2016 in music

This topic covers notable events and articles related to 2016 in music.

Significant performances

March 25 – British rock and roll band, The Rolling Stones become the first foreign rock band to perform in Cuba, which was documented in their 2016 concert film, The Rolling Stones: Havana Moon.

Awards

Record of the Year: "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars • Album of the Year: 1989 by Taylor Swift • Song of the Year: "Thinking Out Loud" – Ed Sheeran • Best New Artist: Meghan Trainor

Billboard Music Awards

Artist of the Year: Adele • New Artist of the Year: Fetty Wap • Top Hot 100 Song: "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa • Top Billboard 200 Album: 25 by Adele

31st Golden Disc Awards

Song of the Year: "Cheer Up" by Twice • Album of the Year: Ex'Act by Exo • Rookie Artist of the Year: Blackpink, Bolbbalgan4, I.O.I, NCT 127

58th Japan Record Awards

Grand Prix: "Anata no Suki na Tokoro" by Kana Nishino • Best Singer: Masayuki Suzuki for "Melancholia" • Best New Artist: iKon • Best Song: several

Mnet Asian Music Awards

Artist of the Year: BTS • Album of the Year: Ex'Act by Exo • Song of the Year: "Cheer Up" by Twice • Best Music Video: "Whistle" by Blackpink

MTV Video Music Awards

Video of the Year: "Formation" by Beyoncé • Best Male Video: "This Is What You Came For" by Calvin Harris • Best Female Video: "Hold Up" by Beyoncé • New Artist: DNCE

MTV Europe Music Awards

Best Song: "Sorry" by Justin Bieber • Best Video: "Starboy" by the Weeknd • Best Female: Lady Gaga • Best Male: Shawn Mendes

The 4th V Chart Awards

Top Male Artist : Lu Han with Medals • Top Female Artist: Li Yuchun with "混蛋，我想你" • Top Group: TFBOYS with Adore • Top New Artist: Wang Qing & Feng Jianyu

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Inductees: Cheap Trick • Chicago • Deep Purple • N.W.A • Steve Miller

26th Seoul Music Awards

Grand Prize: Exo • Best Album: Wings by BTS • Best Song: "Cheer Up" by Twice • Best New Artist: NCT 127, I.O.I, Blackpink

Bands formed

Soloist debuts

Bands reformed

Bands on hiatus

Bands disbanded

Deaths

January

* Gilbert Kaplan,, American conductor and businessman, cancer.
* Mark B,, British hip-hop record producer.
* Gilberto Mendes,, Brazilian composer.2 – Rino Salviati,, Italian singer, guitarist and actor.3
* Paul Bley, Canadian jazz pianist.
* Jason Mackenroth, American rock drummer, prostate cancer.4
* Long John Hunter,, American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.
* Achim Mentzel,, German musician and television presenter.
5
* Pierre Boulez,, French composer and conductor.
*Nicholas Caldwell,, American R&B singer.
* Hanna-Marie Weydahl,, Norwegian pianist.7
* Kitty Kallen,, American singer.
* Troy Shondell,, American singer, complications from Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.8
* Otis Clay,, American R&B and soul singer, heart attack.
*Red Simpson,, American country singer-songwriter, complications from a heart attack.
*Brett Smiley,, American singer-songwriter.10 – David Bowie,, English songwriter and artist.14 – Jane Stuart Smith,, American operatic soprano, hymnologist, and author. 17
* Carina Jaarnek, Swedish singer and Dansband artist.
* Dale Griffin, British rock drummer.18 – Glenn Frey, American guitarist and vocalist.25 – Leif Solberg, Norwegian composer and organist.26
* T.J. Tindall, American guitarist
* Black, Pop/new wave singer-songwriter, Traffic accident28
* Signe Toly Anderson, American vocalist.
* Paul Kantner, American guitarist and vocalist.

February

3 – Maurice White, founder of Earth, Wind and Fire.4

* Bobby Caldwell, American rock keyboardist
* Ulf Söderblom, Finnish conductor.13
* Viola Beach, English indie rock band, car accident.
* Kristian "Kris" Leonard, Guitar and vocals.
* River Reeves, Guitar.
* Tomas Lowe, Bass.
* Jack Dakin, Drums.
* Craig Tarry, Band manager.15 – Joyce Paul, American country music singer19 – Harald Devold, Norwegian saxophonist.20 – Ove Verner Hansen, Danish actor and opera singer.22 – Sonny James, American country music singer-songwriter.24 – Lennie Baker, American rock and roll saxophonist and singer 29 – Josefin Nilsson, Swedish singer.

March

3 – Gavin Christopher, 66, American R&B singer-songwriter and producer5 – Jimmy Henderson, 61, American guitarist 8 – George Martin,, English producer.9

* Ray Griff, Canadian country singer-songwriter,.
* Naná Vasconcelos, Brazilian percussionist.10
*Keith Emerson, English pianist and keyboardist.
*Ernestine Anderson, American jazz and blues singer12
*Tommy Brown, American R&B singer
*Jimmie Snell, 69, American soul and pop singer 13 – Sidney Mear,, American trumpeter.14 – Peter Maxwell Davies,, English composer and conductor18 – Ned Miller, American singer-songwriter22 – Phife Dawg,, American rap musician, complications from diabetes.23 – James Jamerson, Jr., 58, American bass player 24 – Peter Anders, 74, American singer-songwriter and record producer
26 – David Baker, 84, American symphonic jazz composer

April

2 – Gato Barbieri,, Argentine jazz saxophonist, pneumonia.3 – Bill Henderson,, American jazz vocalist and actor, cancer.6 – Merle Haggard,, American singer-songwriter, Grammy winner, complications from pneumonia.13 – Mariano Mores,, Argentine tango composer and pianist.21

* Prince,, American musician.
* Lonnie Mack,, American rock, blues, and country singer-songwriter guitarist, natural causes.24
* Billy Paul,, American soul singer.
* Papa Wemba,, Congolese singer and musician.
* Jan Henrik Kayser,, Norwegian pianist.

May

1 – Sydney Onayemi, Nigerian-born Swedish DJ.4 – Olle Ljungström, Swedish singer and guitarist.6 – Candye Kane,, American blues singer and entertainer9

* Jim Manolides, American rock and roll bassist
* Riki Sorsa, Finnish singer.14 – Lasse Mårtenson, Finnish singer16 – Fredrik Norén, Swedish jazz drummer 17 – Guy Clark,, American folk and country music singer-songwriter19 – John Berry,, American guitarist 21 – Nick Menza,, American instrumentalist, former drummer for the band Megadeth30 – Thomas Fekete,, American guitarist

June

2 – Freddie Wadling, Swedish singer and songwriter.3 – Dave Swarbrick,, British folk musician and singer-songwriter, emphysema.4 – Bobby Curtola,, Canadian singer.5 – Phyllis Curtin,, American soprano.6 – Rolf Schweizer,, German composer.8

* Vladislav Yankovsky,, Russian musician.
* Terje Fjærn, Norwegian orchestra conductor.9 – J. Reilly Lewis,, American choral conductor and Baroque music specialist, heart attack.10
* Habib,, Iranian singer, heart attack.
* Christina Grimmie,, American singer-songwriter and talent show participant, gunshot wound.13 – Chips Moman,, American producer, songwriter, guitarist.17 – Attrell Cordes,, American musician, producer and rapper, co-founder of P.M. Dawn.18 – Alejandro Jano Fuentes, Mexican singer and talent show participant, gunshot wound.21 – Wayne Jackson, American soul and R&B musician, congestive heart failure.22
* Amjad Sabri, Pakistani Qawwali singer, gunshot wound.
* Jim Boyd, Native American singer-songwriter and actor24 – Bernie Worrell,, American keyboardist and composer.27 – Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Danish composer.28 – Scotty Moore, American guitarist.29 – Rob Wasserman, American composer and bass player.

July

1 – Jimmy Arthur Ordge, Canadian country music singer16

* Alan Vega, American vocalist and visual artist.
* Bonnie Brown American country music singer, member of The Browns.18 – Karina Jensen, Danish singer .19 – Tamás Somló, Hungarian musician, singer, artist and composer, cancer.26
* Sandy Pearlman, American producer, songwriter, educator, complications from cerebral hemorrhage.
* Roye Albrighton, German musician, unspecified illness.27
* Pat Upton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist.
* Einojuhani Rautavaara, Finnish composer.31 – Mike Mohede, Indonesian singer and talent show participant, heart attack.

August

3 – Ricci Martin, American musician.4

* Patrice Munsel, American coloratura soprano.
* Snaffu Rigor, Filipino singer and songwriter, lung cancer.5
* Richard Fagan, American songwriter and musician, liver cancer.
*Vander Lee, Brazilian singer-songwriter.
6 – Guillermo Anderson, Honduran singer, thyroid cancer.
7
* B. E. Taylor, American musician, brain cancer.
* Dolores Vargas, Spanish singer, complications of leukemia.
* Ruby Winters, American soul singer.
9
*Pádraig Duggan, Irish musician.
*Jimmy Levine, American R&B musician and record producer.
11 – Glenn Yarbrough, American folk singer.12 – Ruby Wilson, American blues, soul and gospel singer, heart attack.13 – Connie Crothers, American jazz pianist, cancer.14 – James Woolley, American keyboard and synthesizer player.15 – Bobby Hutcherson, Jazz vibraphonist, emphysema.19 – Horacio Salgán, Argentine tango musician.20
* Matt Roberts, American rock guitarist, drug overdose.
* Tom Searle, British rock guitarist, cancer.22
* Toots Thielemans, Belgian jazz musician.
* Gilli Smyth, English musician.28 – Juan Gabriel, Mexican singer and songwriter, heart attack.

September

* Fred Hellerman,, American folk singer, guitarist, producer and songwriter.
* Kacey Jones,, American singer-songwriter, producer and humorist, cancer.2
* Jerry Heller,, American music manager.
*Gary D.,, German trance producer and DJ, pulmonary embolism.3
* Fred McFarlane,, American songwriter, record producer and musician.
* Johnny Rebel,, American country singer. 7
* Clifford Curry,, American beach music and R&B singer.
* Farhang Sharif,, Iranian musician and tar player.
* Graham Wiggins,, American musician.8 – Prince Buster,, Jamaican ska musician.10 – Chris Stone,, American recording studio owner and entrepreneur, heart attack and stroke.12 – Hidayat Inayat Khan,, English-French composer and conductor.16
* Jerry Corbetta,, American musician, Pick's disease.
*Trisco Pearson,, American R&B singer, cancer.
*Qiao Renliang,, Chinese singer and actor, suicide.19 – Bobby Breen,, Canadian-born American actor and singer, natural causes.20 – Micki Marlo,, American singer and model.21
* Shawty Lo,, American hip-hop musician, traffic collision.
*John D. Loudermilk,, American singer and songwriter, bone cancer.24 – Buckwheat Zydeco,, American accordionist and zydeco musician25
* Kashif,, American musician and record producer.
* Hagen Liebing,, German musician.
* Jean Shepard,, American honky tonk singer-songwriter, Parkinson's disease.26
* Joe Clay,, American rockabilly musician.
* Ioan Gyuri Pascu,, Romanian singer, producer, actor and comedian, heart attack.27
*,, Romanian folk singer, cancer.
*,, Swedish singer.29
* Lecresia Campbell, American gospel singer, pulmonary embolism.
* Nora Dean, Jamaican singer.
* Royal Torrence, American soul music singer.30
* Oscar Brand, Canadian-born American folk singer-songwriter, author and radio broadcaster.
* Michael Casswell, English guitarist.
* Lilleba Lund Kvandal, Norwegian opera singer.

October

1 – Toni Williams, Cook Islands-born New Zealand singer.2

* Steve Byrd, English guitarist, heart attack.
* Sir Neville Marriner, English conductor and violinist
* Thomas Round, British opera singer.3
* Ljupka Dimitrovska,, Macedonian-born Croatian singer.
*K. David van Hoesen, American bassoonist.
*Joan Marie Johnson, American singer, heart failure.4 – Caroline Crawley, British singer and musician.
5 – Pompeiu Hărășteanu, Romanian opera singer.
7 – Anne Pashley, British athlete and opera singer, Olympic silver medalist.8 – Don Ciccone, American singer-songwriter and musician.9
* Bored Nothing, Australian musician, suicide.
* Michiyuki Kawashima, Japanese musician, brain tumor.
* Quique Lucca, Puerto Rican musician, founder of La Sonora Ponceña.
*,, Canadian jazz drummer.
*, Romanian jazz musician, cancer.10 – Issa Bagayogo,=, Malian musician.11 – Peter Reynolds,, Welsh composer.12
* Robert Bateman,, American songwriter and record producer, heart attack.
* Sonny Sanders, American songwriter, arranger and record producer.15
* Danny Champagne, Jamaican music producer, complications from stroke.
*Robert Edwards, American singer, heart attack.
20
* Achieng Abura, Kenyan musician.
* Brian Edwards, Canadian rock bassist and singer
* Mieke Telkamp, Dutch singer.
23 – Pete Burns,, British singer
24 – Bobby Vee American pop singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s
30 – Curly Putman,, American singer-songwriter. D-I-V-O-R-C-E, Green, Green Grass of Home and the subject of Paul McCartney & Wings song Junior's Farm.

November

1
*Nico Carstens, South African accordionist and songwriter
*Pocho La Pantera, Argentine cumbia singer
3
Kay Starr, American pop and jazz singer, complications of Alzheimer's disease.
W.D. Amaradeva, Sinhala light music pioneer, old age.
4
* Eddie Harsch, 59, Canadian keyboardist
* Jean-Jacques Perrey, 87, French electronic music producer
7 – Leonard Cohen, Canadian singer-songwriter
11
* Victor Bailey, American jazz bass guitarist
* Esma Redžepova-Teodosievska,, Macedonian vocalist, songwriter, and humanitarian of Romani ethnicity.12 – Jacques Werup, Swedish musician and writer.
13 – Leon Russell, American musician and songwriter
15
* Holly Dunn, American country singer-songwriter
* Mose Allison, American pianist and singer.
18 – Sharon Jones, American soul and funk singer
24
*Colonel Abrams, American musician and singer-songwriter
*Pauline Oliveros, American composer
29 – Allan Zavod, Australian keyboardist and composer
30 – Ivar Thomassen, Norwegian folk singer, songwriter, and jazz pianist.

December

2
* Cash Askew, guitarist
* Mark Gray, American singer-songwriter
4 – Ralph Johnson, American singer
7 – Brian Bennett, American garage-rock keyboardist
8
* Greg Lake, English progressive-rock vocalist and multi-instrumentalist
* Junaid Jamshed, Pakistani singer-songwriter, flight collision
11 – Joe Ligon, American gospel singer
24 – Rick Parfitt, English musician and songwriter
25
* George Michael, English singer-songwriter
* 64 members of Alexandrov Ensemble, 2016 Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 crash