Pick a Day

Music History Events: Debut Albums

January 18, 1928 Dmitri Shostakovich's opera The Nose premieres at the Maliy Opera Theatre in Leningrad.

February 12, 1924 The "Experiment In Modern Music" concert takes place at Aeolian Hall in New York, where a sold out crowd checks out a relatively new music called Jazz. George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" is performed in public for the first time at the show with Gershwin performing on piano with the orchestra.

January 25, 1909 The opera Elektra by Richard Strauss premieres at the Dresden Hofoper.

December 7, 1889 At the Savoy Theatre, the opera The Gondoliers is first performed.

May 2, 1885 Wilhelm Schimmel starts his piano company.

January 7, 1842 The opera Stabat Mater by Gioacchino Rossini premieres in Paris.

January 26, 1790 The Mozart opera Cosi Fan Tutte opens at the Burgtheater in Vienna.

January 29, 1728 The Beggar's Opera by John Gay premieres in London.

January 12, 1723 The opera Ottone by George Frideric Handel premieres in London.

January 5, 1649 The opera Giasone by Francesco Cavalli premieres in Venice.

May 21, 2021 Olivia Rodrigo releases her debut album, Sour, which includes her debut single, "Drivers License," and also the hits "Deja Vu," "Good 4 U," and "Brutal."

March 29, 2019 Seventeen-year-old Billie Eilish releases her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, which debuts at #1 in America.

October 3, 2016 Nickelodeon premieres the animated series Kuu Kuu Harajuku, produced by Gwen Stefani, about a group of girls who make music and fight evil. Stefani introduced her "Harajuku Girls," inspired by the neighborhood in Tokyo, on her solo debut, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. and has integrated her love of the culture in her clothing and perfume lines.

June 23, 2015 Leon Bridges releases his debut album, Coming Home, featuring the popular retro-soul singles "Coming Home" and "Smooth Sailin'."More

April 5, 2015 Two days after Furious 7 is released in theaters, the "See You Again" video, featuring footage from the film, debuts on Facebook and Twitter. The next day, it is posted on YouTube, where it eventually breaks the record for most views, previously held by "Gangnam Style."More

September 9, 2014 Vance Joy releases his debut studio album, Dream Your Life Away, four days after its release in his native Australia.

September 5, 2014 Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton open a bed and breakfast called The Ladysmith in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. It can be seen in Blake's video for "Sangria."

June 12, 2013 BTS release their debut album, 2 Cool 4 Skool. In later years, the date is celebrated with releases targeted to their fan club, ARMY.

March 22, 2013 Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy releases his debut EP, God Loves You When You're Dancing.

October 2, 2012 The Mumford & Sons single "Babel" becomes the highest-selling debut single of the year, officially, with 600,000 copies sold.

April 10, 2012 Robin Gibb's orchestral production Titanic Requiem (released to mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of The Titanic) premieres in London.

April 5, 2012 The Philip Lynott Exhibition opens at the 02 in London, celebrating the legacy of the Thin Lizzy frontman.

October 5, 2011 The Martin Scorsese documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World premieres on HBO. Ringo Starr says in the film: "He had the bag of love-beads personality and the bag of anger."

September 12, 2011 Ed Sheeran's debut album, +, is released in the UK, where it tops the albums chart.

October 2, 2010 On Season 7 of The X Factor (UK), One Direction perform as a group for the first time, singing a cover of "Torn" for judge Simon Cowell at his villa in Marbella, Spain. The guys had been eliminated as soloists and tried their luck as a group. They finish the competition in third place.

August 3, 2010 Madonna launches her "Material Girl" line of clothing, shoes, jewelry and handbags at Macy's. The line is targeted to teenage girls and based in part on some of Madonna's various looks. Assisting the 51-year-old singer with the project is her 13-year-old daughter, Lourdes.

July 14, 2009 The debut album by The Dead Weather, Horehound, is released, and spawns the singles "Hang You from the Heavens," "Treat Me Like Your Mother," and "I Cut Like A Buffalo."

August 11, 2008 Noah and the Whale debut Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down is released on the Mercury/Vertigo label. Laura Marling, who was a member of the band at the time of recording but soon left to focus on her solo career, is featured as a vocalist on the album. Fellow Indie-Folk artist Emmy the Great also contributes vocals to the album.

February 19, 2008 Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago, self-released a year earlier, is issued on Jagjaguwar Records. An embodiment of indie rock, it gets lots of attention and leads to a collaboration with Kanye West on this 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

February 4, 2008 With digital delivery transforming the industry, some record companies package releases with additional goodies. The Virgin-owned Astralwerks label issues Laura Marling's debut album, Alas, I Cannot Swim, in what they call a "songbox" format, which includes a concert ticket and souvenirs representing each song along with the CD.