1. In January, rock’s greatest purveyor of gloriously OTT rock anthems, Meat Loaf, sadly passed away. Who shared this memory of the man on Twitter: “He once turned me upside down in a Chinese restaurant in St John's Wood?”

   1. Boy George

   2. Cher

   3. Andrew Lloyd Webber

   4. Simon Cowell

2. The US poet and activist Amanda Gorman posted: “We love you – thank you for doing what is right even when it isn’t easy” under one of Adele’s Instagram posts. What had Adele done?

   1. Beaten Ed Sheeran to No 1 in the US

   2. Postponed her Las Vegas residency the day before it was due to start

   3. Cancelled the release of her new album, 33

   4. Increased sales of wine thanks to her single, I Drink Wine

3. Harry Styles’s album Harry’s House shares its name with a song by which recording artist?

   1. Joni Mitchell

   2. Mick Jagger

   3. Harry Connick Jr

   4. David Bowie

4. In April, UK girlband Little Mix played their final show at the O2 Arena ahead of a planned hiatus. What was the UK chart position of their final single, No?

   1. 11

   2. 1

   3. 35

   4. 8

5. Bob Dylan unveiled his largest-ever sculpture in May, stating that the seven-tonne artwork “represents perception and reality at the same time”. But what was it of?

   1. A railway freight carriage

   2. A wind turbine

   3. His pet dog

   4. Alicia Keys

6. At Glastonbury, which 00s popstar made a surprise appearance onstage with US sensation Olivia Rodrigo?

   1. Nelly Furtado

   2. Lily Allen

   3. Avril Lavigne

   4. Natasha Bedingfield

7. Who confirmed rumours of their band’s impending reunion onstage at a Guardian Live event in July?

   1. Cerys Matthews

   2. Ian Brown

   3. Jarvis Cocker

   4. Justine Frischmann

8. Upon its release in late July, Beyoncé’s Renaissance album featured 25 samples. However, after an online kerfuffle, one was removed from the track Energy – which song did it initially sample?

   1. I’m Too Sexy by Right Said Fred

   2. Umbrella by Rihanna

   3. Milkshake by Kelis

   4. Resentment by Victoria Beckham

9. In October, German pop sensation Kim Petras became the first openly trans artist to land a US No 1 single with Unholy. But who duetted on the song with her?

   1. Sam Smith

   2. Steve Lacy

   3. Drake

   4. Christina Aguilera

10. On what date did Mariah Carey, the queen of Christmas, claim to be the start of #MariahSZN?

    1. 1 November

    2. 24 November

    3. 1 December

    4. 24 December

Solutions

1:A - As well as this specific moment, Boy George’s full tweet also offered love and prayers to his family and friends., 2:B - On 20 January the Cold Shoulder hitmaker posted a tearful Instagram video postponing her Vegas residency after preparations were hit by delays. The shows eventually took place in November., 3:A - Joni Mitchell’s Harry’s House/Centerpiece track appeared on her 1975 album, The Hissing of Summer Lawns. In March, she retweeted Styles’s album announcement with the words “love the title”., 4:C - Despite being 10 different shades of amazing, No peaked at only 35. Yet another example of the UK being wrong in 2022., 5:A - Rail Car, which sits in a French vineyard, is of a railway freight carriage., 6:B - Lily Allen joined Rodrigo for an expletive-laden rendition of Allen’s 2009 single Fuck You., 7:C - During an interview with author and novelist Michael Bracewell in support of his new book, Good Pop, Bad Pop, Cocker confirmed Pulp would be reuniting (again) for shows in 2023., 8:C - On 2 August, Beyoncé removed an interpolation of Milkshake from Energy following criticism of its use by Kelis, who referred to it as “theft”., 9:A - Unholy features the dulcet tones of Sam Smith, who also became the first openly non-binary artist to reach the top of the US charts., 10:A - Mariah classes the day after Halloween, 1 November, as the true start of Mariah season, AKA Christmas.

Scores

1. 10 and above.

   Congratulations! You’ve gone multi-platinum, sold out two nights at the O2, and Elton John’s keen to collaborate.

2. 7 and above.

   Well done, you’re a new entry at No 5 on streaming alone with a chance of making it Top 3 if you go viral on TikTok.

3. 0 and above.

   Oh dear, the quiz equivalent of Pitbull turning down an offer to appear on your new flop single.

4. 4 and above.

   Not bad. In music terms, you’ve been invited to the Brit awards but the ticket’s for row Z in the nosebleeds. And you’re sat next to Olly Murs.