint: The image below is from the music video)
The Killers are easily one of the biggest rock bands of this millennium. Every one of their albums has flown off the racks... and along the way, they've racked up their fair share of awards. That includes 2 Grammy nods for the song which includes those lyrics, When You Were Young.
This band achieved massive success with their songs 'Apologize' and 'Stope and Stare'
One Republic burst onto the music scene in 2007 with their debut album, Dreaming Out Loud. Critics were harsh -the album received almost universally negative reviews- but fans weren't deterred: the lead single, Apologize, spent 25 weeks in the Billboard Top Ten.
What is the best-selling movie soundtrack released in the 2000s?
The best-selling movie soundtrack of the century (so far) probably won't surprise you: if you weren't living under a rock during 2013 you probably remember hearing a lot of the song Let It Go from Disney's Frozen.
True or False: Amy Winehouse's second album, Back to Black, resulted in her winning several Grammy awards.
Following up her critically-acclaimed debut album, Frank, Amy Winehouse went all-in: Back to Black didn't just produce a few chart-topping singles... it also won her 5 categories at the 2007 Grammy Awards.
Which song includes the lyrics "I never really knew that she could dance like this, she make a man wanna speak Spanish"?
Hips Don't Lie, by Shakira, took the world by storm in 2005.
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A Modern Mozart
If Wolfgang Amadeus were alive today, we're sure he'd be floored by just how deep your knowledge is of modern music. In fact, we'd enlist you to tell him all about it. Well done, music nerd. Clearly we didn't make this tough enough...
Happy With Your Test Score? This video can help you do better on any quiz... even if you know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the topic.
Quiz
This century is still young, but we've already had some truly incredibly musical artists come and go. So how well do you know the most popular music of the past 18 years? Time to prove your musical knowledge. Good luck.
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