Musically, here’s how the decade unfolded

2010: The Beatles arrives on iTunes.

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2010: One Direction is formed, presenting the world Harry, Niall, Louis, Zayn and Liam. Some bragged they were the 21st century version of The Beatles.

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2010: An important album arrives on November 22 — Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

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2010: Another important album arrives on November 22 — Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday.

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2011: One of the most outstanding singers of her generation, Amy Winehouse passes away at age 27.

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2011: Esperanza Spalding wins Best New Artiste at the Grammys, leaving Justin Bieber fans furious. She establishes herself as one of the great crossover jazz stars of our times.

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2012: Psy’s Gangnam Style brings K-pop to our earphones.

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2012: Whitney Houston dies at 48, hours before Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party.

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Also in 2012

⚫ Hologram tours of dead artistes become big business after Tupac Shakur’s “appearance” at Coachella.

⚫ MegaUpload is shut down and its leader Kim Dotcom is arrested, signalling a victory for the anti-piracy lobby and making way for music streaming services.

2013: Miley Cyrus twerks Robin Thicke at the 2013 VMAs, shocking the world.

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2013: Let It Go from Frozen becomes an earworm that’s still going strong.

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2014: The ‘elevator video’ with Jay Z, Beyonce and Solange shows the world that something is wrong in Queen Bey’s world.

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2014: From six seconds on Vine (he started in 2013) to superstardom for Shawn Mendes.

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2014: Taylor Swift, one of country music’s most successful stars, goes pop with her album 1989.

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2014: U2’s Songs of Innocence releases as a preloaded album on the new iPhone 6.

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2015

⚫ The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry shifts global music releases to Fridays.

⚫ Zayn Malik leaves One Direction.

⚫ Eagles of Death Metal concert at Le Bataclan targeted in terrorist attack.

2016: The much-awaited Guns N’ Roses reunion takes place.

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2016: Prince’s death leaves thousands of hours of music locked in his Paisley Park vault.

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2016: A trailblazer of musical trends and pop fashion, David Bowie dies at 69.

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2016: Prolific songwriter Leonard Cohen dies at the age of 82.

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2016: George Michael, who mattered beyond music, passes away.

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2016: Bob Dylan wins Nobel Prize in Literature, making him join the likes of T.S. Eliot and Samuel Beckett. ‘Our songs are alive in the land of the living. But songs are unlike literature. They’re meant to be sung, not read. The words in Shakespeare’s plays were meant to be acted on the stage’ — Bob Dylan said in his Nobel Prize lecture.

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2017: Despacito is the first YouTube video to receive three billion views (now >6.5b).

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2017: Already a few years into their career, BTS has its most impactful year in the US and becomes the most popular Korean act in the world.

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2018: Childish Gambino premieres This Is America video, which takes on subjects like anger and violence in America.

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2018: Despite quitting touring to focus on music in 2016, Avicii’s mental health issues — worsened by his lifestyle — ultimately leads to his death, at age 28.

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2019

⚫ Apple Shuts down iTunes.

2019: Billie Eilish becomes the first artiste born in the 21st century to top Billboard 200.

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2019: Ed Sheeran is named UK’s artiste of the decade by the Official Charts Company, thanks to a combined run of 12 number one singles and albums between 2010 and 2019, more than any other artiste.

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