The 20-year feud between Elton John and Madonna

The most controversial moments in ‘Saturday Night Live’ history

This list ranks the show’s biggest controversies over five decades, including Sinead O’Connor’s infamous shredding of the Pope, Elvis Costello’s abrupt set change, and Fear trashing Studio 8H.

The story behind Prince's rivalry with Michael Jackson

The Purple One was often compared to the King of Pop, but Prince considered himself the superior artist. This retrospective details the many contentious encounters between the two giants, but it also highlights the sincere admiration they had for each other's work.

The strange 1966 meet-up between Bob Dylan and John Lennon

The 1972 documentary "Eat The Document" featured a short clip of this interaction between the two stars, who'd become friends. The extended cut, though, shows the tension at the heart of their relationship, which was close to an artistic rivalry. Lennon was self-conscious that critics claimed his more serious turn was inspired by Dylan; Dylan, meanwhile, was annoyed by a comment Lennon had made earlier that week about his song "Forth Time Around" sounding like a copy of The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood."

Fifty backstage photos of musicians in the 1970s

Elton John, James Brown, Cher, Diana Ross, and many others all have famous photos seen multiple times on album covers, iconic images from events, and more. Rare is the unseen backstage photo of the greats, lounging or rocking out or, like Bo Diddley, frying up some chicken pre-show at the Garden. Peruse this incredible collection of candid shots of 1970s stars waiting in the wings to come on stage.

Minnelli's concert with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. was considered 'The Ultimate Event'

Called "The Ultimate Event," the three legendary singers joined for a rare concert tour in the late 1980s. The show was released as a TV special shortly before Davis died from cancer.

Jay-Z and Marina Abramovic briefly feuded after collaborating

After appearing in Jay-Z’s music video for the song “Picasso Baby,” Abramović publicly accused the rapper of not donating to her institute, as he had previously promised. Jay-Z defended himself and shared his receipt, prompting Abramović to apologize about the misunderstanding soon after.

See a ranking of every Super Bowl halftime show since 1993

This resource includes photos and videos from each performance and has a top five, including Prince (2007), Madonna (2012), Beyoncé (2013), Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg (2022), and the 2001 ensemble led by Aerosmith with NSYNC, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Live Aid featured 16 hours of live music across two continents

The 1985 benefit concerts took place in London and Philadelphia, and performances from both locations were televised simultaneously.

People have tied for Grammy Awards at least 34 times

Because of the Grammys voting structure, it's possible for two artists (or songs or producers, etc.) to receive the same vote totals. What happens then? Two Grammys! It has led to some funny moments, including in 1981, when classical musician Itzhak Perlman tied with … himself, for best classical performance as a soloist.

Abramović and Ulay ended their partnership on the Great Wall of China

After over a decade of romance and collaboration, the pair formally separated in a 90-day performance that involved walking over 12 miles a day in solitude.

Liza Minnelli often disagrees with melancholic portrayals of her mother

When the Oscar-winning film "Judy" came out in 2019, Minnelli made a point to distance herself from the film and state that she had no plans to watch it. The actress has stated she dislikes how the media tends to pity her mother. Instead, she makes a point of talking about the happy memories and support that Garland gave her.

The 'golden age' studio system often controlled actors' personal lives

The "Big Five" studio system minted stars, but it also tightly controlled their personal lives. Homosexuality, in particular, was seen as a liability. One example is Rock Hudson, a major star in the 1950s and '60s, who was forced into an arranged marriage with his agent's secretary.

Prince's 'Darling Nikki' inspired an '80s censorship campaign

The song, which tells the story of the titular "sex friend," was repeatedly cited by Elizabeth "Tipper Gore," the wife of then Senator Al Gore, in her work leading the Parents Music Resource Center, a group of women advocating for parental advisories on explicit music recordings. "Darling Nikki" was included on the group's "Filthy 15" list, alongside songs by Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, and others.

Is the love song dying?

This visual essay, compiled using 65 years of industry data, is an entertaining trip through the history of pop music, exploring whether or not music has grown less romantic. But, at its heart, this isn't about the Billboard charts—it's about the many different ways we define romance.

Jane Austen superfans are called Janeites

Austen has a modern fan community unrivaled by that of other novelists of her time, devoted in ways similar to more recent pop culture phenomena like "Star Trek" and "Harry Potter," with Janeites regularly donning period-specific costumes, writing fan fiction, and engaging in spirited debates about the work.

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.

The Williams sisters boycotted Indian Wells for 15 years

In 2001, Venus and Serena Williams were set to play each other in the semifinal of the Indian Wells tournament, when Venus pulled out just minutes before the match with a knee injury. Serena was booed at the final, with Venus also booed in the stands. This Players' Tribune article by Venus discusses the sisters' boycott of the event and why they returned in 2016.

Why one highly anticipated Broadway musical flopped

“Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” had all the makings of a Broadway blockbuster, with acclaimed director Julie Taymour and music from U2’s Bono and the Edge, but technical mishaps and bad reviews plagued the musical, which closed with $60M in losses.

Taylor Swift's feud with executive Scooter Braun

Braun, whom Swift said had a personal vendetta against her, purchased the rights to Swift's early music throguh his company.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

'All your life, you will be faced with a choice. You can choose love or hate … I choose love.'

-Johnny Cash (1932-2003)

Nelson Mandela once called the Spice Girls his 'heroines'

At a public meeting in 1997, then South African President Nelson Mandela greeted the Spice Girls (along with Prince Charles) at his residence and said, "I don't want to be emotional, [meeting them] is one of the greatest moments in my life."

Read a list of people Elon Musk has been romantically involved with, including musician Grimes

Elon Musk shares six children with his ex-wife Justine Musk, who he was married to from 2000 to 2008. He has also dated celebrities, including actresses Amber Heard and Talulah Riley.

The Rolling Stones were paid $3M to have 'Start Me Up' in the Windows 95 promo

The fee was part of Microsoft's $300M advertising and promotional campaign for the operating system, which featured the Start button for the first time. The company also filmed sitcom-style infomercials featuring "Friends" TV stars Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry.

John Williams has scored 29 of Spielberg’s films

A significant part of Spielberg’s style is how music is used. The overwhelming majority of that music is composed by John Williams. The duo first collaborated on 1974’s “The Sugarland Express.”

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

Today’s Rockefellers have become climate activists

The Rockefeller Family Fund has been engaged in more than 40 lawsuits against ExxonMobil, a company that John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil created.

The history of the Met Gala

Learn how the famed Met Gala went from a small fundraising dinner to a star-studded event that brings in millions of dollars in donations every year. The gala has always centered on fashion. It’s a fundraiser for the Costume Institute dreamed up by one of the founders of New York Fashion Week. Over the years, that relationship has grown even closer and more creative.

In 1945, Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and legendary animator Walt Disney began collaborating on a short film that was not completed until 2003, years after both men had died.

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

Marburg virus, related to Ebola, is also extremely deadly, and has no available vaccine.

Dirty lightning is a thunderstorm created from friction between rising and falling flows of ash and smoke during volcanic eruptions.