Since the wild and unpredictable year of 2019 has come to an end, there’s a lot to look back on. From the breakups we didn’t see coming to the many records that were broken, the music we kept on repeat to the memes we just had to retweet, 2019 was anything but dull.
Whether we were scratching our heads over that first Cats trailer, squealing at the sight of Baby Yoda, or learning Aunt Becky was wanted by the Feds, we were certainly never bored. Here’s a look at the most-searched pop culture moments of 2019.
January
At the start of 2019, an egg beat Kylie Jenner at her Instagram game and became the app’s most-liked photo. The disaster of the Fyre Festival actually happened in 2018, but it really wasn’t until early this year that it truly fell on the world’s radar, thanks to the release of the shocking documentaries from Hulu and Netflix that revealed all the secrets from this fraudulent music festival event that never actually happened.
February
In February, Ariana Grande dropped her instantly iconic fifth studio album thank u, next, made as she was dealing with the ending of her engagement to Pete Davidson and the death of ex Mac Miller. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper delivered a performance of “Shallow” at the Oscars so intimate it had everyone questioning the true nature of their relationship. Kardashian fans were left stunned as Khloe Kardashian left Tristan Thompson for good after he was caught getting a little too comfortable with sister Kylie’s then-best friend Jordyn Woods.
March
A month later, Captain Marvel smashed through the Marvel Comic universe’s glass ceiling, becoming the first female-led superhero film to pass the billion-dollar mark in the process, Jordan Peele’s gave us a healthy fear of doppelgangers and two astounding Lupita Nyong’o performances for the price of one with Us. Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman got caught up by the Feds with Operation Varsity Blues. The Jonas Brothers made their long-awaited return with the sublime “Sucker.” Lastly, generations mourned an icon with the sudden passing of Luke Perry after the Beverly Hills, 90210 and Riverdale star suffered a stroke at just 52 years old.
April
In April, ten years of Marvel Cinematic Universe building came to an epic conclusion with the release of Avengers: Endgame, forcing fans to say a permanent goodbye. Kanye West and his Sunday Service became the biggest attraction at Coachella despite not even being on the official line-up.
May
The following month, Britain’s Royal Family gained an adorable new member when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed little Prince Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. Game of Thrones signed off after eight seasons with an incredibly controversial conclusion. James Charles and Tati Westbrook’s feud tore the YouTube beauty world apart.
June
In June, HBO and Zendaya had parents of teenagers everywhere horrified by the thought of what their kids might be up to with the debut of new drama Euphoria. Black Mirror introduced fans to a new favorite fictional pop star in the form of Miley Cyrus’ Ashley O. Taylor Swift finally squashed her beef with Katy Perry, hugging it out in the “You Need to Calm Down” video, as she publicly took on Scott Borchetta, head of former label Big Machine Records, for selling the company—and the ownership of her first six albums in the process to Scooter Braun.
July
The next month, Disney’s photo-realistic recreation of The Lion King roared into theaters and earned over $1.6 billion dollars to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time. The first nightmare-inducing Cats trailer dropped, making everyone wonder why the titular felines had such frighteningly human faces. Megan Thee Stallion gave us the season’s biggest meme with the idea of “Hot Girl Summer.”
August
In August, Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” did the seemingly impossible and became the longest-running No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with 19 consecutive weeks atop the chart. Spider-Man found himself in the middle of a short-lived divorce between Disney and Sony. Normani wowed everyone with her killer moves in the excellent “Motivation” music video, and Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth left us stunned when they announced their separation only eight months after tying the knot.
September
The following month, Justin and Hailey Bieber finally had their official wedding ceremony. Lizzo got her first No. 1 with “Truth Hurts,” a song she’d released two years earlier. The “Storm Area 51” event that started off as a viral joke was created on Facebook to storm the Nevada military facility, but quickly became real as over 2 million alien enthusiasts RSVP’d to the event. Rihanna essentially sent the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show into retirement with her revolutionary Savage x Fenty show.
October
In October, Jennifer Aniston joined and promptly broke Instagram. Joker got the last laugh and became the first R-rated film to ever gross over $1 billion. Kylie Jenner sweetly singing “rise and shine” to daughter Stormi launched a million memes.
November
The following month, Billie Eilish capped off a fantastic year by making Grammy history as the youngest person to ever get nominations in the big four categories (Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year and Best New Artist). Apple TV+ arrived only to be quickly overshadowed by the launch of Disney+ 11 days later, thanks, in part, to the introduction of The Mandalorian’s too-cute-for-words Baby Yoda, Frozen 2 returned to Arendelle with the highest all-time worldwide opening for an animated film.
December
The Rise Of Skywalker, which was released on December 20, was the last “official” movie of the Stars Wars film series which means that we’ll soon be reaching the final chapter of the legendary Skywalker saga. Lastly, days ahead of the release of his highly anticipated sophomore album “Fine Line” on December 13, Harry Styles broke the internet when he gave fans a peak of photos that come along with the vinyl packaging.