From Brat to Defying Gravity, these pop culture moments kept us chronically online all 2024
Brat summer took over, the Eras tour came to Canada and the Paris Olympics fed our feeds this year
2024 was packed with moments that ruled our feeds and kept us talking. Here's what you probably couldn't miss — even if you tried.
Let's get some honourable (and meme-worthy) mentions out of the way, shall we?
We started the year off with a check-in from everyone's favourite red Sesame Street resident, Elmo, asking, "How is everybody doing?" via X. Later in the year, the Biebers had a baby, but Bennifer is no longer. We also obsessed over the Challengers love triangle storyline. (Churro, anyone?)
Oasis announced a reunion tour after decades of public feud. Moo Deng, the pygmy hippo living in Thailand, climbed the internet fame ladder, and is continuing to steal hearts to this day.
Oh, and if you happen to be a celebrity doppelgänger, you were in luck this year. Lookalike competitions took over the internet, starting in New York, where hundreds of Timothée Chalamets gathered. Similar contests followed for Paul Mescal, Harry Styles, Jeremy Allen White and Zayn Malik. Most recently, Toronto's own Drake offered $10,000 to the winner of his own lookalike contest.
But we're only skimming the surface — moving on.
Barbenheimer got its flowers, Gladstone made history
Last year's double feature phenomenon dubbed "Barbenheimer" finally hit the award show stage this year.
At the 96th Academy Awards, Oppenheimer emerged as the clear winner, taking home seven golden statuettes, including Best Picture. While Barbie didn't perform as well in terms of awards, Canadian Ryan Gosling stole the show with a live rendition of I'm Just Ken, decked out from head to toe in pink. He was surrounded by an army of Kens and accompanied by none other than Slash on guitar. It was the ultimate display of being Kenough.
And at the Golden Globes, Lily Gladstone made history as the first Indigenous woman to win Best Actress in a Drama for her role as Molly Kyle in Killers of the Flower Moon. Her acceptance speech also made headlines, with part of it delivered in the Blackfoot language.
Brat summer and being very demure, very mindful
2024 was the year of expanding our vocabulary, beginning with brat summer, the fad that took over that season.
The title of British pop singer Charli XCX's hugely successful sixth studio album, released in June, "brat" became associated with a slime-green esthetic and a carefree confidence.
"Brat" was even dubbed Collins Dictionary's word of the year, newly defined as being "characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude."
The album tied for the second most nominated project at the 2025 Grammy Awards, scoring seven — the star's first nods as a solo artist.
Another term that took on a totally new meaning mere months ago? "Demure." Popularized by TikTok user Jools Lebron after posting a video that now has over 50 million views, the term became synonymous with being cutesy, mindful and very … well, demure.
The Eras tour raged on and pop girls took over the charts
Speaking of pop, the girls took over in 2024. Once-nonsensical phrases like "pink pony club" and "that's that me espresso" soon became unforgettable, highlighting the impact of this year's chart-topping singers.
Chappell Roan emerged as a breakout star, drawing in what may have been Lollapalooza's biggest crowd to date, according to a festival spokesperson. Sabrina Carpenter also rose to mega-stardom, with her caffeine-filled hit Espresso becoming Spotify's No. 1 song in the U.S. and globally, and No. 4 in Canada.
And then there was Taylor Swift, whose Eras Tour raged on, stunning millions with its three-hour set lists. The show broke records, becoming the most commercially successful tour of all time, finishing off right here in Canada.
The Paris Olympics
We can't talk about 2024 without mentioning the Paris Olympics. From the Norwegian swimmer affectionately nicknamed "Muffin Man" to Australian breaker Raygun's viral performance, this year's games weren't just for sports fans. The celebrities were out, and the memes kept rolling in.
In past years, the Olympics' intellectual property was closely guarded, and there were strict rules on what athletes could post. The games were more relaxed this year, and paired with the rise of TikTok, the Paris Olympics went viral.
Oh, and Céline Dion made her first public performance since 2020, singing from the balcony of the Eiffel Tower after stepping away from the spotlight to focus on her health. Need we say more?
Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake
While the flame has fizzled for now, we talked a lot about the beef between rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar this year.
The feud intensified when the song Like That by Future, Lamar and Metro Boomin dropped, targeting Drake and J. Cole. The Canadian rapper responded with Push Ups and Taylor Made Freestyle.
Other tracks followed, but the conflict peaked with Lamar's Not Like Us, which topped the charts for the summer. Drake later filed legal action against Universal Music Group and Spotify, alleging they inflated the song's streams, and in a separate proceeding, that the record label defamed him by allowing Lamar's song to be released. UMG has denied the allegations and as of now, the dispute is ongoing.
Holding space for Defying Gravity
This year, we were also gifted Wicked, a film that, alongside Gladiator II and Moana 2, helped break Thanksgiving box office records, with U.S. revenue hitting a high of $425 million US, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
And while the film definitely entertained, its press tour was the gift that kept on giving.
Clips from interviews with co-leads Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo went viral many times, but one moment in particular took the cake.
Journalist Tracy E. Gilchrist told Erivo, "People are taking the lyrics of Defying Gravity and really holding space with that, and feeling power in that."
What does that mean? No one really knew, including the three people involved. But the exchange sparked jokes and a conversation that resonated long after the credits rolled.
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