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The Pop Culture Moments Of 2016 That Changed EVERYTHING

Leo's Oscar, Brangelina, Pokemon Go and an explosive recipe for homemade Lemonade.

By Jenny Novitzky
Beyonce was an absolute badass in the pop culture moment that broke the internet: Lemonade
Giphy

From Leo finally getting the Oscar to Drake finally getting the girl, from chasing Pokémon to standing mannequin still, from Taylor and Tom getting it on to Brangelina breaking it off. 2016 was a lot.

1

Leo Finally Gets His Oscar

Leonardo DiCaprio finally gets his Oscar. 2016 pop culture moments.

At the end of Feb, festivities sprang up across the globe as we all celebrated Leonardo DiCaprio finally getting his mitts on an Academy Award. After six nominations and a general acceptance that he's one of our greatest living actors, Leo won Best Actor for his part in the gruelling The Revenant. When he accepted the award, he used his speech to highlight climate change, causing a 261% spike in searches for the term 😍.

2

Beyonce Made Lemonade And We Couldn't Believe It

Beyonce was an absolute badass in the pop culture moment that broke the internet: Lemonade
Giphy

Beyonce released the most explosive album of 2016, Lemonade. The internet was already excited at the prospect of new Bey, but when the visual album launched and we realised it was a scathing attack on cheating husbands, the internet exploded. No only was Beyonce's album a a warrior cry for all women who've suffered quietly in a fractured relationship, it also highlighted the Black Lives Matter movement, seamlessly blending politics, art and pop into a catchy package. Queen Bey, we salute you.

3

Kanye West Made Himself Even More Famous

Kanye West Famous with Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift

Kanye West seemed to be in the papers more than he was out of them, with the releas of the successful Life of Pablo, a rather disorganised fashion week collection and rumours of a recent breakdown. But it was his music video for Famous that really divided opinion this year. Inspired by artist Vincent Desiderio, the video features replicas of a number of celebrities lying naked in bed. Crucially, the majority of these celebrities seem not to have given their consent to the video, and many saw it as a massive violation.

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4

The Pokémonaissance Happened

In 2016, Pokemon Go took over everyone's lives.
Getty Images

Everyones fave electric sidekick made a comeback when Pokémon Go mania swept the globe. There were good reports (it got people out of the house, walking became a thing, people were making friends) and bad (robberies, corpses, people getting run over and people falling off cliffs). In the end, it all became largely immaterial as the craze died down and everyone put their Pokéballs away.

5

Frank Ocean Actually Released New Music

Frank Ocean finally released new music, with his hotly anticipated album Blonde
Getty Images

Frank Ocean's four year hiatus was much maligned. He went from hero, after the release of critically acclaimed Channel Orange, to zero when it seemed he would never release music again. Things peaked when #frankoceanisaliar began trending on Twitter, but in 2016 he finally came through with the quirky and conceptual Blonde. It was challenging and demanded something more than background listening from its audience. In an age of instant gratification and quick flicking, Frank Ocean managed to catch our attention and to hold it.

6

The Brangelina Split Made Us Lose Faith In Love

The Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie decision to split rocked 2016, as Brangelina was no more.
Getty Images

When Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt after twelve years together, people felt the split keenly. A lot of internet reactions centred around imagining Jennifer Aniston's smug response, but many other people were genuinely surprised by the news, fearing that it meant all love was doomed. It seemed Brangelina was the celeb couple we believed in, which is actually silly because we all know that should be Ant and Dec. Ant and Dec will never let us down, right?

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7

Solange Secured Her Seat At The Table

Solange was the second Knowles sister to have a major 2016 pop culture moment with the album A Seat At The Table
Instagram/@saintrecords

Solange was the second Knowles sister to have a major pop culture moment in 2016. Her album, A Seat At The Table, was released to less fanfare than Bey's, but it soon became certain it was as much of a big hitter. It's a complex exploration of identity politics and what it means to be black in America. The album was her first to reach number one in the Billboard charts, proving that you can mix politics with pop.

8

JK Rowling Kept On Winning

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, pop culture moments of 2016, JK Rowling, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child

2016 was blessed with not one, but two new stories from the Potter-verse. Trying to get tickets for the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child double bill was trickier than Glasto. The production, which opened in July, received praise from critics and fans alike. Later in the year, Potter fans were also treated to a prequel film, following magical zoologist Newt Scamander's exploits in 1920s New York. It had the biggest UK debut opening of any film in the year, and received positive reviews.

9

Hiddleswift Was On. Then Immediately Off Again.

Tom Hiddleston and Taylor Swift. Hiddleswift was on. And then off. 2016 pop culture moments.
Instagram/@britmaack

In the wake of the Calvin Harris/Taylor Swift split (presumably because they never had a moniker we could refer to them with), Taylor seemed to find a new man. Hiddleswift, the mighty union of Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston, seemed destined for success. They both loved singing! And dancing! And working out! And going to the beach! Sadly, despite the flood of PDAs, they split after just three months together. Hiddleswift, it was brief but sweet.

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10

People Stood Super Still And It Was Surprisingly Engrossing

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The mannequin challenge, in which people stand very still and are filmed, exploded on to the social media scene in late 2016. Usually to the accompaniment of Rae Sremmurd's Black Beatles, it's had such glorified participants asTaylor Swift, Victoria Beckham, Adele, Blac Chyna, Cara Delevingne and Ellen Degeneres.

11

Things Got A Little Stranger In 2016

Stranger Things was the biggest thing on Netflix in 2016
Getty Images

The smash TV hit of 2016 was Stranger Things, the nostalgia soaked series harking back to classic eighties movies. 8.2 million of us watched it in its first sixteen days, the third best opening of any Netflix show. It was also the show that spawned a thousand Hallowe'en costumes, with some truly excellent impressions of Eleven, Barb and Winona Ryder's Joyce Byers in particular.

12

We Consoled Ourselves With Joe Biden Memes

In 2016, after the US election, we consoled ourselves with Joe Biden memes.
Instagram/@DailyMemeSupply

Sure, the election didn't go the way many of us wanted. But lets focus on the positives. The internet showed its resourcefulness and its creativity when it responded with a slew of Joe Biden memes that were simultaneously hilarious and slightly heart-breaking.

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13

Drake Finally Got His Girl. Then Immediately Lost Her Again.

2016: the year Drake finally got his girl (Rihanna). But then lost her again. Oops.
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The rumour mill had been a-swirling around Drake and Rihanna ever since she split from Chris Brown. But the on-again-off-agin relationship was never anything more than smoke, until 2016 brought the fire when Drake confirmed what we all knew by announcing his undying love for Riri. The romance continued with onstage snogs and matching tattoos. But it would seem the love may have died, with news filtering through that they've split again. Come on Aubrhi, pull it together!

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