24 Pop Culture Moments that defined 2024!
Vol. 1 Issue 40 – 28th December 2024
At the beginning of this year, PHE (pre Hyperlinked era), the infamous Willy Wonka experience took place in Glasgow. Advertised with fake AI images, the reality was a lacklustre and disorganised event, if you can call it that, but the most memorable image from this was the saddest-looking bartender dressed as an Oompa Loompa.
Soon after, still PHE, internet sleuths noticed an eerie prolonged and unexplained absence of the Princess of Wales. Many theories arose, including recovery from a BBL surgery and Prince William cheating on her with Rose Hanbury (you know, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley). The palace then released a Mother’s Day photograph, which was dissected to shreds for being photoshopped leading to even more questions. Kate Middleton confessed to her amateur editing skills and later revealed her cancer diagnosis…
This was also the year of some beloved emotional support animals, namely Moo Deng, the Thai Pygmy Hippo and Pesto the baby Penguin from Australia.
People also banded together and showed that strength truly lies in community, by organising huge public gatherings for celebrity lookalike contests. But credit where it’s due, it all started with the Timothee Chalamet one, organised by Youtuber Anthony Po.
It was a great year if you were a fan of the greats of the music scene. Beyoncé released Cowboy Carter while Taylor Swift released not just The Tortured Poets Department but also TTPD: The Anthology, validating all double-album truthers. She also continued and finally concluded The Eras Tour.
Speaking of TTPD, for the song The Alchemy and its lyric- “where’s the trophy, he just comes running over to me” Taylor took inspiration from her celebrations with Travis Kelce as his team, the Chiefs, won the Super Bowl for a third time (+Taylor won her 4th Album of the Year Grammy just days prior). The world watched them in awe and also monitored Swift’s travels like a hawk, wondering if she would make it to Vegas in time for the game, after her concert in Japan.
Other sports the internet was obsessed with were breakdancing, shooting, floor gymnastics, and pole vault amongst others. Thanks to the Olympic Games held in Paris. From Raygun’s questionable moves and lovesick couples to delectable chocolate muffins and mafia-esque shooters, it was two weeks of pure entertainment. Read more about it in Issue 19 & Issue 20 of Hyperlinked.
2024 was also very demure, very mindful.
What was decidedly NOT demure, nor mindful was the press cycle of the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s book It Ends With Us. Blake Lively and the rest of the cast were feuding with co-star/director Justin Baldoni, giving the internet unlimited speculation fodder over what happened. We are only now getting some insight into what may have transpired on set. Baldoni seemed to have hired a PR crisis team to run a smear campaign against Lively to subvert the harassment allegations against him. Read more about this in Issue 20 of Hyperlinked.
On the topic of feuds, we also saw Nicki Minaj vs. Megan Thee Stallion, and Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake.
But on the opposite side of the spectrum, a press cycle that was maybe a tad TOO enthusiastic with co-stars who shared a bond unlike any we’ve seen, was Wicked: Part 1, featuring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. I’m afraid holding space for the lyrics of Defying Gravity is a meme as quotable as it gets.
But green was having a moment long before Elphaba took center stage. After all, it was a BRAT summer. Charli xcx’s album aesthetic ruled the season, be it the apple dance or the fashion inspo.
This year also saw the release of movies that left an indelible mark on pop culture. The flop that was Madame Web, Challengers shedding a new light on churros (and any time you notice two guys and a girl), the coolest vape hit and popes being divas in The Conclave, Hugh Jackman’s abs in Deadpool and Wolverine, the entire premise of The Substance. Ugh I could go on and on, truly a great year for cinephiles with Letterboxd accounts.
Illustration by Kyle Hilton for Entertainment Weekly Pop culture is incomplete without pop music. And who better to herald it this year than the ultimate pop girlie Sabrina Carpenter. Starting with different localised outros for her song Nonsense, followed by that’s that me espresso, innuendos galore and her freaky Juno positions on The Short n’ Sweet Tour (the final one of the year being at her NPR Tiny Desk concert, see below). She also inspired the viral Domingo sketch on Saturday Night Live.
And going head to head with Ms Carpenter, was your favourite artist’s favourite artist, Chappell Roan. The rise of the Midwest princess was highlighted by showstopping performances at Coachella and SNL, plus tackling fame and paparazzi with healthy boundaries.
The Rom-Com genre made a roaring comeback with One Day, The Idea of You, Nobody Wants This (also marking the comeback of Adam Brody, aka Hot Rabbi), and We Live In Time (punctuated by that™️ horse in the promo images).
And if romcoms are trending, then there are bound to be a few heartthrobs around. Glen Powell’s meteoric success continued with the releases of Hit Man and Twisters, proving he has undeniable chemistry with all his co-stars. Similarly for Jonathan Bailey, the Viscount Bridgerton is just as alluring playing Fiyero in Wicked. Read my opinion piece on the “overnight success” of Glen Powell, Chappell Roan & Sabrina Carpenter.
In a similar vein, Luigi Mangione, the killer of hearts. Okay, I shouldn’t joke about that.
Another attack no one saw coming (okay I reallyyy shouldn’t joke about that), Marvel announced at Comic-Con the return of Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom in the next Avengers movie, to mixed reactions. Here’s what I thought about it.
Tradwives, specifically the controversial Ballerina Farm, and Nara Smith were huge topics of online discourse this year. Love ’em or hate ’em, you still watch their content. The slow, methodical and soft-spoken videos are enrapturing, even when they teeter on the absurd. And if you make fun of the back of Nara Smith’s haircut, she’s just gonna post a video about making a hair growth potion from scratch. She’s winning either way. Read more about my take on the tradwife subculture in Issue 18 of Hyperlinked.
The Chill guy meme popped out of nowhere and nonchalantly dominated our feeds, like the chill guy he is.
Choose your fighter- The Four Seasons Orlando baby raising her finger to say “Meee!” Or the queen never cry baby.
The iconic delivery of “did you just fall out of a coconut tree?”. Kamala Harris was the internet’s favourite fun aunty.
Finally, a moment for all the viral audios that trended on short-form video-sharing platforms.
🎶Looking for a man in finance, is somebody gonna match my freak, send it to me Rachel, I like my sootcase, I just wanna be part of your symphonyyy🎶 and so many more.
Special mentions
The Roblox game, Dress To Impress.
The Saddam Hussein hiding spot meme.
Justin Timberlake uttering “this is going to ruin the tour”.
The Dune popcorn bucket. And all the other unhinged ones that followed suit.
Ozempic.
Feel so proud that I know each one of these moments and have followed them through our fav Hyperlinked 🫶🏻 Thankyou for all the timely updates and an amazing news filled 2024 🙂↕️