2024 in entertainment and pop culture: From Moo Deng and Taylor Swift to Oasis and Wicked
From breakups to new trends.
Two-month-old baby hippo Moo Deng plays with a zookeeper in the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand on Sep 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
I’ll get you, my pretty! And your little pygmy hippo, too! Forgive us the shameless attempt to link the fantasy hit Wicked to the delightful Moo Deng. But, hear us out – there’s something the two have in common as the year draws to a close. Escapism.
Whether we found it on the yellow brick road, or in videos from a Thailand zoo, or perhaps in unlikely Olympic heroes, we gravitated toward fantasy and feel-good pop culture moments this year.
There were new trends, as always. “Brat summer” became a thing, as did “demure, mindful.” And for some inexplicable reason, we became obsessed with celebrity lookalike contests.
There were breakups – Bennifer is, again, a thing of the past – and reunions: Oasis, please try to stay together for the tour. And some things stayed, remarkably, the same: Taylor Swift and Beyonce kept on breaking records and making history.
So, after a year where much changed but some things held steady, here’s our annual, very selective trip down pop culture memory lane:
JANUARY
It starts as a cheery tweet from a beloved Sesame Street figure: “Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?”
The answers hint at something deeper and more worrisome. “Not great, Elmo. Not great,” says one milder reply.
Doing much better is the viral phenomenon called “Barbenheimer,” which makes its awards season debut at the Golden Globes. But perhaps the most poignant moment comes from neither film: Lily Gladstone, the first Indigenous winner of best actress in a drama for Killers Of The Flower Moon, begins her remarks in the language of her tribe, Blackfeet Nation.
FEBRUARY
Valentine’s Day – a perfect time to settle into a sweet love saga via TikTok. Only that’s not quite what we get with “Who TF Did I Marry?,” Reesa Teesa’s depressing, fascinating, 50-part account of her disastrous marriage with a man who lied about absolutely everything.
Meanwhile, if you're looking for a single week that encapsulates peak Swift cultural dominance, try this: She begins with the Grammys in Los Angeles (becoming the first artiste to win album of the year four times and announcing a new album), then heads to Tokyo for four tour dates, then jets back just in time for the Super Bowl in Las Vegas – where she shares a passionate smooch with boyfriend Travis Kelce on the field of victory.
MARCH
“What was I made for?” Billie Eilish sings at the Oscars, channeling Barbie. And what was Ken made for? Not entirely clear – but it's clear Ryan Gosling was made to play him. His singalong version of I’m Just Ken is one of the most entertaining Oscar musical moments in years.
Still, Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer prevails, a rare case of the top prize going to a blockbuster studio film. Will it happen again in 2025? Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande sure hope so; as presenters, they make a sly reference to their upcoming juggernaut Wicked.
Speaking of marketing, people are obsessed with that bizarre Dune popcorn bucket. And Beyonce carves her space in country music with Act II: Cowboy Carter, which will make her the first Black woman to top the Billboard country chart.
APRIL
Tennis, anyone? The game’s been around for centuries, but it’s having a cultural moment right now, helped mightily by Challengers, the sweaty romance triangle starring Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor.
Elsewhere, a new era dawns: At midnight, Swift drops The Tortured Poets Department, then drops another 15 songs two hours later. The fascinating and disturbing Baby Reindeer, the story of a struggling comedian’s extended encounter with a stalker, debuts on Netflix.
MAY
It’s Met Gala time – or as it's known in 2024, another early marketing moment for Wicked. Erivo and Grande make fashion waves on the carpet and then musical ones at dinner, with a soulful performance of When You Believe.
If the Wicked tour is in full force, another one stops in its tracks: Jennifer Lopez cancels her summer tour amid reports of both poor ticket sales and trouble in her marriage to Ben Affleck. It’s been an eventful year for J.Lo, who's released an album and movie called This Is Me...Now – both reflections on her renewed love with Affleck.
JUNE
Welcome to Brat Summer! Charli XCX releases her hit Brat album, with its lime green cover, and launches a thousand memes. Collins Dictionary defines “brat,” its word of the year, as “characterised by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude.”
At the celeb-heavy Swift shows in London, we see Prince William shaking it off, which is either charming or cringe, you decide. Even better: Kelce dons a top hat and tux and performs for one night.
JULY
Bonjour, it’s Olympics time! In Paris! An audacious opening ceremony along the Seine is punctuated by a fabulous Celine Dion, perched on the Eiffel Tower, singing her heart out – in the rain, too. Controversy swirls over a scene critics feel mocks Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper (organisers say it does not).
Olympic stars are born – including French swimming superstar Leon Marchand, rugby player Ilona Maher, and bespectacled “pommel horse guy” gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, who nets two bronze medals and comparisons to Clark Kent. Also capturing hearts: yep, Moo Deng, born this month. Her name means “bouncy pork.”
AUGUST
This is them... now: Bennifer is no more. After two decades, two engagements, and two weddings, J Lo files for divorce.
One union dissolves, another returns: Oasis announces a reunion tour. Will they be “demure, mindful”? Everyone seems to want to get in on TikToker Jools Lebron's act – even the White House press team. Back at the Olympics, in the new sport of breaking, we meet Australia’s Raygun, arguably neither demure nor mindful with her “kangaroo” move.
SEPTEMBER
One of the year’s biggest breakout artistes, Chappell Roan, withdraws from a music festival after speaking out about frightening fan interactions.
Online fandom, meanwhile, is shaken when X is temporarily suspended in Brazil and celebrity stan accounts post tearful farewells, revealing to many across the globe that their favorite accounts are run by Brazilians.
OCTOBER
Dune Chalamets! Wonka Chalamets! Thousands gather in Manhattan for a Timothee Chalamet lookalike contest, and things really get interesting when Chalamet himself shows up. He doesn’t enter the contest, though, and with his mustache, he may not even have won. The trend continues with contests for Jeremy Allen White and Zayn Malik.
NOVEMBER
Maya Rudolph does a pretty good Kamala Harris laugh on Saturday Night Live, but you know who does it better? Harris herself. The Democratic candidate makes a surprise cameo three days before the US presidential election, following in the footsteps of Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin and others.
As for Moo Deng, our favorite pygmy hippo is generating plenty of merch. And that brings us back to….
DECEMBER
Wicked! Director Jon M Chu’s emerald-hued fantasy remains very very popular, to quote one of its buzzy show tunes, dancing through life and defying gravity at the multiplex. Moviegoers also come for Gladiator 2 and, in a veritable tidal wave, Disney's Moana 2, which beckons us back to the seas of Oceania.
Once again, 2024 seems to be telling us: Give people some whimsy, a place to escape, maybe some catchy tunes – and no one knows how far they’ll go.
