• May 6 – A government official announced that the Malaysian cabinet will commission musicians to speed up the tempo of the country's national anthem in an effort to make it more dynamic.^[16]
• May 10 – Hugh Whitaker, former drummer of The Housemartins, is sentenced to six years in jail for attacking an ex–business partner with an axe.^[17]
• May 27 – June 6 – The second Brisbane Biennial International Music Festival is held.^[18]
• May 31 – Oasis plays at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow, UK supporting 18 Wheeler. Creation Records boss Alan McGee, who is in the audience, offers them their first recording contract after the show.
• June 4 – Kurt Cobain is taken to jail after a domestic row with wife Courtney Love. No charges are filed.
• June 5 – Mariah Carey weds music executive Tommy Mottola in Manhattan.
• June 7 On his 35th birthday, Prince announces that he is changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol. This led to him being called The Artist Formerly Known as Prince until 2000.^[19] The groundbreaking ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is held in Cleveland with Pete Townshend, Chuck Berry and Billy Joel among those in attendance. The museum will open in 1995.

• July 7 – Singer Mia Zapata of punk band The Gits is found dead after being beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled in the Capitol Hill district of Seattle. Her murder goes unsolved for a decade until DNA evidence leads to an arrest and conviction.
• July 17 – Guns N' Roses play the final gig on their Use Your Illusion Tour. This will be the last time the original band plays together on stage until 2016.
• July 18 – At a Lollapalooza concert in Philadelphia, Rage Against the Machine uses their entire 14-minute performance time to protest their single "Killing in the Name" being banned from radio. With only guitar feedback for sound, the group appears on stage naked with the letters "PMRC" painted on their chests and electrical duct tape over their mouths.
• July 21 – Ilaiyaraaja becomes the first Asian composer to have a symphony performed by a major UK orchestra (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra).
• August 3 – Aharon Gorev's Klezmer Symphony, the first of its kind, is featured on the opening concert of the sixth annual International Klezmer Festival in Safed, Israel.^[20]
• August 5 – Singer Natalie Merchant announces on MTV that she is leaving 10,000 Maniacs after 12 years in the band.
• August 10 – Mayhem guitarist Euronymous is stabbed to death by fellow band member Varg Vikernes in Oslo, Norway, causing the temporary end of Mayhem.
• August 24 – News breaks to the public that Michael Jackson is being investigated on allegations of child molestation.
• August 28 – Bruce Dickinson plays his final show with Iron Maiden (until his return in 1999) in London. The show is broadcast on British television, and later released on VHS and DVD.

• September 2 – Snoop Dogg and his bodyguard are charged with the August 25 murder of a 20-year-old gang member in a drive-by shooting. They are cleared of the charges in 1996.
• September 14 – A civil lawsuit is filed against Michael Jackson by thirteen-year-old Jordan Chandler and his parents, accusing the singer of sexually abusing the boy over the course of their friendship.
• September 20 – Depeche Mode becomes among the earliest bands to go on the Internet to interact with fans, as the group holds a question-and-answer session on AOL. The event is marred by technical difficulties as many participants, including the band members themselves, have trouble logging on to the chat.
• September 25 – Madonna starts The Girlie Show World Tour in London, England. And visit some countries for the very first time like Brazil, Argentina, Israel, Turkey, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Australia.
• September 30 – October 2 – The Abu Ghosh Vocal Music Festival is held, featuring music of Jewish, Christian, and Moslem cultural traditions, and a performance of Handel's Messiah by the Ave Sol Choir from Riga and the Rehovot Camerata Orchestra directed by Avner Biron.^[21]
• October 1 – MTV Latin America is launched.
• October 1–3 – Annual Australian Bush Music Festival takes place in Glen Innes.^[22]
• October 17 – Savatage guitarist and co-founder Christopher Michael "Criss" Oliva killed in a car accident by a seven-time drunk driver.
• October 31 – Tupac Shakur is arrested and charged with shooting two off-duty police officers in Atlanta. The charges are later dropped.

• November 6–7 – The second annual Tooheys Sydney Country Music Festival, is held at Clarendon (Hawkesbury) Racecourse, in Sydney.^[23]
• November 11 – Michael Jackson ends his Dangerous World Tour in Mexico City, Mexico.
• November 12 – Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, responding to an announcement by the Arts Council that they would fund only two of London's four orchestras starting in 1994, confirms he plans to hand back his knighthood and consider leaving the country if this support were to be withdrawn.^[24]
• November 18 – Nirvana play their unplugged concert in New York for MTV.
• November 19 – Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder is arrested in New Orleans, USA on charges of public drunkenness after a bar room brawl.
• November 19 – Madonna ends her tour in Tokyo, Japan.
• November 30 – A new opera house opens in Töölö, Helsinki, Finland.
• December 22 – Michael Jackson makes his first public statement regarding the child molestation allegations leveled against him. In a videotaped address, Jackson calls the accusations "totally false" and asks the public to "wait to hear the truth before you label or condemn me."
• December 31 – The 22nd annual New Year's Rockin' Eve special airs on ABC, with appearances by Brooks & Dunn, Daryl Hall, Kiss, Joey Lawrence, SWV, and Barry Manilow.

• Anders Fridén quits Dark Tranquillity from his lead vocalist position. Then guitarist/vocalist, Mikael Stanne fills in Fridén's position while abandoning his guitarist position. The band hires Fredrik Johansson to fill the vacant guitar position.
• Rick Astley retires from the music industry at the age of 27 after selling 40 million records in a five-year period.^[25]
• Jesper Strömblad leaves Ceremonial Oath while Anders Fridén joins the band.
• New Order break up whilst on the tour for their album Republic, and apparently do not speak to each other for another 5 years.
• Christian rock label Tooth & Nail Records is formed.
• Keiko Abe becomes the first woman to be inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame.^[26]

Bands formed

• See Musical groups established in 1993

Bands disbanded

• See Musical groups disestablished in 1993

Bands reformed

• Big Star
• Luv'
• Steely Dan
• The Seekers

Albums released

Biggest hit singles

The following songs achieved the highest chart positions ^[39] in the charts of 1993.

Top hits

Top 10 selling albums of the year

Top 10 best albums of the Year

All albums have been named albums of the year for their hits in the charts.^[31]

Classical music

Opera

Jazz

Musical theater

Musical films

Births

• January 2 – Bryson Tiller, American singer-songwriter
• January 12 – Zayn Malik, British singer of the band (One Direction)
• January 13 – Sachika Misawa, Japanese voice actress and singer
• January 30 -Cautious Clay, American singer-songwriter and record producer
• February 6 – Tinashe, American singer-songwriter, dancer, performer and actress (The Stunners)
• February 19 – Victoria Justice, American singer-songwriter and actress
• March 4 – Bobbi Kristina Brown, American singer (d. 2015)
• March 9 – Suga, South Korean rapper, songwriter, record producer, and member of BTS
• March 15 – Alyssa Reid, Canadian singer-songwriter
• March 30 – Anitta (singer), Brazilian singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and record producer.
• April 14 Graham Phillips, actor and singer Ellington Ratliff, drummer and actor
• April 16 – Chance the Rapper, independent American Christian rapper
• April 18 – Nathan Sykes, English singer, songwriter and record producer, former member of The Wanted
• April 25 – Shiloh, Canadian singer
• May 1 – Victoria Monet, American singer-songwriter and musician
• May 6 – Naomi Scott, English actress and singer
• May 11 – James Reid, Filipino singer-actor
• May 13 – Debby Ryan. American singer and actress
• May 14 – Miranda Cosgrove, American singer and actress
• May 17 – GoldLink, American rapper
• May 18 – Kyle (musician), American rapper, singer and songwriter
• June 6 Vic Mensa, American rapper (Kids These Days) Tom Swoon, Polish DJ and producer
• June 7 – George Ezra, English singer-songwriter and musician
• June 25 – Piero Vergara, Filipino singer-songwriter and actor
• June 26 – Ariana Grande, American singer-songwriter, actress, performer, musician and advocate
• June 27 – Rejjie Snow, an Irish hip hop recording artist and record producer
• July 3 – Vince Staples, American rapper and actor (Billie Eilish)
• July 5 – Hollie Cavanagh, English-American singer
• July 6 – Melissa Steel, British singer
• July 7 Capital Steez, American rapper (Pro Era) (d. 2012) Ally Brooke, American singer, dancer and songwriter, member of Fifth Harmony
• July 10 – Perrie Edwards, English singer-songwriter, dancer and member of Little Mix
• July 17 – Kali Uchis, Colombian-American singer, songwriter, poet, record producer, music video director, and fashion designer
• July 18 Lee Taemin, Korean singer (SHINee) Casey Veggies, American rapper and songwriter
• July 28 – Cher Lloyd, British rapper, singer songwriter
• July 26 Taylor Momsen, American rock singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, former actress and model (The Pretty Reckless) Stormzy, English grime and hip hop artist
• July 28 – La'Porsha Renae, American singer-songwriter and Americal Idol alumni
• August 6 – Yaeji, Korean-American multilingual musician and music producer
• August 11 – Alyson Stoner, American dancer, singer, actor, youtuber and model
• August 23 – Keke Palmer, American actress, singer, songwriter and presenter
• August 29 – Liam Payne, British singer of the band One Direction
• September 1 – Megan Nicole, American singer-songwriter and youtuber
• September 7 – Mohamed Ali, Danish singer
• September 13 Niall Horan, Irish singer, songwriter and musician (One Direction) Alice Merton, German-Canadian-English singer and songwriter
• September 16 – Tayla Parx, American RNB songwriter and producer
• September 24 Ben Platt (actor), American singer, and actor Alina Baraz, American RNB soul singer-songwriter
• September 25 – Rosalía (singer), Spanish singer and songwriter
• October 4 – Mina, German singer
• October 13 – Tiffany Trump, American Georgetown Law student, singer and socialite
• October 25 – Grandson (musician), Canadian-American singer-songwriter and musician
• November 13 – Julia Michaels, American singer and songwriter
• November 24 – Ivi Adamou, Greek Cypriot singer
• November 26 – Erena Ono, Japanese singer
• November 27 – Aubrey Peeples, American actress and singer
• December 7 – Jasmine Villegas, American singer
• December 10 – Rachel Trachtenburg, American singer and actress (Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players and Supercute!)
• December 22 Ali Lohan, American actress, model and singer Meghan Trainor, American singer-songwriter, musician and producer
• December 29 – Chloe Kohanski, American singer-songwriter, 2017 American The Voice winner
• December 30 – Krishane, Jamaican pop artist (Tinie Tempah, Jess Glynne)

Deaths

• January 6 Dizzy Gillespie, jazz trumpet virtuoso and co-founder of bebop, 76 Rudolf Nureyev, ballet dancer, 54
• January 13 – Gordon Tobing, Indonesian folk singer, 67
• January 15 – Sammy Cahn, songwriter, 79
• February 3 – Karel Goeyvaerts, composer, 69
• February 25 – Toy Caldwell, guitarist (The Marshall Tucker Band), 45
• February 26 – Pina Carmirelli, violinist, founder member of the Boccherini Quintet, 78
• March 3 – Carlos Montoya, guitarist, 89
• March 31 – Mitchell Parish, 92, US lyric writer
• April 19 – Steve Douglas, saxophonist, 54
• April 23 – Daniel Jones, composer, 80
• April 30 – Mick Ronson, guitarist, 46 (liver cancer)
• May 22 – Juice Wilson, jazz violinist, 89
• May 30 – Sun Ra, jazz composer, 79
• June 5 – Conway Twitty (real name: Harold Jenkins) country rock singer, 59
• June 9 – Arthur Alexander, country soul singer, 53
• June 10 – Arleen Auger, American operatic soprano, 53 (brain tumor)
• June 13 – John Campbell, blues guitarist, 41 (heart failure)
• June 28 – GG Allin, punk singer, 36 (heroin overdose)
• July 7 – Mia Zapata (The Gits), 27 (murdered)
• July 14 – Léo Ferré, French singer, songwriter and composer, 76
• July 19 – Szymon Goldberg, Polish-born American violinist and conductor, 84
• July 21 – Richard Tee, pianist and singer, 49 (prostate cancer)
• August 5 – Eugen Suchoň, Slovak composer, 84
• August 7 – Roy Budd, jazz pianist and film composer, 46 (brain haemorrhage)
• August 10 – Øystein Aarseth, aka Euronymous, black metal guitarist of Mayhem fame, 25 (murdered)
• August 17 – Phil Seymour, drummer, guitarist and singer, 41 (cancer)
• August 21 – Tatiana Troyanos, operatic mezzo-soprano, 54 (breast cancer)
• August 25 – Janna Allen, songwriter, 36 (leukemia)
• August 26 – Rockin' Dopsie, zydeco accordionist and singer, 61
• September 9 – Helen O'Connell, singer, actress and dancer, 73
• September 22 – Maurice Abravanel, conductor, 90
• September 24 – Ian Stuart Donaldson, musician, frontman of Skrewdriver, 36 (car crash)
• October 23 – Elena Nicolai, opera singer, 88
• October 31 – River Phoenix, actor and singer of Aleka's Attic, 23 (drug overdose)
• November 3 – Léon Theremin, inventor of the Theremin musical instrument, 97
• November 6 – Torsten Fenslau, (Culture Beat), 29 (car accident)
• November 7 – Adelaide Hall, jazz singer, actress, entertainer, 92
• November 11 – Erskine Hawkins, trumpet player and bandleader, 79
• November 16 – Lucia Popp, Slovak operatic soprano, 54 (brain cancer)
• November 18 – Arvid Fladmoe, Norwegian composer and conductor, 78
• November 20 – Sidney Griller, violinist and founder of the Griller Quartet, 82
• November 22 – Anthony Burgess, composer and polymath best known as a novelist, 76
• November 24 – Albert Collins, blues guitarist and singer, 61 (cancer)
• November 26 – César Guerra-Peixe, violinist and composer, 79
• November 30 – David Houston, singer, 57 (brain aneurysm)
• December 1 – Ray Gillen, former vocalist of Black Sabbath and Badlands, 34 (AIDS-related)
• December 4 – Frank Zappa, "Mothers of Invention" musician/composer, 52 (prostate cancer)
• December 5 – Doug Hopkins, guitarist and songwriter for Gin Blossoms, 32 (suicide)
• December 12 – Joan Cross, operatic soprano, 93
• December 19 – Michael Clarke, drummer (The Byrds), 47

Awards

• Kumar Sanu – Filmfare Best Male Playback Award
• Alka Yagnik & Ila Arun win the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award

• 1993 Grammy Awards

• 1993 CMA Awards

• Willie Nelson

• Eurovision Song Contest 1993

• 35th Japan Record Awards

• Suede – Suede wins.

• Oscar Peterson (laureate), Benny Green (protégé)

• The Doors, Cream, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Sly and the Family Stone, Etta James, Van Morrison, Ruth Brown and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers

Charts

See also

• 1993 in British music
• Record labels established in 1993

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