2021 was an eventful year and with so many varieties of music, TV, movies and styles every month, there’s a lot to unpack. With 2022 finally here, let’s take a look at last year’s trends.
January
- In our headphones: “driver’s license” by Olivia Rodrigo
- Released on Jan. 8, “driver’s license” was the most streamed song on Spotify in 2021, with over 1.1 billion streams
- On our social media feeds: Bernie Memes
- Pictures of Bernie Sanders at the inauguration of President Biden curled up in his coat and mittens flooded the internet with many creative, photoshopped memes.
- On our TV screens: Bridgerton
- Released on Christmas day, this historical drama, based on the books by Kate Quinn, became one of Netflix’s most-watched series ever. It gained 82 million watches in its first month.
February
- In our headphones: “Up” by Cardi B
- Released on Feb. 5, “Up” was Cardi B’s fifth number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 causing her to break the record for the most No. 1 singles for a female rapper.
- On our social media feeds: Superbowl LV
- This year’s Superbowl brought Tom Brady his 7th championship ring. The Buccaneers easily beat the Chiefs with a final score of 31-9
- The Weeknd’s halftime show performance was unique and portrayed subtle messages criticizing the music industry.
- On our TV screens: Ginny and Georgia
- The Gilmore Girls-esque dramedy quickly jumped to the No. 1 spot on Neilson Streaming charts for the week of Feb. 22-28 after being released on the 24th.
march
- In our headphones: “Peaches” by Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar and Giveon
- With its release on March 19, “Peaches” caused Justin Bieber to become the first male solo artist to simultaneously hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs and Billboard’s 200 albums chart.
- On our social media feeds: Oprah’s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
- In this revealing interview on March 7, Prince Harry and Markle explained the reasoning behind their move to the United States and offered an inside scoop on the Royal Family.
- On our TV screens: WandaVision
- The combination of a television sitcom and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s classic film style allowed for WandaVision’s unique appeal. The show aired most of its episodes on Disney+ in January and February, but the finale was released in March. This was a big deal for MCU fans, as it was the first big project since Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
April
- In our headphones: "MONTERO" (Call Me By Your Name) by Lil Nas X
- This single from Lil Nas X’s album, MONTERO, was released on March 26 and it reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the week of April 10, gathering 21,000 downloads and 46.9 million streams.
- On our social media feeds: The COVID vaccine
- On April 8, 2021, more than 4.3 million people in the US received a COVID-19 shot as the vaccine became increasingly available to the public. Vaccination rates started falling after April.
- On our TV screens: The Circle Season 2
- The second season of the reality TV show about contestants competing to create the highest social media status hit Netflix on April 14. The show began in 2020 and continued its popularity through last year.
may
- In our headphones: Sour by Olivia Rodrigo
- Rodrigo continued her big year by releasing her debut album, Sour, on May 21. The album has the record for the biggest opening week by a female artist on Spotify.
- On our social media feeds: Sheesh!
- The phrase “sheesh” was all over TikTok from the months of March to May. The TikTok sound started in February with a video of a group of people “sheeshing” at a slimy frog.
- On our TV screens: Selena: The Series season 2
- The second season of the popular Netflix series was released on May 4. The series is a reenactment of the life of Selena Quintanilla, a Mexican-American pop star.
June
- In our headphones: “Butter” by BTS
- "Butter" was released on May 21, and it broke the former Aerosmith record for the longest streak held for a No. 1 debut by a group. They secured the record by staying in No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks.
- On our social media feeds: Adult Swim TikToks
- Creators on TikTok added their own creative spin to Adult Swim bumps or short segments that are aired during commercial breaks on Cartoon Network’s late-night television.
- On our TV screens: YouTube vs TikTok boxing match
- On June 12, the battle of the platforms took place in Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. Many popular YouTubers and TikTok creators participated in the event, most notably Bryce Hall and Austin McBroom.
July
- In our headphones: "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran
- “Bad Habits” was released on June 25, and it was extremely successful in the US and the UK. It led on the official UK Singles Chart for 11 weeks, giving it the official title of biggest song in the UK of 2021.
- On our social media feeds: Bo Burnham Inside
- Although it was released on Netflix on May 30, Burnham’s musical special about life in quarantine gained popularity in July. Many of the songs written for the special were trending sounds on TikTok.
- On our TV screens: Ted Lasso Season 2
- After its successful first season, Ted Lasso, a comedy about an American football coach hired to coach soccer in England, came back to Apple TV+ for season two on July 23. The show was extremely successful and ended the year with seven Emmy awards.
August
- In our headphones: “STAY” by Kid Laroi (ft. Justin Bieber)
- Released on July 9, “STAY” not only spent multiple weeks in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it also was the fastest song to reach one billion streams on Spotify.
- On our social media feeds: The Summer Olympics and Simone Biles
- Due to the pandemic, the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics were pushed to 2021. The Olympics produced many headlines, but most notable was US gymnast Simone Biles, who pulled out of multiple women’s gymnastics events to focus on her mental health and safety.
- On our TV screens: Outer Banks Season 2
- On July 30, OBX fans were extremely excited to continue to follow the journey of the “Pogues.” The show easily made it to the No. 1 spot in Neilson’s streaming charts within the first week of August.
September
- In our headphones: Donda by Kanye West and Certified Lover Boy by Drake
- With both albums released only 4 days apart, the competition for listenership was high in September. Donda was the hottest album until Drake dropped CLB on Sept. 3. Regardless of the nearly simultaneous releases, both albums received millions of streams worldwide
- On our social media feeds: 2021 Met Gala
- The biggest annual night for fashion, the 2021 Met, with a theme of “America, a Lexicon of Fashion,” did not disappoint. The event was held on Sept. 13 and had celebrities serving unique looks that will not be forgotten.
- On our TV screens: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings
- Released in theaters on Sept. 3, 2021, Shang-Chi offered the origin story of a new character, the first Asian superhero in the MCU. The movie was very successful for a quiet year in theaters, racking up $432 million in box office sales.
October
- In our headphones: “Easy on Me” by Adele
- On Oct. 15, Adele released the first song of her new album 30. With it being Adele’s first release in 5 years, “Easy on Me” exploded and received 24 million global streams within the first 24 hours of its release.
- On our social media feeds: Facebook becomes Meta
- On Oct. 28, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the Facebook company would now be named Meta. The focus of Meta is to create a “metaverse” that will incorporate more virtual reality into everyday life
- On our TV screens: Squid Game
- The South Korean drama about citizens playing games to the death for a cash prize hit Netflix on Sept. 17. But it wasn’t until October that the show started gaining traction, hitting the number one spot of Nielson’s US streaming charts with 3 billion minutes viewed in just a week.
November
- In our headphones: Red (Taylor’s Version)
- Red was the second complete re-recorded album by Taylor Swift and was released on Nov. 12. Although the original songs on the album had already been released back in 2012, Swift still managed to break two Spotify records: the most streamed female artist and album in a single day.
- On our social media feeds: Astroworld Tragedy
- On Nov. 5, Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas resulted in the deaths of ten people, two from Naperville. The deaths ended up being ruled accidental.
- On our TV screens: Hawkeye
- On Nov. 24, Disney+ put out yet another Marvel TV series. Hawkeye follows Clint Barton and Kate Bishop in the aftermath of Endgame.
December
- In our headphones: “All I want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey
- Despite being released ten years ago, “All I want for Christmas is You” still managed to get 1 billion streams on Spotify.
- On our social media feeds: James Webb Telescope is launched into space
- On Dec. 24, the James Webb Telescope, a cooperation between NASA, ESA and CSA, was launched into outer space. The telescope will be able to look further into space than the current Hubble telescope. Scientists hope to discover even more about our universe.
- On our TV screens: Spiderman: No Way Home
- The 3rd movie of Tom Holland and the MCU’s Spiderman trilogy was released on Dec. 17. The movie exploded in the box office by making $1.16 billion worldwide as of Dec. 29, becoming Sony’s most successful film.
It is pretty clear that this year was unique. The world started to reopen from pandemic closures, allowing pop culture to look a bit different than it did in 2020. Whether or not it was a good year, it was definitely a year to remember.