This Day in Top 40 History: April 16

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 2002: Sheryl Crow released her fourth studio effort, C'mon, C'mon, in the U.S. through A&M Records. It cracked the Top Five in the region and sold over 180,000 copies in its opening week. Hits from the set included “Steve McQueen” and “Soak Up The Sun.” The latter reached No. 5 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart.  
• 2013: Major Lazer dropped their sophomore studio album, Free the Universe. This project saw the group collaborate with a long list of other artists, including Bruno Mars, Ezra Koenig, Wyclef Jean, and Shaggy. It landed at No. 34 on both the U.K. Official Albums chart and the Billboard 200. 
• 2017: Headliners included Kendrick Lamar, Lorde, and New Order.
• 2022: Billie Eilish and Megan Thee Stallion headlined, and additional artists included Rich Brian, Caroline Polachek, and girl in red.
• 2023: Headliners this year included Bjork, Frank Ocean, and Porter Robinson.

Cultural Milestones

• 1973: Akon was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He blew up in 2004 following the release of his Top 20 debut record, Trouble. The album spawned the singles “Lonely” and “Locked Up,” both of which cracked the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100. As of this writing, he has scored more hits in the U.S., such as “Don't Matter” and “Smack That,” featuring Eminem. 
• 1993: Chance the Rapper was born Chancelor Johnathan Bennett in Chicago, Illinois. He dropped his first mixtape, 10 Day, while still in high school. The record enabled him to catch the attention of both music lovers and critics, including Complex. Chance the Rapper would later collaborate with big names such as DJ Khaled, Cardi B, and Justin Bieber. These partnerships saw him achieve several Top 40 hits, including “Best Life,” “I'm the One,” and “Holy.”
• 2008: The queen of pop, Barbra Streisand, donated $5 million to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. The staff said this generous gift would create permanent funding for the Barbra Streisand Women's Cardiovascular Research and Education at Cedars-Sinai program.
• 2018: Kendrick Lamar's chart-topping studio album, DAMN., earned him the Pulitzer Prize for Music. This made the “All The Stars” hitmaker the first hip-hop artist to receive the honor. Previously, the Pulitzer Prize Board awarded the prize to jazz and classical music makers, including Ornette Coleman and John Adams.
• 2021: Pop diva Lady Gaga switched gears for her Lady Gaga's Jazz & Piano residency at the Park MGM's Dolby Live in Las Vegas, with dates including April 16. She performed covers of popular songs such as "Luck Be a Lady," "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love," and "Fly Me to the Moon."

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1974: Queen's first U.S. concert went down at Denver's Regis University. According to sources, tickets for the show were available at the institution's bookstore for $7.50 each. Following this show, they placed multiple Top 40 singles in the region, including No. 1 hits “Another One Bites The Dust” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”
• 2010: Soundgarden set the stage on fire at the Showbox in Seattle, Washington. This was the “Live to Rise” hitmakers'  first concert in over a decade. They had not performed together since their break-up in April 1997 after the Lollapalooza Tour. 
• 2016: King of pop Justin Timberlake, a former member of NSYNC, performed in Zurich, Switzerland. The crowd cheered him on as he performed songs such as "Rock Your Body" and "SexyBack."
• 2018: Harry Styles, from the boy band One Direction, performed at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. Fans were treated to hits such as "Only Angel" and "What Makes You Beautiful."
• 2022: Lizzo hosted and performed on the TV show Saturday Night Live. 
• 2024: The Jonas Brothers performed at the Allianz Parque in São Paulo, Brazil, for their Five Albums. One Night. The World Tour. They sang hits including "Goodnight and Goodbye" and "That's Just the Way We Roll."

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 1992: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” hitmakers Nirvana graced the cover of Rolling Stone. Their frontman, Kurt Cobain, rocked a white t-shirt with an eye-catching handwritten slogan, "Corporate magazines still suck." According to sources, their photographer, Mark Seliger, had originally requested him to throw on a blank t-shirt. 
• 1994: Crooner Harry Connick Jr. married his sweetheart, Jill Goodacre. The two met at a pool in Los Angeles, California, and married soon after. They are still together and have three children.
• 2003: Luther Vandross suffered a stroke, which saw him slip into a coma and lose his ability to walk and speak. This condition allegedly resulted from the complications of hypertension and Type 2 diabetes. Vandross would release his chart-topping album, Dance With My Father, in June of the same year. Unfortunately, he died from a heart attack in July 2005. 
• 2022: Adele had to postpone her Las Vegas residency, Weekends With Adele, with an April 16 date, because her crew was hit with COVID-19. She posted an emotional video saying, "I'm so sorry, but my show ain't ready."