It felt like much of pop culture this year was running on pure adrenaline. Everything from music to film, fashion to memes and even politics seemed to collapse into one ongoing feed of viral spectacle.
From conventionally ugly plush toys to celebrity-sponsored space missions, these are the moments, movements, and meltdowns that defined the year.
1. The Meme: Jon Hamm Dancing
The most joyfully unserious moment of 2025 began with a clip of Jon Hamm dancing.
What started as a throwaway TV segment became a meme so omnipresent it entered the cultural bloodstream.
2. The TikTok Sound: ‘Back to Friends’ by sombr
TikTok’s global most-saved track of the year was a wistful electronic anthem for breakups, glow-ups, and every montage in between.
With over 21 billion views, “Back to Friends” has become the most significant internet tune of the year.
3. The Mashup Moment: ‘The Piano Man / Silver Springs’
In the latter half of the year, the viral fusion of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” with Fleetwood Mac’s “Silver Springs,” made for a bittersweet, cinematic, and infinitely loopable sound that has backed countless reels online.
4. The Instagram Hashtag: #love
Used in over 2 billion posts, #love outlasted every digital trend.
5. The Viral Slogan: “Nothing Beats a Jet2 Holiday”
Born from an airline ad, reborn as a summer anthem, the Jet2 phrase became an ironic symbol of escapism during an anxious year and has backed countless lighthearted, chaos-filled reels.
6. The Celebrity Gag: Timothée Chalamet’s Rap Reveal
The rumor that Chalamet was secret rapper EsDeeKid ended with him dropping a track with the real artist.
The internet quickly imploded.
7. The PR Disaster: Katy Perry’s Space Mission
Shot into space aboard Blue Origin, Perry’s ambitious stunt became a viral cautionary tale of overreach. The subsequent “space cancellation” marked 2025’s wildest PR crash.
That is, until, eagle-eyed fans began following her surprise romance with Canada’s former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
8. The Fallout: Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle Ad
Sweeney’s denim campaign sparked outrage online. Whether satire or scandal, it became one of the year’s most-watched ads.
9. The Scandal: Coldplay’s “Jumbotron Affair”
During Coldplay’s world tour, a stadium Jumbotron caught the married CEO of software company Astronomer and the firm’s head of HR sharing an unexpected kiss.
The moment quickly turned into one of 2025’s biggest viral scandals.
10. The Engagement: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
Pop met sports in the engagement of the year between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl became the year’s biggest U.S. album by streams and sales alike soon after.
11. The Revenge Album: Lily Allen’s West End Girl
Allen’s brutally honest breakup record, which questioned whether ex David Harbour is a “sex addict,” blurred the line between diary and diss track.
12. The Critics’ Pick: Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
Hailed across publications, the Puerto Rican artist’s genre-blending masterpiece stood as 2025’s musical benchmark.
13. The Divisive Album Cover: Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend
Carpenter’s provocative art sparked online essays and memes in equal measure.
14. The TV Breakout: Adolescence
Netflix’s limited series captivated viewers and critics alike with its sharp portrayal of growing up online.
15. The Farewell: Stranger Things Ends
After nearly a decade, Stranger Things concluded with record-breaking views and tearful nostalgia.
The end of an era—and the start of endless rewatch culture.
16. The Film: Sinners
Ryan Coogler’s 97 percent rated epic struck gold at both the box office and the critics’ lists, solidifying it as 2025’s cinematic landmark.
17. The Accessory: The Labubu Craze
Labubu’s began selling out globally, but the mania around the sparked criticism and the emergence of the “Labubu Matcha Dubai Chocolate” meme which poked fun at seemingly never-ending fads.
18. The Heist: The Louvre Incident
The world watched a live-streamed theft attempt unfold in Paris.
Within hours, it became TikTok parody fodder and quickly became one of the year’s most popular Halloween costumes.
A dapper looking young man was accidentally photographed among the chaos and quickly went viral after internet users began speculating he was the detective spearheading the investigation. It was soon revealed he was not.
19. The Crossover Sensation: K-Pop: Demon Hunters
Netflix’s animated action film K-Pop: Demon Hunters became a global phenomenon.
20. The Cultural Mood: Starting Over in Your 30s
Under hashtags like #StartingOver, people, often in their late 20s and 30s, shared candid video diaries about leaving long-term relationships, quitting burnout jobs, moving abroad, and rediscovering ordinary routines once seen as failures.
The trend reframed “starting over” not as regression but as renewal.
21. The Nostalgia Hobby: Analog Obsession
Film cameras, flip phones, and vintage tech became modern status symbols among Gen Z.
22. The New Archetype: Performative Males.
The “performative male” trend became a viral shorthand for men who broadcast sensitivity, feminism, a love of books or emotional awareness online—not out of sincerity, but as a calculated performance for validation.
23. The Mood: Millennial Core
From millennial “burger places” to ironic positivity, the vibe of the early-2010s was poked fun at across social media platforms.
24. The Micro-Trend: Boyfriends Becoming Embarrassing
The collective realization that some men peak during the soft-launch phase and that being single is now cool became a viral talking point.
25. The Political Win: Zohran Mamdani’s New York Victory
In a year of millennial political milestones, Zohran Mamdani’s rise stood out as a generational pivot point.
His progressive platform made him a national figure.
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