- Words Nicholas Douglas
From reunions to celeb divorces, from Eras to Renaissance to Rihanna lighting up the Superbowl, here’s all the silly pop culture moments we stewed over for too long online in 2023.
André 3000’s flute album
You can’t blame a 48-year-old man in striped dungarees for not wanting to rap anymore…
Barbie
There’s nothing more we can add to the Barbie chat in 2023, except ‘I’m Just Ken – Merry Kristmas Barbie‘ for Christmas No.1.
CASISDEAD *drops a debut album
*Finally!!!
Divorce
Divorce, babe! Ariana, Sophie Turner, Emily Ratakowski, and maybe even Cardi B are all doing it.
Eras Tour
100+ countries, 44 songs, 3+ hours – whatever your thoughts on Taylor, there’s no denying her Eras Tour is an epic ode to the continuous reinvention that’s propelled her to career to superstar heights.
French bed bugs
True, infectious hysteria.
Girls Aloud’s reunion
Selling out the O2 like its 2009, Cheryl, Nadine, Nicola and Kimberley followed the lead of the Sugababes’ original three this year, reuniting in honour of the late Sarah Harding.
Harry Styles’ shaved head
Divisive.
“I wish you well” – Gwyneth Paltrow
Honourable mention for Gwen’s courtroom looks.
Just Stop Oil
Ruffled a few feathers at just about every major event this year.
Kourtney Kardashian’s Kim Halloween costume
We saw some memorable fits for Halloween this year, but none as sly or slay as Kourtney unearthing Kim’s 2013 famously memed Met Gala look. In the context of their feud over La Dolce Vita lifestyle, we hope 2024 brings reconciliation and healing.
Lil Tay’s death hoax
Very much alive, teen influencer Lil Tay’s death hoax was allegedly a hack.
Maya Jama & Stormzy got back together
In the face of so much divorce, Britain’s most iconic couple fought for love this year.
Netflix x celeb documentaries
Kicking off the year with Pamela, a love story and closing it honouring 00s royalty with back-to-back BECKHAM and Robbie Williams, 2023 was the year of the up close and personal celeb docuseries.
Ozempic
One to leave in 2023.
Prince Harry’s ‘Spare’
Remember January?
Quiet luxury
With special thanks to Sofia Richie and The Row, fashion’s buzz-phrase of the year was just about as pretentious as it gets.
Renaissance World Tour
Beyoncé’s Renaissance spectacle wins best 100 looks of the year, most star-studded crowds, and hardest launch of a superstar nepo baby since North West’s TikTok account.
Superbowl halftime show as a pregnancy reveal
Rihanna surprised us in more ways than one with her return to music, giving us the most iconic pregnancy reveal since Kylie Jenner’s 11-minute ‘To Our Daughter’ YouTube video in 2018.
Tube Girl
Energy for 2024.
Uncanny Valley
AI-generated ‘humans’ were this year’s most unnerving trend.
Victoria Beckham’s dad’s car
“Be honest!!!”
Wheel of brie
Harry Style got kiwis and Lil Nas X got a sex toy, but P!NK was the really unfortunate victim of 2023’s problematic craze of throwing objects at artists on stage, with a gigantic wheel of brie making her BST show. Is this the end of gig etiquette as we know it?
X: the death of Twitter
Elon Musk killed Twitter in 2023 in name, and many would argue, in spirit.
Ye trying to beef Trent Alexander Arnold
Trent Alexander Arnold was the latest — and perhaps most random — victim of Ye’s rants.
Zara Larsson trying to beef Hannah Diamond
Pop girls on the internet watched wide-eyed as the exchange unfolded out in the open on Twitter. Quickly buried and set right, we’re vying for a 2024 pop-girl alliance.