From Taylor Swift’s engagement to the Coldplay kiss cam, these are some of the defining pop culture moments of 2025.
It’s been one heck of a year—in both the positive and negative sense. And it’s hard to believe that it’s now coming to a close. As we hurtle towards 2026, now is a good time as any to look back at the year that’s been and all that’s happened. The year has truly been eventful, what with the third season of The White Lotus, affairs being exposed on a global scale, and the engagement of an English teacher to a gym teacher. These are some of the defining pop culture moments of 2025.
[Hero and feature image: HBO Max]
Some of the defining pop culture moments of 2025
Taylor Swift’s stellar year
It was a big year for Taytay. She concluded her era-defining “Eras Tour”, playing 21 countries and becoming the highest-grossing tour in history. She finally, finally, got her entire music catalogue back after her original label sold it to Scooter Braun. She released a brand new album that became her 15th number one album, the most for any artist, on the Billboard 200. And as if her year couldn’t get any better, it’s topped off by the fact that she’s now engaged to Kansas City tight end and man of her dreams, Travis Kelce. Swifties are elated while her critics and naysayers continue to bemoan the fact that whenever something happens to her, it makes headlines. Goes to show how big a cultural impact Taytay has.
All the viral moments from The White Lotus Season 3
We had a busy eight weeks here in Lifestyle Asia thanks to the fact that the latest season of The White Lotus was filmed here. We broke down each episode, visited the resorts where it was filmed, and even attended the premiere here in Bangkok. Much like its predecessors, there were plenty of viral moments from the show. Leslie Bibb’s sardonic smile was reposted repeatedly in the interwebs. Carrie Coon’s monologue about just being happy to be here resonated with so many. Everybody started making sure that they were washing their blenders. And who could forget Sam Rockwell’s utterly insane Asian girl monologue?
The infamous Coldplay kiss cam
@cloroxgrrl Thanks, @instaagraace. #shameshame #coldplay #justgetadivorcefirstlosers ♬ Jet2 Advert – ✈️A7-BBH | MAN 🇬🇧
Who would have thought that the internet would be set aflame thanks to a Coldplay concert in Massachusetts? What should have been a routine white-people good time became a viral sensation when cameras panned to a seemingly loving couple embracing, only to duck away when they realised they were on camera. “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” Chris Martin joked, not knowing just how accurate he was. Not only were they having an affair, but the man was the CEO of a company, and the woman was the head of HR. Yikes.
It doesn’t even end there. The company, Astronomer, sought to repair the undue damage caused by its now-fired CEO. So what do they do? They hire Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin’s ex-wife, as their temporary spokesperson. Absolutely legendary.
The death and resurrection of TikTok
@bbcnews TikTok has gone offline in the US, hours before a new law banning the platform was due to come into effect.#TikTokBan #TikTokBanUS #US #SocialMedia #Ban #DonaldTrump #BBCNews ♬ original sound – BBC News
Remember when people in the United States kept making goodbye videos on TikTok in case it was taken down except it never happened? Well, it finally happened this year—for less than a day. Earlier this year, TikTok finally went dark in the U.S., causing many to migrate to RedNote for a while. But not even a day later, the platform returned, and oddly enough, we haven’t really heard of any other developments about TikTok’s ownership woes in the U.S. since.
The Labubu craze
The cause of the virality of Kasing Lung’s sharp-toothed monster can’t be pinned down. K-pop artist Lisa’s obsession with it may have helped a bit especially here in Southeast Asia. But other than that, these things came out of nowhere and suddenly became so sought after that some of them are being sold at over USD 100,000. The trend shows no sign of slowing down as people continue to flock to Pop Mart for new releases.
Beyoncé finally won Album of the Year
It’s hard to believe that Queen B only won Album of the Year in 2025. It finally happened with Cowboy Carter after being nominated four times before. Not only was it Beyoncé’s first and long overdue win, but it was also the first time a Black woman won the award in the 21st century, the last winner being Lauryn Hill for “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” 26 years ago.
KPop Demon Hunters
How many times have you heard “WE’RE GOING UP, UP, UP, IT’S OUR MOMENT”? In the same way that “Let It Go” and “How Far I’ll Go” were earworms, “Golden” has lived rent-free in kids’ and, unfortunately, their parents’ brains. Despite how annoyed you might already be of the song, this animated film is a work of art. The animation is incredible, the performances are stellar, and the story celebrates South Korean culture. To top it off, its soundtrack became the first film soundtrack to have four songs in the top ten of the Billboard 100.
The Louvre robbery
Everyone is still baffled at how it was pulled off in broad daylight. Until now, the crown jewels that were stolen, which are valued at EUR 88 million, haven’t been recovered, and likely never will be at this point. The internet had no shortage of memes mocking the utterly ridiculous security of a renowned museum, while others became obsessed with someone who seemed to be a noir detective. Turns out it was just a 15-year-old French dude with a really great fashion sense.
Madame Morrible Wicked Witch
One could argue that the follow-up to Wicked wasn’t as culturally impactful as the first, but Michelle Yeoh certainly made a mark. Her repeated explanations of flipping around the double Ms in Madame Morrible have made her an internet sensation, resulting in a litany of memes and people making up their own versions.
6-7
Sighs. I hate to include it on here but it’s unfortunate virality cannot be denied. Why is this even viral? Why is this a thing? No one knows. But here’s hoping it’s one of the things we leave behind once we enter 2026.
Note : The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
