Curated playlist

Shorty Award winners

ColdplayColdplay's first release was 500 copies of a self-financed EP. The band later grossed a billion dollars on one tour.
Lady GagaLady Gaga's name may have come from a phone typo. Producer Rob Fusari said autocorrect turned "Radio Ga Ga" into "Lady".
Taylor SwiftEvery record label in Nashville turned Taylor Swift away when she was 11. She kept going and began writing songs.
Ian McKellenIan McKellen came out as gay on BBC radio in 1988, while Parliament weighed Section 28.
True BloodAlan Ball found True Blood's source novel by accident. He wandered into a bookstore before a dental appointment.
BlackpinkBlackpink became the first artist in the world to pass 100 million subscribers on YouTube, reaching that mark on the 20th of February 2026. The platform marked the occasion with a custom Red Diamond Creator Award. The group behind that…
Sesame StreetTest children lost interest in Sesame Street's human-only street scenes, so producers re-shot them with Muppets.
AdeleA friend posted Adele's three-song class demo on Myspace, and a record label phoned.
RihannaRobyn Rihanna Fenty, known worldwide as Rihanna, once waited in Jay-Z's office while lawyers finished drawing up a six-album contract with Def Jam Recordings. The music executive Antonio "L.A." Reid had told Jay-Z not to let the teenager…
Stephen CurryVirginia Tech offered Stephen Curry only a walk-on spot. He later became the NBA's all-time three-point leader.
Neil GaimanNeil Gaiman is the first author to win both the Carnegie Medal and the Newbery Medal for the same book.
Doctor WhoDoctor Who first aired 80 seconds late because Kennedy news ran long. The BBC show began on November 23, 1963.
InstagramInstagram grew out of a failed check-in app called Burbn. Its makers kept the photo feature users liked most.
Justin BieberScooter Braun found Justin Bieber by clicking a YouTube video by accident. He had been searching for a different singer.
BTSBTS debuted in 2013 from a small label outside K-pop's three dominant agencies. They practiced up to 15 hours a day.
One DirectionOne Direction began on the 23rd of July 2010, when five young singers who had each been knocked out of a talent show were put together as a group. Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson had all auditioned…
Rooster TeethRooster Teeth's founders did not expect Red vs. Blue to last past eight episodes. It ran for two decades of shows.
Serena WilliamsSerena Williams won the 2017 Australian Open while already pregnant. She did not yet know it.
ZendayaAt 24, Zendaya became the youngest person ever to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She took the prize at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards in 2020, for her work in the HBO series Euphoria. Zendaya…
Cardi BCardi B reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated the 25th of September 2017, with a song called "Bodak Yellow." No solo female rapper had topped that chart since Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)" in 1998. The woman behind…
Conan O'BrienConan O'Brien went from writing The Simpsons to hosting late night, and critics said he would fail.
Rick and MortyRick and Morty's first draft was written in six hours on an office floor. Harmon and Roiland wrote it cross-legged.
The NationThe Nation urged a vote for a Socialist in 1932, then backed Roosevelt three times.
Niall HoranNiall Horan was 16 years old when he stood in front of the judges of The X Factor in Dublin and sang Ne-Yo's "So Sick." The Irish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was born in Mullingar, Westmeath, on the 13th of September 1993.…
Chris PrattChris Pratt once lived in a van and a tent on a Maui beach. A restaurant shift there led to his first acting role.
Greta ThunbergGreta Thunberg, aged fifteen, sat alone outside Sweden's parliament in August 2018.
New Orleans SaintsThe New Orleans Saints went 20 straight seasons without a winning record. Fans wore paper bags over their heads.
Whole Foods MarketWhole Foods Market began in 1978 as a vegetarian shop called SaferWay, a spoof of the name Safeway, in Austin, Texas. John Mackey and Renee Lawson paid for it with $45,000 borrowed from family and friends. Soon afterward, the two were…
Simone BilesA day-care field trip first brought six-year-old Simone Biles into a gymnastics gym. She now has 11 Olympic medals.
Selena GomezIn 2016, Selena Gomez became the first person to reach 100 million followers on Instagram, a milestone Time later singled out in its Firsts series. Gomez is an American actress, singer, songwriter, businesswoman, and producer, born in…
Goddard Space Flight CenterGoddard Space Flight Center began with 157 employees transferred from a Navy missile program.
Neil deGrasse TysonNeil deGrasse Tyson was nine years old when he visited the sky theater of the Hayden Planetarium in New York. He grew up to be an American astrophysicist, author and science communicator, born on the 5th of October 1958. Looking back, he…
Billie Jean KingBillie Jean King beat 55-year-old Bobby Riggs in straight sets in 1973. He had claimed women's tennis was too weak.