From record-breaking tours (and concert films) to the Barbenheimer phenomenon to new internet slang. Here are the things that defined pop culture in 2023.
10. Eras and Renaissance Tour. Singer and songwriter Taylor Swift went on the Eras Tour throughout 2023. The tour is a homage to all her previous songs and is the highest-grossing tour of all time, making over 1 billion dollars in revenue. The Renaissance Tour was Beyonce’s highest-grossing tour yet, with $579 million made. The tour was based on her most recently released album, Renaissance.
9. Hollywood on Strike. In 2023, both the Screen Actors Guild- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike over labor disputes. The SAG-AFTRA strike went on for 118 days, and the WGA strike went on for 148 days.
8. I’m Just Ken. “Ken taught us we are Kneough. We all are.” – Angelo Dovale, Junior. I’m Just Ken is one of the songs from the Barbie movie. The song depicts the character Ken, played by Ryan Gosling, lamenting and concluding that he is, in fact, Kenough. The song was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe.
7. Twitter Becomes X. Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter in October of 2022 and subsequent change of its name to X in July led to universal notice of the brand. Many people previously banned on Twitter, including Andrew Tate and Donald Trump, were also regiven accounts.
6. George Santos. On December 1, George Santos was expelled from the House of Representatives for allegedly breaking federal law. He eventually created a cameo account and sold his cameos for $350-$500 apiece. He has done cameos, from talking about Botox and fillers and addressing the “haters” to singing Taylor Swift songs. In addition, he has appeared on Ziwe on YouTube, a show hosted by comedian Ziwe Fumudoh, where he struggled to remember Civil Rights leaders and called Donald Trump an “icon.”
5. Colleen Ballinger “Apology”. Colleen Ballinger, also known by her YouTube persona “Miranda Sings,” got into hot water after grooming allegations were made against her. Instead of making a normal YouTube apology, however, she instead sang a song while playing the ukulele. The video, titled “hi.”, currently sits at 17 million views and over 1 million dislikes.
4. Barbenheimer. This unlikely movie pairing of Barbie and the decidedly different Oppenheimer was the focus of much attention when both films were released around the same time. The meme caused both films to enjoy high success, both earning over $900 million. Borth films dominated the Oscar nominations, Oppenheimer gaining 13 nominations, and Barbie 8.
3. Grimace Shake. When the “Grimace’s Birthday Meal” was made available in June at McDonald’s, memes quickly began to surge around the titular Grimace Shake, where drinking it would cause you to die horrifically.
2. The Roman Empire. “How often do you think about the Roman Empire?” was a question asked to men through Instagram Reels and TikTok in 2023, with most men saying they think about it frequently. From this, the term “My Roman Empire” grew to mean something a person thinks about often.
1. Gen-Z Slang. 2023 also saw the rise of the creation of new Gen-Z slang. Popular terms stemming from the influx include “gyatt,” “NPC,” “sigma,” “rizz,” and “simp.” “Rizz” was chosen as the Oxford “word of the year” for 2023.
