This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.
Specific locations 2002 in British music 2002 in Norwegian music 2002 in Scandinavian music 2002 in South Korean music
Specific genres 2002 in classical music 2002 in country music 2002 in heavy metal music 2002 in hip-hop 2002 in jazz 2002 in Latin music 2002 in progressive rock
Events January–February January 1 – Eric Clapton marries his 25-year-old American girlfriend in a surprise wedding ceremony at a church in the English village of Ripley, Surrey. January 14 – Adam Ant is committed to a psychiatric hospital two days after being arrested for carrying a firearm into a London pub that Ant claims was fake. January 18 – Rapper C-Murder is arrested and charged with second-degree murder over a fatal shooting in a Harvey, Louisiana nightclub on January 12. January 18–February 3 – The Big Day Out festival takes place in Australia and New Zealand, headlined by The Prodigy. January 23 – Virgin Records buys out its contract with Mariah Carey for $28 million, essentially paying her to not record any more music for the label. February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI. U2's performance becomes a tribute to the victims of the September 11 terrorist attack. February 4 – Kiss bassist Gene Simmons has a notoriously antagonistic interview with Terry Gross on National Public Radio. Simmons continuously baits the host with sexual come-ons throughout the interview while Gross repeatedly calls Simmons "obnoxious." Simmons refuses to grant NPR permission to post the interview online, but unauthorized transcripts and audio exist. February 13 – Jennifer Lopez becomes the first singer to have a remix album, J to tha L–O! The Remixes, debut at number one, selling over 156,000 copies. February 15 – US singer Britney Spears takes her first starring role in Crossroads, a teen drama road film alongside Zoe Saldaña. Although the film is largely panned, it is commercially successful, grossing $61.1 million worldwide against a $12 million budget. February 27 – The 44th Annual Grammy Awards are presented in Los Angeles, hosted by Jon Stewart. The soundtrack for the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? wins Album of the Year, while U2's "Walk On" wins Record of the Year. Alicia Keys wins Song of the Year (for "Fallin'") and Best New Artist.
March–April March 7 – Burton C. Bell leaves Fear Factory after falling out with Dino Cazares. Fear Factory soon disband. March 12 – Silverchair withdraw from the Gone South festival in Australia after Daniel Johns contracts reactive arthritis. March 24 – Takahiro Nishikawa leaves Dreams Come True. March 25 – Celine Dion returns to the music scene after a four-year absence with the album A New Day Has Come. April 17 – Pop-punk giants Blink-182 and Green Day co-headline the two-month Pop Disaster Tour. April 22 – Sugababes release their first UK Number 1 single, a cover of Adina Howard's 1995 single Freak Like Me. April 25 – Member of R&B group TLC, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes dies in car accident in Honduras April 27-28 – The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival takes place in California. Headlined by Björk and Oasis, the lineup also features The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Cake, Foo Fighters, Jack Johnson, Queens of the Stone Age, The Strokes, The Vines and Belle and Sebastian. This year marks the festival's return to its original two-day format.
May–June May 8 – Mariah Carey signs a new record contract with Island Def Jam Music Group. May 12 – We Will Rock You, a jukebox musical based on the songs of Queen, opens at the Dominion Theatre in London, England. May 21 - Blink-182 guitarist Tom DeLonge forms post-hardcore side-project band Box Car Racer. Their album Box Car Racer is released. May 22 – Members of Alien Ant Farm are injured in an early morning tour bus crash in Spain that claimed the life of the driver. May 25 – The 47th Eurovision Song Contest, held at Saku Suurhall in Tallinn, Estonia, is won by Latvian singer Marie N with the song "I Wanna". May 26 - Eminem releases The Eminem Show, one of the bestselling hip-hop albums of 2002 June 4 Avril Lavigne releases her debut studio album, Let Go. The Prom at the Palace is held in London to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Performers include the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Chorus, Kiri Te Kanawa, Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna. June 5 – U.S. soul and R&B singer R. Kelly, is charged with 21 counts of having sexual intercourse with a minor after a videotape allegedly showing him engaged in sexual acts with an underage girl is broadcast on the internet. June 11 Paul McCartney marries second wife Heather Mills in a lavish ceremony at Castle Leslie in Ireland. American Idol premieres on Fox. Korn releases fifth-studio album, Untouchables. David Bowie releases his twenty-second studio album, Heathen. The album marks a commercial comeback for Bowie in the US, becoming his highest-charting album in the country since 1984's Tonight. June 12 – BMG Music agrees to acquire the rest of Zomba Music Group in a deal reportedly worth $3 billion. June 15 – The Los Angeles, California, USA, radio station KROQ-FM airs the 10th Annual Weenie Roast show with Bad Religion, Hoobastank, Jack Johnson, Jimmy Eat World, Moby, New Found Glory, P.O.D., Papa Roach, Puddle of Mudd, The Strokes, System of a Down, Unwritten Law, The Vines, The Violent Femmes and Rob Zombie. June 18 – Mexican Pop-Singer Paulina Rubio, releases her sixth studio album and debut-English crossover album in the U.S., titled Border Girl through Universal Records, she performed for the very first time live her hit single Don't Say Goodbye on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the album debuted at #11 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 56,000 copies becoming Rubio's highest-charting album in the U.S. It was eventually certified gold by RIAA, indicating sales of over 500,000 units. June 19 – Hikaru Utada releases the album Deep River, which sold 2,350,170 copies in a week, debuting at number 1 on the weekly, monthly, and annual Oricon album chart. This would be her third time at number 1 on the year-end rankings of that particular chart, a record for any Japanese musical act or worldwide. June 20 – Pop star Britney Spears, at only 20 years of age, is ranked by Forbes as the world's most powerful celebrity. June 21-23 – The first Bonnaroo Music Festival is held in Tennessee. Performers include Widespread Panic, Gov't Mule and Norah Jones. June 25 – The Prague Philharmonic Orchestra releases an arrangement of the Romeo and Juliet 1968 film soundtrack on the Silva America label. Will Smith also comes back with the release of his third solo studio album Born to Reign. June 27 – *The 23rd Montreal International Jazz Festival opens in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, lasting until July 7. June 30 – The Glastonbury Festival features headline acts Coldplay, Garbage, Stereophonics, Orbital, Roger Waters, Rod Stewart, and Air.
July–August July 6 – Michael Jackson stages a public protest against Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola, accusing him of taking part in a racist conspiracy within the music industry to exploit black recording artists. Sony responds with a statement calling Jackson's remarks "ludicrous, spiteful and hurtful." July 9 – Red Hot Chili Peppers's 8th studio album By The Way is released. It sold 286,000 copies in the United States during the first week, peaking at #2 on Billboard 200. It went on to sell over 2 million copies in the US, being certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. July 12 – Buckcherry breaks up on the heels of lead singer Josh Todd's decision to quit the group. They would reunite in 2005. July 20–21 – The Splendour in the Grass music festival takes place in Byron Bay, Australia, headlined by Gomez and Supergrass. July 23 – My Chemical Romance's first album, "I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love" is released to the public. July 28 – The Area2 Festival, featuring headline acts Moby, David Bowie, Busta Rhymes, Ash, and Blue Man Group, begins a three-week tour in Washington, DC. August 17 – The Snow Mountain Music Festival opens in Lijiang, China.Snow Mountain Music Festival – Press Release August 19 – Nickelback leaves the stage during the second song of their performance at the Ilha do Ermal festival in Portugal after being relentlessly pelted with rocks and bottles by the crowd. August 27 – Queens of the Stone Age release their critically acclaimed album Songs for the Deaf, featuring Dave Grohl on drums. The album earned the band their first Gold certification in the United States on January 27, 2003, selling over 500,000 copies.
September–October September 3 – Napster is shut down for good after a judge denies a bid from Bertelsmann to purchase its assets. September 4 – Kelly Clarkson becomes the first winner of the television talent contest, American Idol. September 11 – Marie Fredriksson of Roxette collapses at home, leading to the discovery of a brain tumor. September 18The 3rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards are held at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. September 20 – Courtney Love announces that her legal dispute with the surviving members of Nirvana has been resolved, paving the way for the unreleased track "You Know You're Right" to be included on an upcoming compilation. September 28 – A stretch of Tennessee State Route 19 is officially named for Tina Turner, who was born and raised in nearby Nutbush, Tennessee. October 2 Robbie Williams signs a new six-album deal with EMI for £80 million, the most lucrative contract ever signed by a UK musician. Christina Aguilera releases her controversial music video for the song, "Dirrty", the lead single from her second album Stripped. October 13 – The fifth Terrastock festival is held in Boston, USA. October 29 – Christina Aguilera releases her controversial second studio album Stripped, which enters the Billboard 200 at number 2, selling 330,000 copies in its first week. Stripped is the first studio album in three years since Christina Aguilera (1999). October 30 Jam Master Jay is shot dead at a studio in Queens. Run-D.M.C. disbands. Warren Zevon, who has recently been diagnosed with cancer, is the sole guest for the entire hour of Late Show with David Letterman. It would be his final public performance.
November–December November 7 – Guns N' Roses fans in Vancouver riot after a concert, which was to kick off the band's first tour in nine years, is canceled due to Axl Rose's flight getting delayed. November 10 – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz, Tom Petty and Brian Setzer guest-star on an episode of The Simpsons set at a Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp. November 12 – rap rock band Crazy Town release their second studio album Darkhorse. November 19 – Michael Jackson dangles his nine-month-old son, "Blanket", over the balcony of his Berlin hotel room in an apparent attempt to connect with the fans below. He releases a statement later that day calling the incident a "terrible mistake". November 26 – Will Smith releases his first compilation album (last under Columbia Records) Greatest Hits. November 29 – Concert For George is held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death, under the musical direction of friend Eric Clapton. Performers included surviving Beatles members Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Clapton, Jeff Lynne, Ravi Shankar, and Billy Preston. The event benefitted the Material World Charitable Foundation. November 30 – British girl group Girls Aloud is formed on the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals. December 2 – Peter Garrett leaves Midnight Oil. December 3 – Mariah Carey releases her ninth studio album Charmbracelet.