The Year in Superlatives: The Best Comeback, Best Flop, Best Churro, and Many More

Ah, 2024. What a year. As Ariana Grande, Bowen Yang, and Matt Rogers said, we’ve…“been through.”

Even in the realm of pop culture alone, the past 365 days have given us so much to digest. Can you believe that in the same year Ryan Gosling sang “I’m just Ken” at the Oscars, Charli XCX had us all chanting, “I’m everywhere, I’m so Juliaaaa”? Or that Madame Web arrived several months before Glicked? Or that Beyoncé’s triumphant country album dropped in the same year as one of the most contentious presidential elections in history?

We’ve lived many tired, overstimulated, and chronically online lives in 2024. Did we just fall out of a coconut tree? Certainly not. Now, as 2025 quickly approaches, we’re reflecting on the context in which we lived during these past 12 months. Here are the best, weirdest, and wildest pop culture moments of 2024.

With contributions from Meg Donohue, Madison Feller, and Carine Lavache.

---

Best Bad Grammar

“That’s That Me Espresso”

Sabrina Carpenter: an unserious lyrical genius. Not only did she drop the summer bop earworm “Espresso,” but she also imbued it with a so-fun-who-cares-if-it-doesn’t-make-sense hook. “That’s that me espresso” became everything from a rallying cry to a silly sign-off to a certain lifestyle. And of course months later she’d drop the bar, “Where art thou why not uponeth me?” Her creativity knows no bounds.

Best Comeback

Simone Biles’s Return to the Olympics

After pulling out of the Tokyo Olympics with a case of the “twisties,” the GOAT came back better than ever (as if we ever doubted she could), winning three gold medals and a silver at the Paris Games. She and Jordan Chiles very graciously bowed down to Rebeca Adrade at the podium, too.

Best Yeehaw

Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé

Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter wasn’t just a career pivot, it was a homecoming. The megastar created a masterful piece of work while collaborating with legends in the genre and uplifting new talent at the same time (look where Shaboozey is now!). All that and still no visuals. But we’ll wait for her halftime performance on Christmas Day.

Best Flop

The Glasgow Willy Wonka Experience

Children were in for a fright when they showed up in Glasgow for “Willy’s Chocolate Experience” and found the stuff of nightmares instead. A sparsely decorated gymnasium? An exhausted woman dressed in an oompa loompa costume? A masked being called “The Unknown” who has nothing to do with Wonka? Chaos. Was their budget $10? I don’t know, but not a single penny was worth it!

A close runner-up: The Detroit Bridgerton Ball. Both are worthy successors to the Fyre Festival and beg the question, WTF are you guys doing at these events in the first place?

Hater Anthem of the Year

“Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar

Where were you the night Kendrick Lamar and Drake released diss tracks back to back to back on the same night? And how far did your jaw drop the first time you heard “A minor”? With bars like these, the Pulitzer Prize winner doesn’t just participate in beef; he ends it for good. Even the lyric, “I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress” on his Drake diss “Euphoria” is powerful in its simplicity. Kendrick didn’t invent being a hater, but he sure perfected the art.

Best Olympic Crushes

Korean Sharpshooter Kim Ye-Ji and “Pommel Horse Guy” Stephen Nedoroscik

Has anyone looked cooler holding a gun? And has anyone been more lovably nerdy on the men’s gymnastics team? There were a lot of characters to come out of the Paris games this year (the breakdancer Raygun, the Turkish “assassin”) but we fell hardest for Korea’s Kim Ye-Ji, with her undeniable aura, and the U.S.’s Stephen Nedoroscik, with his bespectacled charm.

Best Reason to Not Get Married

ReesaTeesa’s “Who TF Did I Marry??” TikToks

Creator ReesaTeesa had TikTok hanging onto her every word earlier this year as she aired out all the lies her ex-husband, “Legion,” told her, from his job, to his financial status, his family, and hiding his criminal history. At the beginning of her 50-plus-part viral series, she promised to unveil a “United Nations of red flags,” and even that was putting it lightly. Thankfully, she got out of the marriage—and her story is now being developed for TV.

Best Usage of a Churro

Challengers

Was Challengers the sexiest movie of the year? Possibly. Did it launch a love for “rat boyfriends”? Unfortunately, yes. And did it have the best cinematic use of a churro we’ve ever seen? Absolutely. The tennis drama starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist is sensational on so many levels, but the way Patrick (O’Connor) and Art (Faist) share a churro is one of its most memorable moments.

Best Excuse for Day Drinking on Someone’s Roof in Brooklyn, Covered in Sweat While Smoking a Cigarette, Even Though You Promised Your Parents You’d Never Smoke

Brat Summer

Brat wasn’t just a season, it was (and is) a lifestyle. Stemming from Charli XCX’s acclaimed, lime-green-themed album, brat, the surrounding frenzy evolved into an all-out cultural phenomenon. The line “I’m everywhere I’m so Julia,” the “Apple” dance, the Sweat Tour, the Lorde collab—it even bled into the presidential election with her “Kamala is brat” tweet. It was a hard-earned mainstream moment for the singer, and a much-needed excuse to let loose in the club, especially in a year like this one. Long live Brat Summer.

Best Alternative to a Dating App

“Is Somebody Gonna Match My Freak?”

Tinashe’s viral single was more than a summer smash; it was also an open call for anyone looking for company, whether it be romantic or platonic. And, yes, the dancing couple is a plus too.

Biggest Rise

Chappell Roan

This year marked the rise of a Midwest Princess known as Chappell Roan, as more and more fans listened to her 2023 album and fell in love with her songs, festival sets, stage looks, and sheer talent. (Who among us hasn’t learned the “HOT TO GO” dance this year?) She also kept it real during the election, a refreshing stance for a celebrity. Everyone knows she’s something special. More in 2025, please!

Most Likely to Have Chemistry With a Brick Wall

Glen Powell and Jonathan Bailey

These guys could have chemistry with anyone. Anything, really. Glen Powell dominated earlier in the year with Twisters and Hit Man, with his Texan boy charm, proving that he has sparks with every one of his co-stars, heck, probably even one of the CGI tornadoes. And Jonathan Bailey closed the year strong with his prince-like smoulder and dance moves in Wicked, flirting with nearly everyone at Shiz University. (I think those library books were even turned on.) Men everywhere, take notes.

Longest Album, Spiritually

The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift

Listening to The Tortured Poets Department front to back sometimes feels like a Herculean task. It takes time, and sometimes your spirit may wonder if it can handle it. When we do press play and head into Professor Swift’s chambers, it quickly all makes sense. It’s worth it. Some places, we do really come to for magic.

Best Relationship to Come Out of Love Island

JaNa Craig, Serena Page, and Leah Kateb

Sure, Serena and Kordell are cute, but no love on Love Island this season could beat the one between Serena and her girls, JaNa and Leah. Nicknamed PPG (the Powerpuff Girls), the ride-or-die trio went from defending each other in the villa to going on road trips and gifting each other vintage designer clothes (thank you, Leah!). Are they accepting applications for any new friends? Just curious.

Best Lyric

“I’m Looking for a Man in Finance”

It may not be a Grammy contender, but it sure slaps. Considering how bleak dating apps are these days, TikToker @girl_on_couch came up with a summer bop that just might offer a solution: “I’m looking for a man in finance, trust fund, 6’ 5”, blue eyes.” Sure saves you a lot of visits to the Financial District.

Word of the Year

Demure

In the midst of a hot and sweaty Brat Summer, creator Jools Lebron inspired us to pull ourselves together (on TikTok, naturally). Suddenly, everything was “very demure, very mindful,” from dressing appropriately at work to arriving to the airport early enough before your flight. Even Dictionary.com had to name demure the word of the year.

Wildest Thing to Say While Getting Arrested

“This Is Going to Ruin the Tour”

“This is going to ruin the tour.” What tour? “The world tour,” are words Justin Timberlake uttered when he was arrested in the Hamptons this summer for a DWI. So, naturally that became a meme.

Cutest Rising Star Who Altered Our Brain Chemistry

Moo Deng

No one could touch Moo Deng over the summer, because she was simply that girl. And because she was too slippery from being constantly hosed down by her handlers. Okay, moisturized queen! The beloved pygmy hippo became such a viral sensation, she had fans flocking to Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand. We won’t talk about her election predictions here, but, like most of us, Moo Deng is just a girl.

Most in Need of an HR Intervention and Therapy

Rob on Industry

Someone please give Rob a break. On this past season of Industry, the poor young man spent the night with the girl he loves, only to watch her get engaged to a tech tycoon the next day. And that’s not even the worst of it—he also woke up next to the manipulative older woman he was in a relationship with, only to find her dead. Yes, these are just some of the many unhinged reasons why we love the HBO drama, but this boy just needs some rest. And while we’re at it, let’s put Harper and Yasmin in therapy as well.

Biggest Heartbreak

The Bennifer Divorce

It truly hurts that this love story, the stuff of fairytales and rom-coms, had to come to an end. (Months after J.Lo self-funded a music film and a documentary about it, too.) But two years following Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s wedding—nearly two decades after they broke off their engagement—the singer filed for divorce. This is us now: devastated.

Most Tears Shed

The Wicked Press Tour

Did you hold space for the Wicked press tour this year? Did you know that it was happening? Did you feel the power in that? Stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo spent nearly every interview tearing up and holding hands, and you know what? They should! For a production as intense yet healing as this one, they deserve to let their emotions out. Nearly all of us were crying along in the theater anyway. And it’s not over yet, with the sequel Wicked: For Good coming next year.

Best Place to Set Your Tinder Radius

Celebrity Lookalike Contests

It started with the Timothée Chalamet impersonators (and the real one) in Washington Square Park, and it spread like rapid fire from there. Harry Styles, Dev Patel, Jeremy Allen White, you name it—nearly every celebrity heartthrob got their own doppelgänger event this year. People might be sick of them by now, but hey, not a bad place to look for a hot date.

Best Thing to Happen With No Historical Research

Oh, Mary!

Cole Escola’s mind is like no other. Their off-Broadway sensation, Oh, Mary! transferred to Broadway this year, starring Escola as Mary Todd Lincoln, in a historical comedy with little to no fact-checking. And that’s precisely why it works.

Most Likely to Have Soda for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

The Cast of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives

The unlikely stars of reality TV this year? The Mormon mothers of MomTok. Amid all the drama and chaos on the new Hulu series, one of the strangest things was their obsession with soda. If you can’t drink alcohol, what else are you going to sip on?

Best Mode of Transportation

Getting Carried Up the Stairs of the Met Gala

Being so snatched in your Balmain gown that you have to have to be lifted up the steps? Tyla, the woman you are. The star made her Met Gala debut in grand style this May—and then Olivier Rousteing trimmed her hem just in time for the after-party.

Least Sugar-Coated Press Tour

Madame Web

Dakota Johnson’s Spider-Man spinoff film was not one of this year’s worst, and it seems like the cast knew that…even if they waited until after the film to get real about it. Johnson later told Bustle, “It’s not nice to be a part of something that’s ripped to shreds, but I can’t say that I don’t understand.” While Sydney Sweeney didn’t harp on the quality of the film, she diplomatically acknowledged it as a “building block” that helped establish her relationship with Sony.