2020 in music
This topic covers notable events and articles related to 2020 in music.
Specific locations
- African music
- American music
- Asian music
- Australian music
- Brazilian music
- British music
- Canadian music
- Chinese music
- Czech music
- Danish music
- European music
- Finnish music
- French music
- German music
- Icelandic music
- Indian music
- Indonesian music
- Irish music
- Japanese music
- Latin music
- Malaysian music
- Mongolian music
- Norwegian music
- Philippine music
- Polynesian music
- Scandinavian music
- South Korean music
- Swedish music
- Taiwanese music
- Vietnamese music
Specific genres
- Classical
- Country
- Electronic
- Jazz
- Latin
- Heavy metal
- Hip hop
- Progressive Rock
- Rock
- K-pop
- J-pop
Albums released
Awards
Bands formed
- 1st.One
- Aespa
- All at Once
- Arcana Project
- BAE173
- Blackswan
- BonBon Girls 303
- B.O.Y
- Botopass
- BtoB 4U
- Chō Tokimeki Sendenbu
- Cignature
- Citi Zēni
- Cobra Spell
- Cravity
- DKB
- Dolla
- Drippin
- E'Last
- English Teacher
- Enhypen
- Ghost9
- Go to the Beds
- H&D
- JO1
- Liquid Mike
- L.S. Dunes
- The Lucid
- Lucy
- Lunarsolar
- MCND
- Militarie Gun
- Morfonica
- Nemophila
- NewDad
- NiziU
- Orbit
- Paradises
- Piggs
- P1Harmony
- Porij
- Redsquare
- Red Velvet - Irene & Seulgi
- Refund Sisters
- Sakurazaka46
- Secret Number
- SixTones
- Snow Man
- Softcult
- SSAK3
- STAYC
- TO1
- Treasure
- UNVS
- Weeekly
- WEi
- Woo!ah!
- WJSN Chocome
- Zamb
Soloist debuts
- Ado
- Ai Furihata
- Aina Suzuki
- Akane Kumada
- Alexa Ilacad
- Amee
- Anson Kong
- Anson Lo
- April Lawlor
- Ashton Irwin
- Azumi Waki
- Bang Ye-dam
- Central Cee
- Curley Gao
- Dixie
- Denis Stoff
- Elio
- Emma Heesters
- Emman
- Fujii Kaze
- Gakuto Kajiwara
- Han Seung-woo
- Haruka Kudō
- Hayley Williams
- Heo Chan-mi
- Hikaru
- Holly Humberstone
- Hoshimachi Suisei
- Ivana Alawi
- Jamie Miller
- Jer Lau
- Jxdn
- Kai
- Karin Miyamoto
- Keiko
- Ken
- Kim Nam-joo
- Kim Woo-seok
- Koutaro Nishiyama
- Laufey
- Lee Eun-sang
- Lee Su-hyun
- Lilas Ikuta
- Liyuu
- Maine Mendoza
- Max
- Miki Satō
- Mimiyuuuh
- Mimi Webb
- MindaRyn
- Moon Jong-up
- Nanaka Suwa
- Nana Mori
- Natty
- Nessa Barrett
- Ong Seong-wu
- Reina Washio
- Riho Sayashi
- Ryota Katayose
- Ryu Su-jeong
- Rubi Rose
- Sae Ōtsuka
- Sangiovanni
- Seo Eun-kwang
- Serri
- Solar
- Suho
- Takuya Kimura
- Tomori Kusunoki
- Win Morisaki
- Wonho
- YooA
- Yook Sung-jae
- Yoon Doo-joon
- Yui Ninomiya
- Yuki Nakashima
- Yurina Hirate
- Zild
Bands reformed
- attack attack!
- Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows
- Faith No More
- The Format
- Genesis
- Linkin Park
- The Network
- Rage Against the Machine
- RBD
- Toto
- Billy Pilgrim
Bands on hiatus
- 100%
- AAA
- Anathema
- Arashi
- B.A.P
- Baroque
- College Cosmos
- DEL48
- Good Morning America
- Ladies' Code
- Ladybaby
- Masahiko Kondō
- Marius Yo
- Mrs. Green Apple
- Real Friends
- Teen Top
- Sleep
- Stone Sour
- Winner
- ZE:A
Bands disbanded
- 1the9
- Babes in Toyland
- Badkiz
- Bay City Rollers
- Black Dresses
- Carry Loose
- Columbia University Marching Band
- Default
- E-girls
- Fairies
- Gang of Four
- Group Tamashii
- Gugudan
- Hachimitsu Rocket
- Hinapia
- Household Gods
- Joan of Arc
- Madvillain
- Magnolia Factory
- Masc
- Mission of Burma
- Nachtmystium
- NeonPunch
- obey the brave
- Party Rockets GT
- PrizmaX
- Psychic TV
- Red Sun Rising
- She Wants Revenge
- Spectrum
- Sora tob sakana
- SudannaYuzuYully
- The Spencer Davis Group
- SSAK3
- SHVPES
- Tegomass
- Uijin
- Van Halen
- X1
Deaths
January
- 1
- * Lexii Alijai, 21, American rapper
- * Marty Grebb, 74, American rock keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist
- * Tommy Hancock, 90, American country singer
- 2 – Lorraine Chandler, 73, American soul singer
- 3 – Bo Winberg, 80, Swedish rock guitarist
- 4 – Emanuel Borok, 75, Russian-born American classical violinist
- 5 – Martin Griffin, British space rock drummer
- 7 – Neil Peart, 67, Canadian progressive rock drummer and lyricist
- 8 – Edd Byrnes, 87, American actor and pop singer
- 9
- * Tom Alexander, 85, Scottish folk accordionist
- * Bobby Comstock, 78, American rock and roll singer
- 10 – Wolfgang Dauner, 84, German jazz pianist
- 11 – Maceo Woods, 87, American gospel musician
- 13
- * Demetri Callas, 77, American rock guitarist and singer
- * Hylda Sims, 87, British skiffle guitarist
- 14
- * Steve Martin Caro, 71, American baroque pop singer
- * Chamín Correa, 90, Mexican classical guitarist
- * Guy Deplus, 95, French chamber music clarinetist
- * Barry Mayger, 73, English pop bassist
- * Bruno Nettl, 89, Czech-born American ethnomusicologist and musicologist
- 15 – Chris Darrow, 75, American country and rock singer and multi-instrumentalist
- 18
- * Dennis Garcia, 67, Filipino pop rock bassist
- * David Olney, 71, American folk singer-songwriter
- 19
- * Dan Andrei Aldea, 69, Romanian progressive rock singer and multi-instrumentalist
- * Jimmy Heath, 93, American jazz saxophonist
- * Robert Parker, 89, American R&B singer
- * Sunanda Patnaik, 85, Indian classical singer
- 21 – Meritxell Negre, 48, Spanish pop singer
- 24
- * Joe Payne, 35, American metal bassist
- * Sean Reinert, 48, American metal drummer
- 25
- * Bob Gullotti, 71, American free jazz drummer
- * Vernon Sandusky, 80, American rock singer and guitarist
- 26 – Bob Shane, 85, American folk singer and guitarist
- 27 – Reed Mullin, 53, American sludge metal drummer
- 28 – Bob Nave, 75, American bubblegum pop keyboardist
- 30 – Lucien Barbarin, 63, American jazz trombonist
February
- 1
- * Harold Beane, 73, American funk guitarist
- * Andy Gill, 64, British post-punk guitarist
- * Peter Serkin, 72, American classical pianist
- 2
- * Kofi B, Ghanaian highlife singer
- * Ivan Král, 71, Czech-American rock bassist and songwriter
- 4
- * Andrew Brough, New Zealand indie rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist
- * Buddy Cage, 73, Canadian folk pedal steel guitarist
- * Ljiljana Petrović, 80, Serbian pop singer
- 6
- * Lynn Evans, 95, American pop singer
- * Diego Farias, 27, American progressive metalcore guitarist
- * Nello Santi, 88, Italian classical conductor
- 7
- * Nexhmije Pagarusha, 86, Albanian-Kosovan pop singer
- * Steve Weber, 76, American folk singer and guitarist
- 8 – Robert Conrad, 84, American actor and singer
- 9 – Sergei Slonimsky, 87, Russian classical composer
- 10 – Lyle Mays, 66, American jazz fusion keyboardist
- 11 – Joseph Shabalala, 78, South African isicathamiya and mbube singer
- 12
- * Paul English, 87, American country drummer
- * Victor Olaiya, 89, Nigerian highlife trumpeter
- 13
- * Buzzy Linhart, 76, American folk rock singer-songwriter
- * Jacob Thiele, 40, American indie rock keyboardist
- 14
- * Reinbert de Leeuw, 81, Dutch classical pianist and conductor
- * Sonam Sherpa, 48, Indian blues rock guitarist
- 15 – Cavan Grogan, 70, Welsh rock and roll singer
- 16
- * Pearl Carr, 98, British pop singer
- * Graeme Allwright, 93, New Zealand-French folk and jazz singer-songwriter
- 17
- * Kizito Mihigo, 38, Rwandan gospel singer
- * Andrew Weatherall, 56, British electronic musician and record producer
- 18 – Jon Christensen, 78, Norwegian jazz drummer
- 19
- * Bob Cobert, 95, American composer
- * Pop Smoke, 20, American rapper
- 24
- * David Roback, 61, American alternative rock and dream pop guitarist
- * Jahn Teigen, 70, Norwegian pop and progressive rock singer
- 26
- * Hans Deinzer, 86, German classical clarinetist
- * Sergei Dorensky, 88, Russian classical pianist
- 27 – Lillian Offitt, 81, American blues and R&B singer
- 28 – Mike Somerville, 67, American rock guitarist and songwriter
- 29
- * Odile Pierre, 87, French classical organist and composer
- * Bill Smith, 93, American classical and jazz clarinetist
March
- 2
- * Jan Vyčítal, 77, Czech country singer
- * Susan Weinert, 54, German jazz fusion guitarist
- * Peter Wieland, 89, German pop singer
- 3
- * Les Cauchi, 77, American pop singer
- * Alf Cranner, 83, Norwegian folk singer
- 4 – Barbara Martin, 76, American R&B singer
- 6
- * McCoy Tyner, 81, American jazz pianist
- * Elinor Ross, 93, American opera soprano
- 7
- * Jim Owen, 78, American country singer-songwriter
- * Laura Smith, Canadian folk singer-songwriter
- 9
- * Keith Olsen, 74, American psychedelic rock bassist and record producer
- * Eric Taylor, 70, American folk singer-songwriter
- 10
- * Marcelo Peralta, 59, Argentine jazz saxophonist
- * Beba Selimović, 80, Bosnian folk singer
- 11 – Charles Wuorinen, 81, American classical composer
- 12 – Don Burrows, 91, Australian jazz multi-instrumentalist
- 14
- * Phil Phillips, 94, American pop singer-songwriter
- * Eva Pilarová, 80, Czech jazz singer
- * Genesis P-Orridge, 70, British industrial singer, songwriter and bassist
- * Diane Ray, 74, American pop singer
- 16
- * Sergio Bassi, 69, Italian folk rock singer-songwriter
- * Ted Cahill, 72, American garage rock guitarist
- * Jason Rainey, 53, American thrash metal guitarist
- 17 – Thái Thanh, 85, Vietnamese-American pop singer
- 19 – Aurlus Mabélé, 66, Congolese soukous singer
- 20
- * Kenny Rogers, 81, American country and pop singer-songwriter
- * Jerry Slick, 80, American psychedelic rock drummer
- 21 – Hellmut Stern, 91, German classical violinist
- 22
- * Gabi Delgado-López, 61, Spanish-born German electronic singer
- * Julie Felix, 81, American-British folk singer
- * Mike Longo, 83, American jazz pianist
- * Peter Stapleton, 65, New Zealand alternative rock drummer
- * Eric Weissberg, 80, American country and bluegrass banjoist
- 23 – Tres Warren, 41, American psychedelic rock singer and guitarist
- 24
- * Manu Dibango, 86, Cameroonian makossa and jazz saxophonist
- * Bill Rieflin, 59, American rock drummer
- 25 – Detto Mariano, 82, Italian rock keyboardist and film composer
- 26
- * Olle Holmquist, 83, Swedish big band trombonist
- * Bill Martin, 81, British pop songwriter
- 27
- * Bob Andy, 75, Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter
- * Don Burch, 81, American doo-wop singer
- * Mirna Doris, 79, Italian canzone Napoletana singer
- * Delroy Washington, 67, Jamaican-born British reggae singer
- 28 – Jan Howard, 91, American country singer-songwriter
- 29
- * Joe Diffie, 61, American country singer and songwriter
- * Alan Merrill, 69, American pop rock singer and bassist
- * Paravai Muniyamma, 82, Indian folk singer
- * Krzysztof Penderecki, 86, Polish classical composer and conductor
- 30
- * Riachão, 98, Brazilian samba singer
- * Bill Withers, 81, American soul singer-songwriter
- 31
- * Cristina, 61, American new wave singer
- * Wallace Roney, 59, American jazz trumpeter