From celebrity space trips to nonsensical viral catchphrases, 2025 has delivered a level of chaos none of us could have predicted. Whether it was normies getting propelled to worldwide fame thanks to a Coldplay kiss cam, or a celebrity breakup no one saw coming, this year really gave us range when it came to pop culture moments.
So consider this your rewind. We’re looking back at the moments that shaped 2025, and the ones you definitely sent to the group chat.
1. Kendrick Lamar playing the Super Bowl in bootcut Celine jeans
View this post on Instagram
We knew Kendrick would deliver a performance. We didn’t expect him to resurrect bootcut denim by Celine as the cultural item of the year. The perfect silhouette to bring his beef with Drake to a global stage, we suppose?
2. Katy Perry went to space
View this post on Instagram
We all remember where we were when Katy Perry sang 'What A Wonderful World' with a daisy in hand while on board the Blue Origin spaceship — among a small circle of ultra-VIP travellers. The kind of sentence that would blow a Victorian child's mind.
3. Justin Bieber delivered us our favourite new catchphrase
View this post on Instagram
JB uttered one throwaway line and accidentally invented 2025’s defining slang. “It’s not clocking to you” instantly became our response to every inconvenient truth. He then proved that it really wasn't clocking to any of us, by going on to drop some of our favourite new music of the year.
4. Labubus conquered the world
View this post on Instagram
Blind box collectibles went from niche to literally everywhere, seemingly overnight. Leading the charge were Labubus, a fictional character from "The Monsters" toy series by artist Kasing Lung, which went from highly desirable to meme-ified in what felt like a matter of moments. Love them or hate them, you can't deny they were prolific in 2025.
5. Harry Styles ran two entire marathons in secret
View this post on Instagram
Okay, he didn't deliver on new music (or at least, he hasn't yet), but Harry Styles appeared in a marathon in Tokyo, and later in Berlin, like it was the most normal thing in the world. In the second, he even broke 3 hours. Find us a man who can do it all.
6. Charli XCX got married — twice
View this post on Instagram
Pop’s patron saint officially tied the knot this year, first with a small Hackney ceremony, then with a star-studded rager in Sicily. We would've sold our soul to score an invite to this.
7. Coldplay accidentally created the year’s biggest romance arc
View this post on Instagram
A seemingly innocent jumbotron at a Coldplay concert delivered what was arguably the most talked-about moment of 2025. If you somehow managed to miss it, the crowd-shot allegedly landed on two colleagues, with arms wrapped around each other. The catch, of course, is that they were both married (and not to each other). The Coldplay Incident became one of those stories no one could escape even if they tried.
8. Having a boyfriend became “embarrassing”
View this post on Instagram
An essay by Chanté Joseph, published by Vogue, had heterosexual women questioning their life choices in the latter part of 2025. While the headline is scathing, the article actually dives deep into the patriarchal origins of male-female romantic relationships. A must-read, if you haven't already.
9. Sydney Sweeney’s jeans advert broke the internet
View this post on Instagram
What was (likely) intended to be a simple denim campaign turned into one of the most analysed moments of 2025. The ad sparked edits, parodies, and a level of discourse no brand could ever have predicted — including debates about race and eugenics.
10. Benny and Terry broke up
View this post on Instagram
Sorry to make you re-live the trauma. Our favourite celebrity couple officially called it quits after nearly 10 years together, with Benny dropping the news in a recent episode of his podcast, Ride. A traumatic listen, to say the least.
11. Madame Morrible was exposed as the true Wicked Witch of Wicked: For Good
View this post on Instagram
Michelle Yeoh, the woman that you are. All we'll say is this: Madam Morrible: M.M... Flip it around, Wicked Witch!!!
12. The Louvre robbery turned us into detectives
View this post on Instagram
When a brazen daylight robbery of centuries-old jewels occurred at the Louvre, naturally, the internet lost its mind. The jewels might have been recovered, but we'll never forget about this.
13. TikTok was banned for a whopping 12 hours
View this post on Instagram
Yep, that was this year. When the US government followed through on its threat to ban TikTok, creators were plunged into darkness for a total of 12 hours before it was reversed. Just enough time for us all to watch their emotional (often teary) goodbye videos.
14. Everyone started saying 6 7
View this post on Instagram
We're not sure what to say about this one, other than we still don't know what it means. Anyone?
