It seems as though 2016 went by in the blink of an eye. As the year quickly comes to a close and we get ready to mistakenly sribble “16” on our papers for the next month, it’s nice to look back at all that happened this year. In case you forgot about the great (and not-so-great) things that went down, here is a recap of the year’s pop culture headlines.
1. Pokémon Go was the game of the summer
Who could forget the packs of college-age people wandering about looking for a Pikachu all summer long? The hype about the game has slowed down since its release, but #TBT to all the headlines about car crashes and dead body discoveries while playing.
2. Leo (finally) won an Oscar
The year 2016 will forever be known as the year our beloved Leonardo DiCaprio won himself an Oscar for his role in The Revenant.
3. After much anticipation Finding Dory was released
Remember when teenagers stormed theaters in June to see the sequel to our childhood favorite Finding Nemo? We do! We also remember several angst-y blog posts about how annoying kids are at the movies as a result.
4. Donald Trump won the election
Contrary to what many people thought would happen, Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton and will soon be inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States.
5. Bill Clinton loved balloons
Even though some people aren’t happy that Trump won, one good thing for everyone that came out of this election season was the footage of Bill Clinton giddily playing with balloons. Have you ever seen a grown man so happy?
6. Harambe died and inspired SO MANY memes
America’s favorite gorilla was shot in May after a child fell into his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo. Consequently, there has been no shortage of Harambe tweets, memes and paraphernalia. It’s been months since he died, but his memory will not be forgotten.
7. Dream Renee Kardashian was born
Despite the feuding going on between Rob and Blac Chyna lately, their adorable baby girl was born in November. If you haven’t been keeping up with the recent drama here’s what you need to know: Rob and Chyna have been fighting. They moved in and lived together in a house that Rob may have purchased himself or taken from Kylie for two short weeks before Chyna took Dream and King and left. Rob went on a social media rampage as a result, but has apologized and promised to get better for his daughter.
8. Kim got robbed in Paris
In other Kardashian news, Kim was gagged and robbed of more than $10 million in jewelry in Paris this past October. Since the incident she has been laying low in public and online.
9. Kanye went off the deep end
Kanye abruptly cancelled a concert in November and was soon after placed on psychiatric hold at a Los Angeles medical center. Kanye’s hospitalization was apparently the result of stress and exhaustion.
10. Team USA slayed in the Rio Olympics
With the exception of Ryan Lochte lying about a robbery, the United States was well-represented by its Olympic athletes. Team USA ranked first with 46 gold medals, 37 silver medals and 38 bronze medals. Our personal favorites of the competition were the fierce Final Five gymnastics team – Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian and Aly Raisman.
11. The Ghosbusters got an all-female cast remake
The Ghostbusters got a makeover with an all-female cast including Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones.
12. Gigi and Bella Hadid walked in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show
The Hadid sisters were the very first siblings to grace the VS Fashion Show together and they killed it – not to mention Bella’s look-at-what-you’re-missing gaze as she walked past her ex-beau The Weeknd looking flawless while he was performing on the runway.
13. The Gilmore Girls revival was released on Netflix
The early 2000s classic was revived as a four-part Netflix series featuring almost every character from the original cast. Despite Amy Palladino-Sherman’s evil cliffhanger ending (I mean, really! We’re dying!), we got an awesome fix of nostalgia.
14. Chokers took over the fashion scene
It started with a simple resurrection of the plastic ‘90s accessory, but it transformed into something much bigger than that as the year went on. We now have cloth chokers, shoestring chokers, pendant chokers and even chokers that are attached to sweaters!
15. Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton did a duet of “Jolene”
We’ve all been obsessed with Miley’s rendition of the song in her Backyard Sessions since 2012, but we got something even better this year. Miley and her godmother Dolly Parton sang a duet of the song on The Voice stage.
16. Everyone did the “Juju On That Beat”
The dance of the year had people around the world posting videos of their moves. Zay Hilfigerr and Zayion McCall started an internet phenomenon with their song.
17. Beyoncé paid tribute to Malcolm X in her halftime show
The world was in a frenzy over Beyoncé’s performance of “Formation” at the Super Bowl 50, which also served as a tribute to Malcolm X and the Black Panthers.
18. Taylor Swift had beef with everybody
We all know Taylor’s entire career was built on breakups, but this year the drama was never-ending. She had two breakups, one of which resulted in some petty revenge revealing that she was the songwriter on Calvin Harris’ “This Is What You Came For.” Not to mention the fact that she had a feud with Kanye and the Kardashians over Kanye’s use of the word “bitch” and a naked wax figure of her in his “Famous” video. There was footage released by Kim K of Kanye speaking with Taylor on the phone and Taylor apparently getting on board with his vision.
19. Brangelina broke up
Brad and Angelina broke a world’s worth of hearts with news of their divorce. The couple that gave us hope for 12 years split and is now battling over custody of their six children.
20. Beyoncé dropped Lemonade
This woman always does amazing things. The Lemonade visual album was music to our ears and eyes this April. Not only did she spark inspiration for many girls’ Halloween costumes (yellow dress and a bat), but she also had the media going crazy over rumors that Jay-Z cheated.
21. Everyone went crazy over Stranger Things
If you didn’t bingewatch Stranger Things on Netflix this summer, you need to. The hit series was nominated for a Golden Globe and the cast has signed on for season two, which will be released in 2017.
22. The Mannequin Challenge was the new Harlem Shake
This year we had not one, but TWO viral video-inducing songs. In addition to “Juju On That Beat,” Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles” became the official soundtrack to the Mannequin Challenge where people freeze while the camera pans the scene.
23. Drexel turned 125 years old
Our beloved Drexel University celebrated 125 years on December 13th. Happy belated birthday to our great school!
The year is almost over and, boy, was it an eventful one! Pop culture saw some pretty huge headlines in 2016 – some of them sucked while others were great. Keep an eye out for what we’re excited about in 2017!