Pop culture in 2025: A ring for Taylor, an ill-timed KissCam ... and whatever ‘6-7’ means

From red carpets to streaming hits, stadium tours to viral moments, the year unfolded one headline at a time. This month-by-month breakdown highlights the biggest pop culture moments that shaped the conversation.

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JANUARY

• Zendaya and Tom Holland announce their engagement
• Demi Moore wins a Golden Globe for The Substance
• Onyx Storm becomes a major bookstore hit
• Nirvana reunites for FireAid, supporting LA wildfire relief
• Coco Gauff reacts to TikTok’s temporary U.S. shutdown at the Australian Open

FEBRUARY

• Kendrick Lamar becomes the first solo hip-hop Super Bowl halftime headliner
• Beyoncé wins Album of the Year for Cowboy Carter, making history
• Handwritten party invites from 87-year-old Doug Turner go viral

MARCH

• Anora dominates the Oscars, with wins for Sean Baker and Mikey Madison
• Adrien Brody wins for The Brutalist
• Wicked misses major awards but delivers a standout opening performance
• Emilia Pérez’s awards momentum stalls amid controversy

APRIL

• Season three of The White Lotus sparks major online chatter
• Katy Perry’s brief Blue Origin space flight becomes a meme moment
• Beyoncé’s tour spotlights breakout star Blue Ivy
• Hailey Bieber sells Rhode Beauty in a $1-billion deal

MAY

• Cannes Film Festival bans nudity on the red carpet
• Tom Cruise stuns with another daring Mission: Impossible stunt
• The Met Gala highlights menswear and Black fashion history
• Taylor Swift buys back her original music catalogue
• The first American pope, Leo XIV, is elected

JUNE

• KPop Demon Hunters becomes a surprise streaming hit
• A new season of Love Island USA kicks off in Fiji
• Sabrina Carpenter’s album artwork ignites debate
• Glastonbury faces backlash over a political chant onstage

JULY

• Oasis reunites and launches a tour
• CBS announces the end of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2026
• The Coldplay kiss-cam moment dominates social media
• The world loses Hulk Hogan, Ozzy Osbourne, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner

AUGUST

• Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announce their engagement
• The news becomes one of Instagram’s most-liked posts ever

SEPTEMBER

• The Studio leads the Emmy Awards
• Medical drama The Pitt scores major wins
• Teen actor Owen Cooper becomes the youngest Emmy winner in decades
• Jimmy Kimmel is briefly suspended over controversial comments
• Hollywood icon Robert Redford dies

OCTOBER

• The viral “6–7” slang trend takes over social media
• Bad Bunny hosts Saturday Night Live
• Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl breaks sales records
• A bold Louvre theft captivates global attention
• Diane Keaton passes away

NOVEMBER

• Wicked: For Good closes out its massive press tour and dominates the box office
• Jonathan Bailey is named People’s Sexiest Man Alive
• Robert Irwin wins Dancing With the Stars

DECEMBER

• One Battle After Another emerges as the Oscars frontrunner
• Warner Bros. sees renewed momentum amid a stalled Netflix acquisition
• Industry uncertainty grows over the future of entertainment