2021’s Top Ten Moments in Pop Culture
From music to politics, celebrities kept us captivated all year long.
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- Sour and The Rise of Olivia Rodrigo
Debuting no.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and 1.1 billion streams in 2021; Olivia Rodrigo rose to stardom in 2021 with her song “Driver’s License” and debut album Sour.
- Squid Games
Released on September 17, 2021 Squid Game became a global phenomenon. With the spread of the Red Light, Green Light trend and celebrities dressing up as characters for Halloween; Squid Games gained popularity in social media.
- (Taylor’s Version)
This year Taylor Swift re-recorded two of her older albums, Fearless and Red, with more re-recordings to come in the future. These included newer tracks “From the Vault” and even a 10-minute version of one of her most popular songs. This sparked trends and conversations between everyone, not just Swifties, whether about her infamous red scarf or who the songs were written about.
- Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah
After separating from the British royal family, Meghan and Harry did an interview with Oprah where they discussed struggles of being in the family and the family’s thoughts on their baby. The interview went viral all across the internet causing people to be infuriated at the behavior of the Royal Family.
- Free Britney
From Instagram, Tik Tok, and even the streets, supporters protested to free Britney Spears from her conservatorship. Britney had been in conservatorship since 2008 under her father. This meant he controlled all her finances and any decisions about her life. Her conservatorship finally ended after 14 years due to the spread of the Free Britney movement.
- Olympics and Mental Health
After Simone Biles withdrew from this year’s Tokyo Olympics, conversation sparked about athletes and mental health. Many athletes came out and openly discussed their struggles with mental health and playing professional sports. Similar to Simone Biles, tennis player Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French open to protect her mental health.
- Kim and Kanye’s Divorce
After being married for six years, Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from Kanye West. Later in the year, she was on multiple outings with Pete Davidson making fans and social media go crazy.
- Wandavision and Marvel Television
Being the first Marvel show released in 2021, Wandavision took over social media and television with a continuation of Wanda’s storyline after Avengers: Endgame. Other Marvel shows such as Loki and Hawkeye soon followed.
- Adele’s New Album
Adele released her first album in 5 years called 30 with songs such as “Easy On Me” and “Hold On.” She stated that the album was written about a “very turbulent time” in her life.
- Bernie’s Mittens
After only the first couple of weeks into the year, a picture of Bernie Sanders sitting in a chair with his mittens on Inauguration day went viral on social media. And there were a lot of memes.