2006 in music
| Years in music: | 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 |
| Centuries: | 20th century · 21st century · 22nd century |
| Decades: | 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s |
| Years: | 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 |
Events
- January- James Nicholl, drummer of Pay*Ola (Band) became ill and was admitted to hospital. He has since been released and made a full recovery.
- January 11 to January 15—MahlerFest XIX held in Boulder, Colorado, honoring Austrian composer Gustav Mahler.
- January 16—Frontman Rob Aston announces that the Transplants have disbanded shortly after their fall tour cancelled.
- January 24-It was surprisingly announced popular British girl-band All Saints are to regroup for a tour and album later in the year.
- January 31—American hardcore punk band Champion announces their impending breakup, with a final show scheduled for May.[1]
- February—Alice in Chains reform with new singer William DuVall as the replacement of Layne Staley, who died of a drug overdose in April 2002. Their planned tour will embark their performance since 1996.
- February 1—Vienna State Opera announced Seiji Ozawa, a Conductor concurrently works as a Music Director of the Opera, has had to cancel all his performance commitments for 2006 due to health reasons.
- February 8—The 48th annual Grammy Awards are handed out at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Madonna opens the awards for a third time. U2 is the night's big winner, with 5 awards. Mariah Carey receives her first award in more than ten years.
- February 10—White Lion/Black Label Society bassist James Lomenzo joins Megadeth as the replacement for James MacDonough (who was previously in Iced Earth).
- February 18- The Rolling Stones give a free concert to 3 million people in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, possibly one of the largest ever given.
- February 25—The 4th Annual TRL Awards are held in New York City. Madonna wins the Lifetime Achievement Award and Bono wins the Most Inspired Artist/Humanitarian Award. Other winners include Fall Out Boy, Chris Brown, Mariah Carey, Ashlee Simpson, Kelly Clarkson, Amanda Bynes, and My Chemical Romance. Performers included Ashlee Simpson and Chris Brown.
- March 22 - News reports are released that Aerosmith's lead singer Steven Tyler is ill and will require throat surgery. The band cancels the rest of their tour (which was Top 3 at the time) with Cheap Trick and the band is on hiatus indefinitely until Tyler recovers.
- April 21 to April 23—Terrastock 6, Providence, Rhode Island.
- April 25 - Rihanna's sophomore album featuring SOS (Rescue Me) and Unfaithful is realeased.
- April 29 to April 30 - The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival takes place in Indio, California. Performers include: Madonna, James Blunt, Kanye West, Depeche Mode, Paul Oakenfold among others.
- May 2—Tool releases 10,000 Days their 4th studio album. It is their follow-up to 2001's Lateralus.
- May 2-Pearl Jam releases Pearl Jam.
- May 9—Red Hot Chili Peppers release Stadium Arcadium, their 9th studio album. It is a double album. #1 in 26 countries
- May 11—Dave Baksh announces that he left Sum 41 to pursue his career with his second band Brown Brigade.
- May 13—The Los Angeles, California radio station KROQ airs the fourteenth annual Weenie Roast.
- May 13—Drummer Ryan Vandeberghe announces that The Suicide Machines have broken up after 15 years of activity.
- May 20-Finnish monster rock band Lordi win the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song Hard Rock Hallelujah, the first hard rock/heavy metal song to win.
- May 23-The Wreckers release their debut album, Stand Still, Look Pretty.
- May 24—Taylor Hicks wins American Idol, season 5. Katharine McPhee is the runner-up.
- May 26—Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale have their first baby boy, Kingston James McGregor Rossdale.
- June 1 Youngbloodz and entourage arrested on drugs and weapons charges in Atlanta, Georgia. [2]
- June 6 Metallica play their new song (Yet to be titled) for the first time in Berlin.
- June 8 Shakira´s single Hips Don´t Lie sells 266,500 downloads in its first week of availability, smashing D4L´s record of only 175,000. Hips Don´t Lie also breaks another record: it becomes the most played song in Pop History with 9,657 spins, breaking Gwen Stefani´s Hollaback Girl record of 9,582.
- June 12 - Keane release their second studio album Under the Iron Sea, which sold in its first week 222,297 copies. It remains the first place in the UK Albums Chart despite new albums from Fatboy Slim and The Automatic
- June 23- Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson leaves the group to pursue other interests.
- July 1—Glue Gun performed the first reunion concert at Harpers in Northridge, Los Angeles, California. This concert embarked the band's first performance since breaking up in 1996.
- July 4 - Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith perform with the Boston Pops Orchestra in a nationally televised event.
- July 5 - American Idol tour begins.
- July 7 - Syd Barrett, co-founder and original vocalist for Pink Floyd dies of complications from diabetes
- July 12—Rivers Cuomo confirms that Weezer is now on hiatus again. As for the future of the band, he said "I'm not certain we'll ever make a record again, unless it becomes really obvious to me that we need to do one."
- August 1—10th anniversary of MTV2's original launch and 25th anniversary of MTV's original launch.
- August 4 to August 6—Lollapalooza, Chicago, Illinois.
- August 15-Third studio album by grammy-winning pop diva Christina Aguilera to be released as a double-album.
- September 5—Second solo album by nine time Grammy winner Beyoncé to be released.
Bands disbanded
- Audio Adrenaline
- Centinex
- Clor
- Finch (hiatus)
- Further Seems Forever
- Grandaddy
- Hot Water Music
- JR Ewing
- The Juliana Theory
- Mest
- Peccatum
- Pedro the Lion
- A Perfect Circle (hiatus)
- Plonker
- Sleater-Kinney (hiatus)
- The Suicide Machines
- System of a Down (hiatus)
- Test Icicles
- Transplants
- Vendetta Red
- Weezer (hiatus) [1]
Albums released
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
| Album | Artist | Release Date | Type | RIAA Certification |
| Black Holes And Revelations | Muse | (July 3) | LP | none |
| Never Slow Down, Never Grow Old | Peter Gammons | (July 4) | LP | none |
| The Sufferer and the Witness | Rise Against | (July 4) | LP | none |
| The Eraser | Thom Yorke | (July 10) | LP | none |
| Impeach My Bush | Peaches | (July 10) | LP | none |
| Cold as the Clay | Greg Graffin | (July 10) | LP | none |
| The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album | Sufjan Stevens | (July 11) | LP | none |
| The Fall of Ideals | All That Remains | (July 11) | LP | none |
| The Day Has Come | Cheyenne Kimball | (July 11) | LP | none |
| Live in Brooklyn | Phish | (July 11) | LP | none |
| The Silver Lining | Soul Asylum | (July 11) | LP | none |
| One Cold Night | Seether | (July 11) | LP | none |
| Last Stand | Boot Camp Clik | (July 13) | LP | none |
| Up In The Attic | Alien Ant Farm | (July 18) | LP | none |
| Black Stone Cherry | Black Stone Cherry | (July 18) | LP | none |
| Eighteen Visions | Eighteen Visions | (July 18) | LP | none |
| Monochrome | Helmet | (July 18) | LP | none |
| A Collection (album) | Third Eye Blind | (July 18) | LP | none |
Albums to be released
All releases are an LP unless otherwise stated.
July
- LeToya by LeToya — July 25
- Highway Companion by Tom Petty — July 25
- In My Mind by Pharrell Williams — July 25
- Katorz by Voivod — July 25
- Welcome the Night by The Ataris — July 26
August
- Year of the Dog...Again by DMX — August 1
- Two Lights by Five for Fighting - August 1
- Come What(ever) May - Stone Sour - (August 1)
- Love & Pain-Eamon - (August 1)
- Age of Reptiles—Showbread— (August 1)
- Destroy What You Enjoy—Powerman 5000— (August 1)
- Cheri Dennis— Cheri Dennis — (August 1)
- Teenage Graffiti— The Pink Spiders — (August 1)
- Cassie— Cassie— (August 8)
- Phobia—Breaking Benjamin— (August 8)
- Reprieve—Ani DiFranco— (August 8)
- Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!—hellogoodbye— (August 8)
- Major Lodge Victory-Gin Blossoms— (August 8)
- Into the Rush (Deluxe Edition)-Aly & AJ- (August 8) *not main release
- Christ Illusion—Slayer- (August 8)
- III: In the Eyes of Fire-Unearth- (August 8)
- Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor—Lupe Fiasco— (August 8)
- Self Titled—Gatsbys American Dream- (August 8)
- It's About Time—Jonas Brothers- (August 8)
- Point of No Return-3LW-(August 15)
- 2nd Rounds On Me—Obie Trice— (August 15)
- Back To Basics-Christina Aguilera— (August 15)
- The Early Years—Rebecca St. James— (August 15)
- Unappreciated— Cherish— (August 15)
- Danity Kane- Danity Kane- (August 15)
- Supremecy- Hatebreed- (August 22)
- Material Girls Soundtrack-(August 22)
- Platinum Weird— (August 22)
- Kelis Was Here—Kelis— (August 22)
- Amputechture—The Mars Volta— (August 22)
- Idlewild—OutKast— (August 22)
- Sacrament— Lamb of God— (August 22)
- High and Mighty—Gov't Mule— (August 22)
- Paris— Paris Hilton— (August 22)
- Simple Mind Condition—Trouble— (August 22)
- 'Till The Sun Turns Black—Ray LaMontagne— (August 29)
- Game Theory—The Roots— (August 29)
- Kiss of Death—Motörhead— (August 29)
- Beautiful Awakening by Stacie Orrico — August 29
- Public Affair by Jessica Simpson — August 29
- The Underdog/El Subestimado by Tego Calderon — August 29
- Modern Times by Bob Dylan — August 29
- Falling Away by Crossfade — August 29
- Hell Hath No Fury by Clipse — August 29
Unknown
September
- Empire— Kasabian— (September 4)
- Revelations— Audioslave— (September 5)
- B'Day—Beyoncé— (September 5)
- A Twist in the Myth—Blind Guardian— (September 5)
- Last Man Standing—Jerry Lee Lewis— (September 5)
- A Shared History Of Tragedy—The Black Maria— (September 5)
- Hoodstar—Chingy— (September 12)
- Continuum—John Mayer— (September 12)
- FutureSex/LoveSounds-Justin Timberlake-(September 12)
- Blood Mountain-Mastodon-(September 12)
- Barenaked Ladies Are Me—Barenaked Ladies— (September 12)
- Lights Out—Sugarcult— (September 12)
- Magic Potion- The Black Keys- (September 12)
- Sleeping Lessons- The Shins- (September 13)
- Ta-Dah—Scissor Sisters— (September 18)
- The High Road—JoJo- (September 19)
- The Tempest—Insane Clown Posse— (September 19)
- The Dutchess—Fergie— (September 19)
- Untitled-Ace of Base- (September 25)
- 20 Years Old— Janet Jackson— (September 26)
- Friendly Fire - Sean Lennon - (September 26)
- Raised Up -The Cure- (September 26)
- Undiscovered- Brooke Hogan- (September 26)
- Untitled- "Weird Al" Yankovic- (September 26)
Unknown
- The Captain and the Kid—Elton John
- Untitled— Constantine Maroulis
- Cph 2000— Jet
- Absolutely—Sister Hazel
- The Ambition— D12
- Release Therapy— Ludacris
- A Matter of Life and Death (album)- Iron Maiden
- Untitled— Tyler Hilton
October
- Tweedles—The Residents— (October 2)
- Sam's Town—The Killers— (October 2)
- The Open Door—Evanescence— (October 3)
- Still Searching- Senses Fail— (October 3)
- Better Than Knowing Where You Are—Spitalfield— (October 3)
- ...And the Battle Begun—Rx Bandits— (October 10)
- Arriving Alive-Desa- (October 10)
- Young Machetes-The Blood Brothers- (October 10)
- Como Ama Una Mujer-Jennifer López— (October 17)
- Graduation-Kayne West- (October 17)
- The Doctor's Advocate-The Game- (October 19)
- A Little Death Makes Life More Meaningful-(+44)- (October 24)
- Songs from the Labyrinth-Sting- (October 24)
- Untitled-Savage Garden- (October 27)
- Big-Macy Gray - (October 27)
November
- TBA - Killswitch Engage-(November 7)
- Second Round–Teairra Mari-(November 12)
- Untitled-Mario Vazquez-(November 12)
- Veel The Bow-Duran Duran-(November 18)
Unknown
- Curious — Chrishan
December
- Can't Regret What You Don't Remember-Ben Moody-(December 1)
- Untitled-Brandy-
- The Long Road To Eden-Eagles-
Speculated Album Releases
Summer
- Fergilicious—Fergie
- Score: 20th Anniversary Tour 2005/2006—Dream Theater— Live CD/DVD
Autumn
- It Can't Rain All the Time - Hilary Duff
- Absolute Garbage—Garbage
- Blue—Diana Ross
- Altar—Sunn O)))/Boris
- Disillusionment (Remaster of Reverence for the Lost and Nekromanteia)—Fields of Aplomb
- None of the Above-Amerie
- Beck
- TBD-Clay Aiken
- Trip The Light Fantastic - Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Winter
Unknown Date
Titled Albums
- Rotten Apple—Lloyd Banks
- Detox-Dr. Dre
- Sunday Love-Fefe Dobson
- The Rise and Fall of My Chemical Romance—My Chemical Romance
- W3: Faithful—W (Double You)
- Album Number 5—Silverchair
- Old Habits—Smash Mouth
- Origin Vol. 2—Soundtrack of our lives
- Libertad—Velvet Revolver
- Half|Life—Eric West
- Black Aria II—Danzig
- WHO2—The Who
- The Great Burrito Extortion Case—Bowling For Soup
- Upheld Against the Court System—Chevelle
- All Y'all—Travis Morrison and the Hellfighters
- Sins of the Past—Sinergy
- Welcome to the Drama Club—Everclear
- The Unquestionable Truth (Part 2)—Limp Bizkit
- Boxriff—The Atomic Bitchwax— EP
- Me Myself and I—David Bowie
- Subliminal Genocide—Xasthur
- The Outsider—DJ Shadow
- Counting—Lucie Silvas
- Ready to Fly—Angela Via
- Once Again-John Legend
- I Am Me (Re-release)-Ashlee Simpson
Untitled Albums
- 98 Degrees
- AC/DC
- Aliana Lohan
- Backstreet Boys
- Barenaked Ladies
- Blackfield
- Black Sabbath
- Blur
- Carly Simon
- Cassie
- Celine Dion
- Cher
- Dave Matthews Band
- Diana DeGarmo
- The Decemberists
- Dir en Grey
- Emma Bunton
- Europe
- Fall Out Boy
- Fountains of Wayne
- Garbage
- Glue Gun
- Green Day
- Gwen Stefani
- The Haunted
- Incubus
- Jay-Z
- Josh Hoge
- Kelly Clarkson
- Kimberley Locke
- Lauryn Hill
- Lindsay Lohan
- Megadeth
- Melanie C
- Metallica
- Michelle Williams
- The Misfits
- Monica
- Nicole Richie
- Nine Inch Nails
- Oasis
- The Offspring
- Puddle Of Mudd
- Paula Cole
- The Rapture
- R.E.M.
- Rachel Stevens
- Roger Waters
- Rush
- Savage Garden
- Simple Plan
- Sixpence None Than Richer
- Smashing Pumpkins
- Social Distortion (Greatest Hits album & studio album)
- Switchfoot
- Symphony X
- Vanessa Carlton
- Whitney Houston
- Willa Ford
Top 20 Best-Selling Albums of the Year Worldwide
(from January to July 15, 2006 Mediatraffic data [3])
- James Blunt - Back To Bedlam 5.251.000
- Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium 3.550.000
- Madonna - Confessions On A Dance Floor 3.303.000
- Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway 2.939.000
- Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Business 2.762.000
- Soundtrack - High School Musical 2.723.000
- Mary J.Blige - The Breakthrough 2.494.000
- Andrea Bocelli - Amore 2.481.000
- Eminem - Curtain Call (The Hits) 2.420.000
- Shakira - Oral Fixation Volume 2 2.147.000
- Rascal Flatts - Me And My Gang 2.138.000
- Jack Johnson - Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies For 'Curious George'2.092.000
- Pussycat Dolls - PCD 2.082.000
- Il Divo - Ancora 2.023.000
- Nickelback - All The Right Reasons 1.962.000
- Tool - 10,000 Days 1.852.000
- Dixie Chicks - Taking The Long Way 1.775.000
- Johnny Cash - The Legend Of Johnny Cash 1.703.000
- Kumi Koda - Best (Second Session) 1.536.000
- Arctic Monkeys - Whatever The People Say I Am... 1.531.000
Top 5 Best-Selling Albums released in 2006 (Worldwide)
(from January to July 15, 2006 Mediatraffic data [4])
- Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium 3.550.000
- Soundtrack - High School Musical 2.723.000
- Andrea Bocelli - Amore 2.481.000
- Rascal Flatts - Me And My Gang 2.138.000
- Jack Johnson - Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies For 'Curious George' 2.092.000
Top 10 first week selling Worldwide
- Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium 1.108.000
- Kumi Koda - Best (Second Session) 983.000
- Tool - 10,000 Days 756.000
- Rascal Flatts - Me And My Gang 733.000
- Ayumi Hamasaki - (Miss)understood 654.000
- Dixie Chicks - Taking The Long Way 583.000
- Kat-Tun - Best Of Kat-Tun 557.000
- T.I. - King Rap/R&B 526.000
- Hikaru Utada - Ultra Blue 500.000
- Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam 439.000
Top hits on record in the world
United States
Billboard Hot 100 #1 Hits
- "Don't Forget About Us" — Mariah Carey (1 week in 2005/1 week in 2006)
- "Laffy Taffy" — D4L (1 week)
- "Grillz" — Nelly featuring Paul Wall, Ali and Big Gipp (2 weeks)
- "Check on It" — Beyoncé Knowles featuring Slim Thug (5 weeks)
- "You're Beautiful" — James Blunt (1 week)
- "So Sick" — Ne-Yo (2 weeks)
- "Temperature" — Sean Paul (1 week)
- "Bad Day" — Daniel Powter (5 weeks)
- "SOS (Rescue Me)" — Rihanna (3 weeks)
- "Ridin'" — Chamillionaire featuring Krayzie Bone (2 weeks)
- "Hips Don't Lie" — Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean (2 weeks)
- "Do I Make You Proud" — Taylor Hicks (1 week)
- "Promiscuous" — Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland (3 weeks)
See also: Hot 100 number-one hits of 2006.
Billboard Hot 100 Hits - Singles which have ranked within Top 20
- "Ain't No Other Man" — Christina Aguilera (#6)
- "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" — KT Tunstall (#20)
- "Beep" — The Pussycat Dolls featuring will.i.am (#13)
- "Be Without You" — Mary J. Blige (#3)
- "Bossy" — Kelis (#19)
- "Breaking Free" — Zac Efron, Andrew Seeley and Vanessa Anne Hudgens (#4)
- "Buttons" — Pussycat Dolls featuring Snoop Dogg (#12)
- "Control Myself" — LL Cool J featuring Jennifer López (#4)
- "Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley (#2)
- "Dani California" — The Red Hot Chili Peppers (#6)
- "Do It To It" — Cherish (#16)
- "Everytime We Touch" — Cascada (#10)
- "Gimme That" — Chris Brown featuring Lil' Wayne (#15)
- "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" — Panic! At The Disco (#15)
- "It's Goin' Down" — Yung Joc (#3)
- "Jesus, Take The Wheel" — Carrie Underwood (#20)
- "Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It" — Dem Franchize Boyz (#7)
- "Let U Go" — Ashley Parker Angel (#12)
- "Life Is A Highway" — Rascal Flatts (#7)
- "Me & U" — Cassie (#3)
- "MakeDamnSure" - Taking Back Sunday (#14)
- "Move Along" — The All-American Rejects (#15)
- "Ms. New Booty" — Bubba Sparxxx featuring Ying Yang Twins & Mr. ColliPark (#7)
- "Over My Head (Cable Car)" — The Fray (#8)
- "Pump It" — Black Eyed Peas (#18)
- "Savin' Me" — Nickelback (#19)
- "Shake That" — Eminem (#6)
- "Shoulder Lean" — Young Dro featuring T.I. (#17)
- "Snap Yo Fingers" — Lil Jon featuring E-40 and Sean Paul of The YoungBloodZ (#7)
- "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" — Katharine McPhee (#12)
- "So What" — Field Mob featuring Ciara (#10)
- "Stars Are Blind" - Paris Hilton (#18)
- "Stupid Girls" — P!nk (#13)
- "Touch It" — Busta Rhymes (#16)
- "Unfaithful" — Rihanna (#6)
- "Unpredictable" — Jamie Foxx (#8)
- "Unwritten" — Natasha Bedingfield (#5)
- "Walk Away" — Kelly Clarkson (#12)
- "What Hurts The Most" — Rascal Flatts (#6)
- "What You Know" — T.I. (#3)
- "What's Left of Me" — Nick Lachey (#6)
- "Where'd You Go" — Fort Minor featuring Holly Brook (#4)
- "When You're Mad" — Ne-Yo (#15)
- "When I'm Gone" — Eminem (#8)
- "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" — Chris Brown (#7)
United Kingdom
The Official UK #1 Singles
- "That's My Goal" — Shayne Ward (4 weeks)
- "When the Sun Goes Down" — Arctic Monkeys (1 week)
- "Nasty Girl" — The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Diddy, Nelly, Jagged Edge & Avery Storm (2 weeks)
- "Thunder In My Heart Again" — Meck and Leo Sayer (2 weeks)
- "Sorry" — Madonna (1 week)
- "It's Chico Time" — Chico Slimani (2 weeks)
- "No Tomorrow" — Orson (1 week)
- "So Sick" — Ne-Yo (1 week)
- "Crazy" — Gnarls Barkley (9 weeks)
- "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker" — Sandi Thom (1 week)
- "Maneater" — Nelly Furtado (3 weeks)
- "Hips Don't Lie" — Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean (1 week)
- "Smile" — Lily Allen (2 weeks)
See also: List of number-one hits of 2006 (UK)
The Official UK Hit Singles - Singles which have ranked within Top 20
- "All Time Love" — Will Young (#3)
- "Beep" — The Pussycat Dolls featuring will.i.am (#2)
- "Better Do Better" — Hard-Fi (#14)
- "Boys Will Be Boys" — The Ordinary Boys (#3)
- "Check on It" — Beyoncé Knowles featuring Slim Thug (#3)
- "Control Myself" — LL Cool J featuring Jennifer López (#2)
- "Country Girl" — Primal Scream (#5)
- "Dani California" — The Red Hot Chili Peppers (#2)
- "Don't Bother" — Shakira (#9)
- "Faster Kill Pussycat" — Brittany Murphy featuring Paul Oakenfold (#7)
- "Fill My Little World" — The Feeling (#10)
- "From Paris to Berlin" — Infernal (#2)
- "Is It Any Wonder?" — Keane (#3)
- "Moodswings" — Charlotte Church (#14)
- "Nature's Law" — Embrace (#2)
- "Nine2Five" — The Ordinary Boys vs. Lady Sovereign (#6)
- "No Promises" — Shayne Ward (#2)
- "One" — Mary J. Blige featuring U2 (#2)
- "Pump It" — The Black Eyed Peas (#3)
- "Put Your Records On" — Corinne Bailey Rae (#2)
- "Run It!" — Chris Brown (#2)
- "Red Dress" — Sugababes (#4)
- "Somebody's Watching Me" — Beatfreakz (#3)
- "SOS (Rescue Me)" - Rihanna (#2)
- "Stupid Girls" — P!nk (#4)
- "Talk" — Coldplay (#10)
- "Teenage Life" — Daz Sampson (#8)
- "Temperature" — Sean Paul (#11)
- "The Fallen / L. Wells" — Franz Ferdinand (#14)
- "Touch the Sky" — Kanye West (#6)
- "When You Wasn't Famous" — The Streets (#8)
- "When I'm Gone" — Eminem (#4)
- "Who Knew" — P!nk (#5)
- "Who Says You Can't Go Home" — Bon Jovi (#5)
- "Whole Lotta History" — Girls Aloud (#6)
- "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" — Chris Brown (#13)
- "You Have Killed Me" — Morrissey (#3)
- "You Only Live Once" — The Strokes (#14)
- "You're All I Have" — Snow Patrol (#7)
Canada
Canadian BDS #1 Singles (Sales)
- "Every Day Is Exactly the Same" — Nine Inch Nails (2 weeks)
- "Promiscuous" — Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland (1 week)
Canadian BDS #1 Singles (Airplay)
- "Dani California" — The Red Hot Chili Peppers (3 weeks)
Canadian BDS Hit Singles - Singles which have ranked within Top 20 on Single Sales and Airplay charts
- "Crazy" — Gnarls Barkley (#2)
- "Flawed Design" — Stabilo (#5)
- "Hips Don't Lie" — Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean (#2)
- "Out Of My Head" — Mobile (#4)
- "SOS (Rescue Me)" — Rihanna (#2)
- "Savin' Me" — Nickelback (#6)
- "Something's Gotta Give" — LeAnn Rimes (#20)
- "Temperature" — Sean Paul (#2)
- "Unfaithful" — Rihanna (#7)
- "When The Stars Go Blue" — Tim McGraw (#19)
Australia
Australian ARIA #1 Singles
- "Wasabi/Eye of the Tiger" — Lee Harding (3 weeks)
- "Run It!" — Chris Brown (3 weeks)
- "When I'm Gone" — Eminem (1 week)
- "Love Generation" — Bob Sinclair (2 weeks)
- "Flaunt It" — TV Rock (5 weeks)
- "Forever Young" — Youth Group (2 weeks)
- "SOS" — Rihanna (8 weeks)
- "Hips Don't Lie" - Shakira feat. Wyclef Jean (5 weeks)
See also: List of number-one singles in Australia of 2006
Australian ARIA Hit Singles - Singles which have ranked within Top 20
- "Beep" — The Pussycat Dolls featuring will.i.am (#3)
- "Black Fingernails, Red Wine" — Eskimo Joe (#9)
- "Crazy" — Gnarls Barkley (#2)
- "Dani California" — Red Hot Chili Peppers (#8)
- "Faded" — Kate DeAraugo (#8)
- "Goodbye My Lover" — James Blunt (#3)
- "Grillz" — Nelly featuring Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp (#11)
- "L.O.V.E." — Ashlee Simpson (#5)
- "Nasty Girl" — The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Diddy, Nelly, Jagged Edge & Avery Storm (#15)
- "Now I Run" — Shannon Noll (#6)
- "Pump It" — Black Eyed Peas (#6)
- "Savin' Me" — Nickelback (#18)
- "So Sick" — Ne-Yo (#4)
- "Sorry" — Madonna (#4)
- "Stupid Girls" — P!nk (#4)
- "Temperature" — Sean Paul (#5)
- "This Time I Know It's for Real" — The Young Divas (#2)
- "Touch The Sky" — Kanye West (#10)
- "Together We Are One — Delta Goodrem (#2)
- "We Are the Champions (Ding a Dang Dong)" — Crazy Frog (#13)
- "When It All Falls Apart" — The Veronicas (#7)
- "Wisemen" — James Blunt (#11)
- "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" — Chris Brown (#10)
- "You Raise Me Up" — Westlife (#3)
- Steve Reich — Daniel Variations
- Robert Xavier Rodriguez — La Curandera; libretto by Mary Medrick (première by Opera Colorado on May)
- The Phantom of the Opera officially became the longest Broadway running musical ever on January 9, 2006, at 7486 performances surpassing the previous record holder, Cats, also written by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
- High School Musical, a Disney Channel Original Movie watched by 7.7 million viewers in its premiere broadcast on January 20.
- Neil Young: Heart of Gold, a film directed by Jonathan Demme, released on February 10.
- Bolletjes Blues, a Dutch film starring Negativ, released on March 23.
- Take the Lead, a film starring Antonio Banderas and Alfre Woodard, released on April 7.
- Happy Feet, a film with the voices of Nicole Kidman, Elijah Wood, Hugh Jackman, Brittany Murphy, Robin Williams and Anthony LaPaglia, it will be released in November 17.
Births
- May 26 — Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale's first son, Kingston James McGregor Rossdale.
Deaths
- January 1—Bryan Harvey, American singer-guitarist of House of Freaks, 46
- January 6
- Lou Rawls, American singer, 72
- Alex St. Claire, American drummer of Captain Beefheart, 64
- January 11—Markus Löffel, German disc jockey, 39
- January 19—Wilson Pickett, American singer, 64
- January 27—Gene McFadden, American singer-songwriter and producer, 56
- January 30—Thomas "Pig Champion" Roberts, guitarist of Poison Idea, 47
- February 2—Bill Cowsill, singer-gutarist of The Cowsills, 52
- February 3—Romano Mussolini, Italian jazz pianist, 78
- February 10—Jay Dee, hip hop producer, 32
- February 15-Anna Marly, French singer-songwriter, 88
- February 22—Anthony Burger, American gospel music pianist, 44 (collapsed during performance)
- March 7—Ali Farka Touré, Malian guitarist, 66
- March 10—Anna Moffo, operatic soprano, about 75
- March 13-Geoffrey Wilkes, bassist of The Orange Jam Conspiracy, 18
- March 23—Pío Leyva, Cuban musician, 88
- March 23—Cindy Walker, American country songwriter, 87
- March 25—Buck Owens, American country music star, 76
- April 5—Gene Pitney, American singer, 65
- April 11
- June Pointer, American singer of Pointer Sisters, 52
- Proof (DeShaun Holton), American rapper of D12, 32
- April 24
- Erik Bergman, Finnish composer, 94
- Bonnie Owens, country singer, 76
- April 28 - Ben-Zion Orgad, Israeli composer, 80
- May 1 - Big Hawk, American rapper, 36
- May 5 - Naushad, Bollywood composer, 86
- May 6 - Grant McLennan, co-frontman/guitarist/songwriter of Australian band The Go Betweens, 48
- May 10 - Soraya Colombian Latin Signer, 37
- May 10 - John Hicks, jazz pianist
- May 13 - Johnnie Wilder, lead singer of Heatwave, 56
- May 15 - Cheikha Rimitti, singer, 83
- May 19 - Freddie Garrity, lead singer of Freddie and the Dreamers, 69
- May 18 - Andy Capps, drummer of Built To Spill, 37
- May 23 - Ian Copeland, promoter, 57
- May 25 - Desmond Dekker, ska and reggae performer, 64
- June 2
- Johnny Grande, keyboardist for Bill Haley & His Comets, 76
- Vince Welnick, keyboardist for Grateful Dead, 55
- June 6
- Billy Preston, keyboardist, soul musician, 59
- Hilton Ruiz, jazz pianist, 54
- June 12 - György Ligeti, composer, 83
- June 20 - Claydes Charles Smith, lead guitarist for Kool and the Gang, 57.
- June 27 - Eileen Barton, American singer, 76
- July 3 - Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, mezzo-soprano, 52
- July 3 - Jack Smith, US singer, 92
- July 7 - Syd Barrett, founding-member of Pink Floyd, 60
- July 8 - June Allyson, US actress, singer and dancer, 88
- July 9 - Milan Williams, keyboardist for the The Commodores, 58
- July 13 - Ade Monsbourgh, Australian jazz musician, 89
Awards and Contests
- Grammy Awards of 2006
- Country Music Association Awards
- Eurovision Song Contest 2006
- Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006
- 2006 Brit Awards
- 2006 NME Awards