The summer of 2024 has seen some of the best pop culture moments to date. From artists breaking records to unforgettable films, we’ve been lapping it all up. Oh, and who could forget brat summer? As August draws to a close and we enter our Gilmore Girls fall, let’s recap what a whirlwind this summer has been.
Music
Sabrina Carpenter
Previously an actress, Sabrina Carpenter has been thriving in the music industry for almost ten years. This summer, however, has been life changing for her. Since touring with Taylor Swift and dropping her hit song of the summer Espresso, things just keep looking up for our new favourite pop girlie. Sabrina has been continuously breaking her own records and beating herself to the number one spot. Her more recent singles, Please Please Please and Taste have been equally as, if not more, successful. Just last week, Sabrina released her sixth studio album Short n’ Sweet and it’s already seen huge success. With an upcoming tour next year, there’s nowhere but up for Sabrina Carpenter.
Chappell Roan
Chappell Roan is another incredible artist who has really catapulted into fame in 2024. Her hit single Good Luck, Babe! went viral earlier this year, and since then she’s been thrown into an A-list celebrity status. Chappell has actually been making music since 2017, but thanks to Olivia Rodrigo taking her on as a support artist for the Sour Tour she gained a lot of traction. Her most recent album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess came out in 2023 and it’s only become more popular this year. Hit songs like Femininomenon, Red Wine Supernova, Casual, HOT TO GO!, and Pink Pony Club have been favourites among the queer community this year. In just a few days, Chappell will set off on her tour – The Midwest Princess Tour.
TV/Film
Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2
Over the past few years, Bridgerton has quickly become one of Netflix’s most popular TV shows. The show always has everyone hooked and seems to be the highlight of our year for pop culture every time. Season 3 finally dropped in June, and it exceeded everyone’s expectations. Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope (Nichola Coughlan) were the romantic leads of this season, and we’re so glad Nichola finally got her moment to shine. After watching her play a young awkward Irish teen in Derry Girls, it felt like a whole other world watching her in Bridgerton. Some fans were disappointed with the unsatisfying storyline between these two characters, feeling that their romantic development was lacking compared to other seasons. Either way, Bridgerton continues to be huge each time a new season drops.
Emily in Paris Season 4 Part 1
Admittedly, Emily in Paris seemed a little cringey before the first season dropped. However, once you start watching, you’re sucked into a fun yet chaotic Parisian world. Season 4 was released earlier this summer. We see Emily Cooper lead an even more complicated life than ever before. The highlights of this show for us seem to always be the fashion, the acting, and the lighthearted approach to life in a often stressful city. One thing we love most about Emily in Paris is it’s universal appeal across generations. It’s really something that the whole family will love.
Only Murders in the Building Season 4
This series gives us a trio that we still can’t believe we’re seeing on our screens – Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short. Season 4 is gradually dropping episode by episode as we speak, where we see true crime podcasters return for even darker murders. In this season, the trio take a trip to Hollywood for a brand new setting. Although we’ve only got a few episodes of the season so far, it’s quickly proving to be one of the best yet. Only Murders in the Building is always jam packed with comedy and chemistry, as well as more complex feelings of growing, aging, self-doubt and loss. We can’t wait to see what the rest of this new season brings.
Inside Out 2
The much anticipated sequel to Inside Out came out this summer. Any adult who watched it will agree with us here, we can’t believe how much a kid’s film moved us? In Inside Out 2, Riley becomes a teenager and, with that, new emotions enter the Headquarters. Those include Ennui, Envy, Embarrassment and, of course, Anxiety. These emotions begin to take over the existing emotions, showing how Riley’s feelings are becoming more complex as she hits puberty. Anxiety quickly becomes the antagonist, frantically trying to protect Riley but inevitably making things worse. Any adult who has anxiety will be moved by this movie, as it really digs deep into why anxiety does these things to us. We soon learn that it’s all about balancing each emotion and not letting one take over completely.
Deadpool & Wolverine
For Marvel fans, this crossover is one we’ve been waiting for for a very long time. This Deadpool and Wolverine collision of worlds was a big hit with Marvel fans. It achieved over $1.2 billion in box office takings. Reynolds and Jackman were hilarious to watch together, giving us a rude, weird, and oddly sweet story together. It’s an incredible combination of two characters. Wolverine is tough and violent, whereas Deadpool sort of breaks all stereotypes of what we think a superhero is. Jam-packed with hilarious moments and unexpected cameos, there’s no doubt this film had a huge influence on pop culture this summer. Cue all the Deadpool and Wolverine duo Halloween costumes this year.
A Quiet Place: Day One
The A Quiet Place film series has been hugely influential on the horror/sci-fi genres since the first film came out in 2018. In a world where they have to be quiet or Death Angels come to kill them, life is a complete contrast to what we know it as today. A Quiet Place: Day One was recently brought to our screens, starring Lupita Nyong’O and Joseph Quinn. This film takes us back to the very first day of the attack and we’re introducing to a group of new survivors. We learn a little more about the Death Angels, expanding our insight into what may have caused the attacks. All in all, it gives us a smaller and more intimate story of survival where we feel like we’re really fighting to survive with them.
Twisters
Hit Action/Thriller Twisters is a sequel to a 1996 film of the same name, starring Daisy Edgar Jones and the internet’s white boy of the year Glen Powell. Natural disasters have been a popular subject for thriller’s for years, yet the overall appeal of this movie made it a popular choice for film lovers worldwide. When a former storm chaser and a social media star cross paths, they discover a terrifying phenomena that no one has ever seen before. With two stars that have been huge over the past few years, pop culture sees another win with this film.
It Ends With Us
Okay, let’s put aside the messy promotion of this film for a second and talk about this complex, emotional, and raw plot line. It Ends With Us is an adaption of a Colleen Hoover novel of the same name. Lily Bloom, an aspiring florist, meets Ryle Kincaid on a rooftop when they’re both feeling a little troubled. They share a brief romantic moment, then don’t see each other again for a while. Months later, Lily has opened her own flower shop and Ryle just happens to come in. Before they know it, a deep and intense relationship has developed. When the relationship turns violent and abusive, a pregnant Lily fights hard to leave. This film was gut-wrenching and very hard to watch, but it’s an important story to be told.
Other Pop Culture Highlights
Brat Summer
Dare we say that Brat Summer truly took over this season? In June, Charli XCX released her latest album titled BRAT. The album is a high energy dance pop album, with huge club influences. Listening to it, it sounds messy but in an oddly cohesive and satisfying way. Charli covers all topics from partying to relationships.
The internet lapped up this album and, quite quickly, TikTok dances and trends were all over social media. This soon coined the term ‘brat summer’. At it’s core, it’s a messy and carefree summer where we all decided to just not care too much or take things to seriously. Just remember, literally anything green you see is ‘brat summer‘, got it?
The Eras Tour Summer
Taylor Swift has been on The Eras Tour since March 2023. However, for us European fans, the summer of 2024 as truly been The Eras Tour Summer. In June, Taylor Swift kicked off the European leg of this record breaking tour in France this May, finishing off in London earlier this month. The Eras Tour has become a place of joy, friendship, and a shared love of music. Both of us attended European shows and it’s save to say we had ‘the time of our lives‘ (get it?). The Eras Tour draws to a close at the end of this year. It’s been such a huge moment for pop culture over the last year and a half, and we’re all going to be sad when it’s over.
We can’t wait to see what the rest of 2024 brings for pop culture. It’s going to be hard to beat one of the best summers yet.
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