Blink-182 announce that they are to reunite for a tour and new album.[7]
February 10 –
Rihanna cancels her Malaysian concert in the
Good Girl Gone Bad Tour amid reports that she accused her boyfriend R&B star
Chris Brown of assault. Organizers had announced that she would shun skimpy outfits to conform with Muslim-majority Malaysia's strict rule on performers' dress.[8]
Pet Shop Boys win the outstanding contribution to music award at the
Brit Awards, held in
Earl's Court, London.
Duffy dominates the awards. Her album, Rockferry, the U.K. top seller in 2008, wins best British album, and she also wins best British female and British breakthrough
Katy Perry wins best international female trophy.[9]
March
March 2 –
Elton John and
Billy Joel's tour dates are mostly configured for 360-degree view in order to maximize arena capacity. The duo's previous tour, in 2003, grossed $USD 45.8 million from only 24 sellouts according to Billboard Boxscore.[10]
Fleetwood Mac embark on their first world tour in five years, with a possible new studio album to follow.[11]
Lady Gaga's single "
Poker Face" gives her a second number 1 on the
UK Singles Chart, remaining there for a further two weeks. It goes on to become the biggest-selling single of 2009 and the biggest-selling digital single ever in the UK.
March 27 – Rapper
T.I. is sentenced to a one-year and one day prison sentence on federal weapons charges.[12][13]
The 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place, welcoming new inductees
Little Anthony & The Imperials,
Bobby Womack,
Jeff Beck as a solo artist,
Run-D.M.C., and
Metallica. Metallica, citing the drama surrounding Blondie and Van Halen's inductions, includes Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted, both former bassists for the band, in the induction.[14] Newsted also performs with band in its first rendition as a 5-piece band featuring two bass guitarists.[15]
April 13 – Music producer
Phil Spector is found guilty of the 2003
murder of actress
Lana Clarkson; Spector, who was acclaimed for his
Wall of Sound production techniques, was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment the following month.
April 26 – UK grime rapper
Tinchy Stryder's collaboration with
N-Dubz, "
Number 1", goes to the No.1 spot, shifting 72,000 copies in its first week. Stryder's single was the only ever song entitled "Number One" to reach the No.1 spot – even though there have been 23 other songs with the same name.
June 13 –
Men at Work are sued by Larrikin Records for their No. 1 1982 Billboard hit "
Down Under" for the flute riff from a part of the song. It was claimed to be stolen from an Australian nursery song "
Kookaburra".
June 25 – A fortnight before his This Is It series of concerts is scheduled to begin,
Michael Jacksondies in his Los Angeles home, of an accidental overdose of propofil and benzodiazepines.[16][17]
July 6–12 – Australian Radio station
Triple J holds its 'Hottest 100 of All Time' with
Nirvana's "
Smells Like Teen Spirit" coming in first for the third consecutive time a 'Hottest 100 of All Time' has been held 1991, 1998 and 2009. This is the largest music poll in the world with more than half a million people voting.
July 30 – Justice Peter Jacobson of the Federal Court of Australia makes a preliminary ruling that Larrikin did own copyright on the song "
Down Under", but the issue of whether or not
Men at Work had plagiarised the riff was set aside to be determined at a later date.[22]
August 28 – After another fight with his brother
Liam,
Noel Gallagher leaves
Oasis. Initial reports shortly afterwards suggested that Oasis had broken up, but Liam later stated that they have not broken up. The remaining members of Oasis eventually decide to discontinue the band name and start recording under a new name,
Beady Eye.
August 28 –
The Black Eyed Peas Malaysian concert in celebration of beer giant
Guinness's 250th anniversary in Kuala Lumpur is restricted to only non-Muslims since the sponsor is an alcoholic brand and it is considered inappropriate for Muslims to attend the concert which scheduled in September.[20]
The entire catalogue of
The Beatles is re-released as digital remasters with rare pictures, short documentaries, original and newly written liner notes with replicated original UK artwork for the first time since 1987.
"Obsessed" by
Mariah Carey enters the top ten and peaks at #7 on Billboard's Hot 100. The track is Carey's 27th top ten hit, lifting her into a three-way tie for fifth-most top 10s since the Hot 100 launched in 1958. She also tied with
Janet Jackson for second-place among women. "Obsessed" was the lead single from her 12th studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, and went on to be certified platinum by the end of the year.
September 12 – The first ever outdoor Sunset Strip Music Festival is held in West Hollywood, featuring performances from more than fifty bands including
Ozzy Osbourne and
Korn.
September 13 – At the
2009 MTV Video Music Awards, held in New York City at Radio City Music Hall,
Lady Gaga,
Beyoncé and
Green Day win three awards. During Taylor Swift's acceptance speech for Best Female Video,
Kanye West walks on stage and interrupts her saying that Beyoncé had one of the greatest videos of all time.
September 16 – The
Spice Girls reunite for dinner and drinks in London except for Victoria (
Posh Spice), who was in Los Angeles. It was the first time all four Spice Girls reunited in public since their "
Return of the Spice Girls Tour" in 2007/8. This 'public reunion' sparked rumours that the girls would reform again.
Sugababes singer
Keisha Buchanan leaves the group, surrounding days of speculation that arguments had occurred in the band. 2009
Eurovision song contest entrant
Jade Ewen replaced her, leaving no members of the group's original lineup remaining.
October 5 - The
Backstreet Boys released their seventh studio album
This Is Us. Their second album as a quartet which also became their seventh consecutive top 10 album in the United States
October 28 – Michael Jackson's This Is It, featuring behind the scenes footage in the days before his death, is released. It enters the chart at No. 1, and becomes the best selling documentary of all time, raising over $250 million.
December 7 –
Chris Brown makes a comeback by releasing his third studio album
Graffiti months after he was charged for felony assault against female pop singer
Rihanna.
December 13 –
Lady Gaga becomes the first female artist in British chart history to achieve three number 1 singles in a single year, when her song "
Bad Romance" reaches the top of the
UK Singles Chart.
^"Josh Doyle". Imagem Music. Archived from
the original on October 5, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016. After a successful UK tour, he returned to a "Music City" studio and recorded Songs From The Nuclear War Vol. 1 & 2.