Beyoncé's 2018 headlining set is among the festival's most famous

When Beyoncé had a last name

Before she was the mononymous superstar, Beyoncé Knowles was one-fourth of Destiny’s Child, the biggest girl group of the 2000s. This oral history of the group’s early days delves into their first hit and why two members were suddenly dismissed after the release of the group’s second album. Read it here.

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.)

Watch Daft Punk's legendary set

Coachella's main stage is known for attention-grabbing performances, but one of the festival's most momentous was on the smaller Sahara stage. That's where Daft Punk brought their huge LED pyramids and played an inventive mix of their past hits—resulting in a reimagining of dance music's approach to live performances.

The 2023 lineup featured its first Spanish-language and K-pop headliners

As Coachella moves through its third decade, the festival is continuing to evolve, welcoming its first Spanish-language (Bad Bunny) and K-pop (Blackpink) headliners in 2023.

Justin Bieber spent Coachella on YouTube

The pop star was the festival's Saturday headliner, a slot typically reserved for massive spectacles. Bieber, however, spent a significant portion of it scrolling YouTube. Timothy Karoff's evenhanded review tries to make sense of the unexpected scene.

In 2025, Beyoncé finally took home the album of the year award

Beyoncé has the most individual Grammy wins, but for many years, she never won the coveted album of the year prize, leading to much rancor among her fan base. That changed in 2025 with her album "Cowboy Carter," which took home the top honor.

What happened at Fyre Festival?

Top supermodels and influencers, including Bella Hadid, promoted Fyre Festival—which was supposed to be a luxury music festival on a secluded island—on their social media feeds. But when the people who had shelled out thousands to attend arrived, they found something closer to a horror movie turned survival situation.

Blackpink are the most followed female group on Spotify

The widespread popularity of the four-piece girl group Blackpink has built a large community of fans—called Blink—and proven the success of unconventional marketing strategies. Instead of producing a wealth of content and new material, Blackpink releases albums slowly, building tension for their fans. During their musical breaks, the women continue to build on their icon status, working with luxury brands like Chanel or even guest-starring in major American TV shows like “The Idol.”

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.

1985's inaugural Wrestlemania turned pro wrestling into a pop culture phenomenon

WrestleMania I was a major event in the history of pro wrestling, marking WWE’s push to become a global entertainment entity and setting the standard for large-scale pay-per-view events for years to come. It was also a wacky, celebrity-laden affair featuring Cyndi Lauper, Mr. T and Liberace.

Clipse made history as the first hip-hop group to perform at the Vatican

The September 2025 performance was a part of the Vatican's "Grace of the World" concert, organized by Pharrell Williams. The duo performed their song "The Birds Don't Sing," accompanied by John Legend, the Voices of Fire choir, and a live orchestra.

Burning Man started with 30 people. Now it's a globally recognized festival

Burning Man initially gained momentum thanks to the bohemians of San Francisco's 1980s countercultural scene. Artists and other influential figure helped spread the word to make it one of the largest festivals in the US.

Days after her release from prison, Billie Holiday sold out Carnegie Hall

The jazz icon was released early from federal prison on good behavior. Following her arrest, she was effectively prohibited from performing in New York's nightclubs, but she realized she could still perform, so long as it was in a venue that hadn't been deemed a "cabaret." The solution? The famous Carnegie Hall. The show sold out within a week, and the venue became a regular stop for Holiday, who performed there 22 times.

The 2026 Met Gala celebrated an exhibition exploring fashion's relationship to the body

Each year, the Met Gala draws attention for its star-studded red carpet and flashy outfits. What's less known is that the event is the primary fundraiser for the Met's Costume Institute, which houses over 33,000 objects spanning seven centuries. For 2026's exhibit "Costume Art," curators paired existing artworks with corresponding garments to show a rich and varied history of fashion and identity.

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.

The 2017 Women's March was one of the largest protests in the Mall's history

Held the day after Donald Trump's inauguration, the 2017 Women's March drew an estimated 470,000 to 500,000 people to Washington, DC, and 3 million to 5 million nationwide. It is widely regarded as the largest single-day protest in US history.

Some critics view Marina Abramović as more of a brand than an artist

As the performer became more tied to A-listers like Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, and James Franco, culture critics began to consider the commercialization of performance art and how audiences may have flocked to see the “brand” of Abramović more than her actual work.

Watch Springsteen rip through ‘Because the Night’ backed by the Roots

The song may have been made famous by Patti Smith, but Springsteen co-wrote it, and it's since become a staple of his live shows. This 2010 performance on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” features some help from the Roots, who push the song to a new level.

BTS' 2026 Seoul concert turned the city into a distributed sound system

The K-pop band's first show after six years turned Gwanghwamun Square into a large open-air venue. Scientists present measured sound levels and noted that the music carried well across vast distances, thanks to good design of the sound system.

Champagne has a rich history in hip-hop

The drink is both aspirational and a bragging right. Famous artists name-check brands like Cristal, and up-and-comers long for the day when sparkling wine will flow like water. The trend traces back to the early 1990s and Branson B., “hip-hop’s unofficial sommelier.” The Harlem-based artist would bring bottles of his favorite bubbly to parties, celebrations, and, crucially, recording studios, where friends like the Notorious B.I.G. were laying down some of rap’s foundational tracks.

Broadway's superfans unite at BroadwayCon

Like ComicCon for theater lovers, BroadwayCon convenes annually in New York and offers panels, meet-and-greets, and, of course, singalongs. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Why Robyn's 'Dancing on My Own' became an anthem

Robyn's "Dancing on My Own," was a low-key hit when it was released in 2010, but it's become an anthem in the time since then, influencing artists like Lorde and Charli xcx and inspiring an iconic scene on HBO's "Girls." This article breaks down why that is, studying the song's beats per minute, which match humans' typical walking pace, and the queer experience reflected in its lyrics.

A history of Eurovision controversies

The annual song contest spectacle is no stranger to controversy. This list breaks down some of the most scandalous, including claims that 2021 winners Maneskin were snorting cocaine, Georgia's 2009 rejection for submitting a protest song, and Jordan's refusal to recognize Israel in 1978.

The Eras Tour generated $2B in ticket sales, but $5B in consumer spending

Taylor Swift has achieved such high-profile status, her music and tours influence a broad swath of industries, communities, and economies. “Swiftonomics” is the term used to describe how Taylor’s tours, merchandise sales, and brand boost everything from local business receipts to tourism in a community.

What it means to be an opening act

Most people assume opening for a major act will propel a smaller artist's career. While that can be the case, this academic study from a Drexel University professor offers some objective data that suggests mixed results. In short, there's no guarantee that an opening slot on a big tour will enhance an artist's popularity—or their income.

Hear the story of the police crackdown on a Stonehenge festival in 1985

This documentary revisits the 1985 police crackdown on a massive free festival at Stonehenge, when the UK government under Margaret Thatcher blocked access and deployed 1,300 riot police—an event that reshaped public access to the site.

An early version of the musical 'Hamilton' debuted at the White House

Years before the musical "Hamilton" reached Broadway, Lin-Manuel Miranda performed an early draft of the opening song at the White House during a 2009 poetry event attended by President Obama.

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

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

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.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

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.

Fireworks make a loud booming sound after exploding due to air expanding faster than the speed of sound.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

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

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

The syncytiotrophoblast is the outer layer of the placenta and the largest human cell, spanning an area about twice that of a king-sized bedsheet.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

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.