Tuesday, 26 December 2023

The year in TODAY Pop Culture 2023

From the scandals to the breakups to the stars we lost, a look back at the year in pop culture.

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"Barbenheimer," juicy celebrity memoirs, high-profile breakups, the Taylor Swift cinematic universe — 2023 had it all. Here's a look back on all the big pop culture moments from this year that had us furiously scrolling our timelines.

🌎 The world-dominating year in Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift was named Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2023, but it felt like she should've been named People of the Year. The megastar was seemingly everywhere all at once. Here she is onstage at her sold-out "Eras Tour" that single-handedly boosted the economy. There she is breaking the internet by showing up at a Kansas City Chiefs game to cheer on new boyfriend Travis Kelce. Look, there she is at the premiere of her "Eras Tour" movie, which became the highest-grossing concert film of all time at the box office. OK, now she's in New York City, living her best life with friends like Blake Lively and Selena Gomez for her 34th birthday. The "Eras Tour" will continue internationally for nearly all of next year, and the Chiefs are set for a run in the NFL playoffs, so the Taylor train shows no signs of slowing down in 2024.

From 'Spare' to 'Barbenheimer,' here's a look at 20 of the biggest pop culture stories of 2023.

Yes, there were things that happened this year that did not involve Taylor Swift. Beyoncé's "Renaissance" tour and concert film were juggernauts of their own, "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" brought everyone back to the movie theater this summer, and Jada Pinkett Smith, Britney Spears and Prince Harry didn't hold back in their best-selling memoirs. See the top 20 stories here. And in the moments when we weren't thinking about the Roman Empire, we also determined the best memes of the year.

😮 'Scandoval,' ski trials and the rest of the biggest celebrity controversies of the year.

Much of the celebrity drama occurred in courtrooms this year, but a huge one played out in the court of public opinion. "Scandoval" had everyone talking about "Vanderpump Rules" stars Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix once the cheating allegations started flying. Plus, the memes of Gwyneth Paltrow on the stand in a trial over a ski slope collision feel like they will live on forever. Catch up on all the top moments here. It was also another year full of celeb break-ups, from the short-lived (Britney Spears and Sam Asghari) to the surprising (Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness). See them all here.

💔 Matthew Perry, Tina Turner and all the celebrities we lost this year.

We mourned the loss of a beloved "Friend" and said goodbye to titans in music, sports, TV and film this year. Luminaries we lost in 2023 include legendary singer Tina Turner, "Friends" star Matthew Perry, EGOT winner and activist Harry Belafonte, football great Jim Brown, music icon Tony Bennett and former first lady Rosalynn Carter. See the full list here.