2025 is fast approaching, with only a few days left before we enter a new year. With that said, the year 2024 has been extremely eventful, with so many different things happening constantly, new events and trending moments cropping up almost every month, it’s been a whirlwind of a time.
Every year needs a little recap, and the same is true here. Let’s take a step back and look at some of the most iconic things that happened this year, all the way from the start, to what is soon to be the end.
1. Depressed Oompa Loompa and the Unknown
@tenishdoop icl it’s iconic .. BUT WHAT WERE THEY THINKING- #willywonkaexperience #fy #willywonka #iconic #viral #wonkaexperience #funny #oompaloompa
♬ original sound – Therealtenish
Back in February, when 2024 was just starting off, all the way in Scotland, we had “Willy’s Chocolate Experience”. It was supposed to be a family-friendly event, based on one of Roald Dahl’s most famous books, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. Many parents paid to bring their children to experience the Chocolate Factory in real life.
However, as shown above, one can see that the event was rather underwhelming. Footage from the experience went viral, with the Internet latching onto the depressed Oompa Loompa actress immediately, making more videos of her. Alongside the Oompa Loompa, there was the Unknown. Someone who never appeared in the original book, or any of the shows, coming out of nowhere.
2. Jojo Siwa invents gay pop
Moving to April, when child star Jojo Siwa dropped the first single of her rebrand “Karma”, she had many interviews regarding the song. In these interviews, she also explained the new Jojo that the world would be seeing, and what kind of changes she wanted to make. It was in an interview with Billboard, where the singer said something that went viral. “I want to start a new genre of music”, she said “it’s called gay pop”.
The Internet, as quickly as ever, began circulating this clip, and it became massively viral. Many viewers clowned the star, saying that there had been other artists who paved the way for “gay pop”, mentioning Freddie Mercury, Elton John, Lady Gaga and many other iconic artists as the pioneers of this category.
3. Kendrick vs Drake
In the rap world, many songs have subliminal messaging and targeted lines that are just subtly thrown at others. The Drake vs Kendrick Lamar feud had apparently been brewing since 2013, and it all came to a head in May this year, with both rappers releasing targeted diss tracks at each other.
Arguably one of the most iconic moments happened on May 3rd when Drake dropped “Family Matters”, which had multiple barbs pointed toward Kendrick. What no one was prepared for though, was Kendrick’s release of “Meet the Grahams” less than an hour after Drake dropped his track. The very next day, Kendrick released another diss track titled “Not Like Us”, mocking Drake. Both of Kendrick’s tracks surpassed one million views within the hour after dropping. This Reddit thread details the Drake vs Kendrick timeline if you’re interested in diving in further.
4. Brat Summer
Still in June and the mid-year, it was very eventful with singer Charli XCX launching off the trend of an entire season with her album “brat”. With 15 songs in the album, the pop star created brat summer. And the entire Internet ran with it, styling looks after it, and striving to embody the “brat” spirit. Many people loved the sass, and the attitude, charmed into following along.
5. Rachael “Ray” Gunn
@watchmojo The breakdancing game was never the same 😎 #raygun #olympics #paris2024
♬ original sound – watchmojo
We all know that the Olympics were held this year. So in July, the long-awaited competition, filled with international faces and people representing their countries, hoping to bring back a gold medal began. Well this year, the Olympic committee introduced a new category — breakdancing, held in August.
Many talented dancers competed, but one in particular caught the attention of the world. Rachael Gunn, better known by her stage name, Raygun. The Australian representative came in 16th place out of 16 competitors with a score of zero. This obviously became a point of interest, and videos of her dance routine began circulating the Internet, including her iconic kangaroo pose. Unfortunately, as it turns out, breakdancing is not set to return for the Olympics in 2028.
6. “Very demure, very mindful”
@joolieannie #fyp #demure
♬ original sound – Jools Lebron
This viral TikTok video posted in August, sparked an entire trend, with the word “demure” skyrocketing in popularity all over the world. It came to the point where Dictionary.com, one of the most popular online dictionaries, marked the word as the Word of the Year 2024. Without a doubt, this is one of 2024’s most defining moments.
7. Two steps ahead
Now in the third quarter of 2024, one of the most well-known mukbang YouTubers, Nikocado Avocado posted a video titled “Two Steps Ahead”. The YouTuber is well-known for overeating, with many viewers commenting about how it could lead to health concerns from being overweight. There are people who have made fun of the mukbang-er because of his obesity.
However, on 7th September, everything changed. Nikocado posted a video with a rather abrupt change. All of a sudden, the man on screen was no longer overweight. He was skinny, and more importantly, looked to be healthy. This of course sparked debate worldwide, with everyone commenting on how he had managed to fool the entire Internet.
8. Moo Deng
Born in July, but gone viral in September, little pygmy hippo Moo Deng took the world by storm at only two months of age. Images of the adorable animal circulated online, and all at once, everyone fell for her simultaneously, like she had woven a spell over the entire planet. Some even joked that the little hippopotamus had predictive skills. She garnered love from everywhere and became immensely popular.
9. “Holding Space”
@soceleb Defying Gravity is holding space! #foryou #fyp #arianagrande #cynthiaerivo #wicked #funny #popculture #celebrity #hollywood #foryoupage
♬ original sound – soceleb
Approaching the end of the year, the movie “Wicked” was finally released in November. A musical that’s been years in the making, everyone had been eagerly awaiting this movie. Marketing was immense, with Wicked-themed merchandise everywhere in sight.
Part of the marketing included a press tour, where the two stars, Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) and Ariana Grande (Glinda) went on many interviews. The interview that blew up online came when the interviewer asked the two women about “holding space” in their hearts for one of the songs — “Defying Gravity”. Many people found this to be a hilarious question, and no one really understood what the interviewer had been trying to say.
Janae Lee contributed to this article.
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