This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.
Jon Peter Lewis is an American singer and songwriter, and was one of the finalists on the third season of the reality/talent-search television series American Idol. He was frequently referred to by the judges and Ryan Seacrest as JPL.
Alannah Myles is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has won both a Grammy and a Juno Award for the song "Black Velvet". The song was a top-ten hit in Canada; it was also a number one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1990.
David Sneddon is a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician and music producer of contemporary pop music. He began his career performing on stage and television, singing lead roles in stage musicals in Glasgow. In 2002, he won the first series of BBC One music competition Fame Academy. He released his first single "Stop Living the Lie" in 2003 which was a UK number one hit single selling over 250,000 copies, making it Britain's twelfth-highest selling single of 2003. Sneddon's debut album Seven Years – Ten Weeks was released in April 2003 and reached number 5 in the UK Albums Chart. He achieved three more UK Singles Chart singles – "Don't Let Go", "Best of Order", and "Baby Get Higher". His song "Baby Get Higher" was a hit on the dance floor for Almighty Records and a chart hit for VanVelzen in 2006, and also for Emin Agalarov.
Rai Thistlethwayte is an Australian rock, pop and jazz musician and songwriter. Thistlethwayte is an accomplished pianist, guitarist, and vocalist. He is the lead singer and primary songwriter in the Australian pop rock band Thirsty Merc. From 2004, Thirsty Merc released a string of hits in the Australian charts including "In the Summertime", "Someday, Someday", "20 Good Reasons", "Emancipate Myself", "My Completeness", "When the Weather Is Fine" and "Mousetrap Heart". He is currently based in Los Angeles. As a solo artist, Thistlethwayte performs under the name 'Sun Rai'.
David Hodges is an American songwriter and record producer from Little Rock, Arkansas. He was a studio contributor to the rock band Evanescence from 2000 to 2002, and has co-written and co-produced for pop, pop rock and country artists, including Kelly Clarkson, Celine Dion, Daughtry, Backstreet Boys, Avril Lavigne, David Archuleta, Christina Aguilera, Carrie Underwood, Jessie James, 5 Seconds of Summer, Christina Perri, and Tim McGraw.
Megan Slankard is an American musician and singer-songwriter.
Jordan Zevon is an American singer, musician and songwriter. He is the son of rock musician Warren Zevon.
Sheer Sound is a South African independent record label formed in 1994 by Damon Forbes.
Benjy Davis Project was formed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 2001 as a simple folk-rock duo, but quickly grew into a popular regional band. Eventually expanding into a six-piece group, the Benjy Davis Project has recorded four albums and two EPs. They have played across the country as headliners and support act on shows with John Mayer, Better Than Ezra, Sister Hazel, North Mississippi All-Stars and others, as well as events like the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. In 2009 and 2010, the band performed at Hotel Carolina, an annual two-day singer-songwriter festival held in South Carolina.
Diane Birch is an American singer-songwriter.
Jim Neversink is a South African musician, singer and songwriter. His musical style spans indie rock, country, americana and punk.
Christopher Robert Volpe was an American songwriter and folk musician. Starting in 2006, he won more than twenty international songwriting awards including an Independent Music Award for Best Folk Album.
Farryl Purkiss is a South African-born singer-songwriter. Farryl first picked up the guitar when he was fifteen years old and began writing songs shortly after his sixteenth birthday. He self-released an EP in 2005 that created waves in his home town of Durban, and later that year he began talks with 2Feet Music. He was signed to 2Feet Music soon after and started performing heavily outside of South Africa, leading up to the release of his full-length debut album, released in South Africa in 2007, to high acclaim, chart success and award nominations. He has toured with international artists Jack Johnson, Donavon Frankenreiter and has also shared the stage with South African acts such as Nibs Van Der Spuy, Guy Buttery, Jean Morrison and Perez. He has since spent most of his time touring the world.
Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike, professionally known by his stage name MNEK, is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He has been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit Award, and has received the ASCAP Vanguard Award. His writing and production credits include H.E.R., Jax Jones, Zara Larsson, Little Mix, Dua Lipa, FLO, Sugababes, Clean Bandit, Julia Michaels, Craig David, Christina Aguilera, Becky Hill, Selena Gomez, Years & Years, Kylie Minogue, Beyoncé, Hailee Steinfeld, Madonna, KSI, Mabel and Twice.
Joel Little is a New Zealand record producer, musician and Grammy Award-winning songwriter. He is best known for his work as a writer and producer with artists Lorde, Taylor Swift, Broods, Sam Smith, Imagine Dragons, Ellie Goulding, Khalid, Elliphant, Jarryd James, Shawn Mendes, Marina Diamandis, Amy Shark, Goodnight Nurse, Noah Kahan, Years & Years, the Jonas Brothers, and Niall Horan.
Guy Buttery is a South African musician primarily known as a guitar player.
Dylan Guthro is a Canadian singer/songwriter based in Nashville. The son of musician Bruce Guthro, Dylan released his debut album, All That's True, in 2012. In 2015, Guthro teamed up with fellow Halifax singer-songwriters Carleton Stone and Breagh Mackinnon to form the band Port Cities.
Lwandile Nkanyuza, known professionally as ByLwansta, is a South African rapper, record producer, art director and graphic designer.
Charlotte Cardin is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has been nominated for 14 Juno Awards. In 2022, she received four awards for Artist of the Year, Single of the Year for her song "Meaningless", Pop Album of the Year and Album of the Year for her 2021 debut album Phoenix. Her second album, 99 Nights, was released in 2023.
