From Brat to Defying Gravity, these pop culture moments kept us chronically online all 2024
CBC
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.
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.
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.
Brian McPherson, an Edmonton-based reality TV star, athlete and disability advocate, has died at the age of 47.
If you were looking for the Broadway musical least likely to find wide theatrical success among general audiences … well, that would probably be Cats.
Each Wednesday this summer, Nanaki Nagra knew what her plans were — tuning into that week’s episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty on Amazon's Prime Video.
Sean (Diddy) Combs calls Netflix docuseries, in which jurors explain verdict, a 'shameful hit piece'
WARNING: This story contains allegations of sexual violence and may affect those who have experienced it or know someone affected by it.
An Inuvialuk designer says her time on Project Runway Canada was a "career highlight" and an opportunity to showcase some of her culture.
British playwright Sir Tom Stoppard, a playful, probing dramatist who won an Academy Award for the screenplay for 1998’s Shakespeare In Love, has died. He was 88.