Pop Culture Highlights 2025

As a year spent chronically online, 2025 generated countless online debates, social media boycotts, and obviously – memes. The memorable pop culture moments, and those which will represent 2025 for years to come, were these:

Pop Culture in 2025: Highlights

•  Labubus

Staying true to its folklore origin, the Labubu dolls magically took over the world. From celebrities like Blackpink’s Lisa, Hailey Bieber, and the Kardashians to people we know in real life, everyone had the doll attached to their bags or in their rooms.

• Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce engagement

People love to cheer for the NFL star-pop superstar couple, and their engagement post restored the public’s faith in love.

•  Taylor Swift bought back her Masters

2025 was a big year for the Eras Tour performer, and she was able to fulfill the dream of owning her master recordings, which she had been fighting for six years.

• Taylor Swift and Charli XCX feud

Charli XCX and Taylor Swift have a long, complicated history – starting with the two performing together at Swift’s 1989, and then Reputation tour. However, following the tour, Charli has admitted that the pop superstar’s stardom has often made her feel insecure. Now, Charli confessed these feelings on a song, Sympathy is a Knife on her album, Brat, but it is speculated that more events went down behind the scenes. Such events culminated in Swift’s diss track, Actually Romantic, on The Life of a Showgirl.

• Justin Bieber’s SWAG

After a strong and long reign of female pop stars, Bieber broke his long hiatus and released his album without prior announcement, except for a social media post a few hours earlier. The record came after a long period of rumours about his health, mental well-being and marriage, and responded to the speculations with humour.

Playing a joke on himself, the Grammy winner took the opportunity and incorporated his infamous “standing on business” meme into the album.

•  Beyonce won Album of the Year

Grammy Awards finally paid Queen Bey her respects and handed her the most prestigious award, making her the first Black woman in the century to win one.

• Charli XCX, George Daniel wedding

The Brat singer tied the knot with the 1975 drummer, George Daniel, and celebrated their wedding in an intimate London ceremony, and then a grander Italian wedding with all their friends.

• White Lotus

Mike White’s show leaves viewers thinking, debating, and speculating each season. Although this time around, some (Saxon and Lochlan Ratliff) plotlines had fans raging, Season 3 did have the same impact.

• Hayley Williams surprise album

The Paramore lead singer released a collection of twenty songs on an album titled Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party, through her self-owned label Post Atlantic. The solo, soulful album will be leaving its mark on the year despite the lack of traditional album promo.

• Hillary Duff comeback

The Lizzie McGuire star broke her decade-long hiatus to release her latest single, Mature, which quickly climbed up the charts.

• Severance

The second season of Severance was welcomed with much buzz all around social media, and the dystopian office thriller was the hot topic online. Fans are already waiting and theorising about the third season.

• Zohran Mamdani became a celebrity

The now-Mayor of New York City became a face of hope for change for the citizens, and he also hired the best social media team to communicate his message. Mamdani hopped on TikTok trends and talked to Gen-Z influencers – targeting his audience so effectively that social media users started making memes about praying for his win despite living in different parts of the world.

• Entertainment media fought for Free Speech

The U.S. government heavily criticised Stephen Colbert’s late-night talk show, and it received an ultimatum within a few days. Similarly, Jimmy Kimmel’s show was indefinitely cancelled after his comments on Charlie Kirk’s death, which were deemed “insensitive.”

Donald Trump celebrated the ban, but the online buzz prompted Disney to bring Kimmel back on TV.

• Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo’s 'Wicked: For Good' promo

Pop culture not only has the Wicked costars to thank for a good movie, but also a collection of memes which sprang from their promotional events, which tend to always get emotional and leave someone (or both) in tears.

While 2025 has nearly ended, the music, shows, and memes will carry on well into 2026, probably with additional developments.