Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift kiss after the AFC Championship NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, in Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)2025-12-22T15:34:24Z Dictionaries define things. Its their job. So when dictionary.com pronounced 6-7 as their 2025 word of the year, youd think they would have, well, defined it.But no. Were all still trying to figure out exactly what it means, they told us of this years linguistic time capsule.But thats just how pop culture works, isnt it? Whos to explain why parents alone in their cars were suddenly singing up up up from that KPop Demon Hunters? song? Or why, in the Venn diagram of pop culture and zoology, it was the capybara that emerged victorious and beloved? Goodbye, Moo Deng. Youre adorable, but so 2024.Despite our new obsessions, though, some things remained constant by which we mean Taylor Swift and Beyonc, of course. It seems like every year gets bigger for Swift. But in 2025, she put a bow or ring on it with Travis Kelce, announcing your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married. As for Beyonc, the musical goddess finally won that best album Grammy she long deserved and, on tour, introduced a new force: her daughter, Blue Ivy.So from the inexplicable to the familiar, heres our annual, highly selective journey down pop culture memory lane: JANUARYThey may not be TAYVIS, but theyre a delightful couple just the same: ZENDAYA and TOM HOLLAND are engaged. Lets hear it also for DEMI MOORE, who wins a GOLDEN GLOBE for her wild performance in The Substance. At the bookstore, fans go wild for ONYX STORM, the third installment of REBECCA YARROS romantasy series. A NIRVANA reunion highlights FireAid, a fundraiser for relief efforts following the Los Angeles wildfires. At the Australian Open, U.S. tennis star COCO GAUFF mourns the temporary loss of TikToks app back home, drawing a broken heart on a TV lens. FEBRUARYSalutations! says SAMUEL L. JACKSON, introducing KENDRICK LAMAR, the first solo hip-hop artist and Pulitzer winner to headline the Super Bowl halftime show. (P.S. Is that SERENA WILLIAMS?) At the GRAMMYS, members of the Los Angeles Fire Department present BEYONC with her best album trophy for COWBOY CARTER the most awarded and nominated artist in Grammy history becomes the first Black woman to win the top prize in the 21st century. In the age of TikTok, you never know whats going to catch fire like those hand-penned party invitations from 87-year old DOUG TURNER to his Pennsylvania neighbors, with the priceless line: 4 p.m. until the cops arrive. MARCHIts OSCAR month! All hail to SEAN BAKERS victorious, Brooklyn-set ANORA and its star, MIKEY MADISON. Also scoring an acting prize is ADRIEN BRODY for THE BRUTALIST who probably should have found another place to put his chewing gum. WICKED, an audience favorite, misses out on big prizes, but its stars, CYNTHIA ERIVO and ARIANA GRANDE, perform a rousing opening number. Meanwhile, the once-promising Netflix contender EMILIA PREZ wins two prizes but sees best picture chances evaporate in the wake of an uproar over past tweets from star KARLA SOFA GASCN. APRILThe blender! The poisonous fruit! The lizard! And SAM ROCKWELL! The Thailand-set third season of THE WHITE LOTUS is certainly a talker. KATY PERRY may be wishing shed headed to Thailand rather than outer space: her Earth-kissing return from an 11-minute trip on a JEFF BEZOS Blue Origin rocket is widely mocked even by Wendys, which writes on X: Can we send her back. On BEYONCS Cowboy Carter tour, a star has emerged 13-year old BLUE IVY. In a megadeal, HAILEY BIEBER sells her Rhode skincare and makeup brand for a cool $1 billion. MAYA crisis, at CANNES! The film fest bans nudity on the carpet do they think this will halt the naked dress phenomenon? Bonne chance. Also at Cannes, TOM CRUISE again shows hell risk life and limb to entertain, this time atop a classic biplane in MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING. Across the ocean, the MET GALA turns its focus to menswear and Black style over the centuries. It took a minute, says an approving SPIKE LEE. You belong with me, SWIFT sings, buying back the rights to her first six albums. Finally, cue the Chicago Pope memes in honor of the first American pope, LEO XIV. Later this year, hell reveal his WORDLE strategy. JUNEThe world will know you as pop stars but you will be much more than that. Like, perhaps, the surprise, multigenerational hit of the summer? KPOP DEMON HUNTERS starts streaming this month, and in August will give Netflix a big box office win with its singalong screenings. On TV, its a new season of love LOVE ISLAND USA, that is, chronicling the goings-on at a luxury villa in Fiji. Its the album cover that launched a thousand conversations: Some are offended when SABRINA CARPENTER illustrates her MANS BEST FRIEND album with a photo of her on all fours, with a man holding her hair. Is it offensive, a purposeful joke, or nothing at all? Meanwhile politics finds its way into the GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL in Britain, as rap-punk duo BOB VYLAN spark a police probe after leading a chant calling for death to the Israeli military. JULYOASIS begins a reunion tour, and the GALLAGHER brothers are still getting along! SYDNEY SWEENEY has great jeans, goes the much-discussed advertisement, and American Eagle insists its about the denim. CBS says it will end STEPHEN COLBERTS show in May 2026 a move that will remove from air one of President DONALD TRUMPS most outspoken critics. We cannot leave July behind although at least two people would have loved to without mentioning the saga of the COLDPLAY KISSCAM. Finally, within six days, the world loses three 80s icons: mustachioed wrestling icon HULK HOGAN, heavy metal godfather OZZY OSBOURNE, and beloved Cosby Show actor MALCOLM-JAMAL WARNER.AUGUSTLets just give this whole entry to pop cultures biggest LOVE STORY because, baby, she said yes! TAYLOR-TRAVIS skeptics eat their words when the couple announces their happy news, in whats destined to become one of the most liked posts in Instagram history. Its the fairytale culmination of a courtship that began during the Eras Tour and for two years captivated millions around the world but especially Swifties, the pop stars loving and fiercely protective fan base.SEPTEMBERProving once again that Hollywood loves stories about itself, the EMMYS heap awards on SETH ROGENS movie-biz satire THE STUDIO. Also triumphing is THE PITT, the edgy medical drama starring beloved ER veteran NOAH WYLE that beats out the mighty SEVERANCE. Perhaps the biggest Cinderella story of all: 15-year-old OWEN COOPER, the youngest Emmy winner in over 40 years for the searing ADOLESCENCE. Also this month, JIMMY KIMMEL is temporarily suspended by ABC bosses for comments that angered supporters of the slain CHARLIE KIRK. The world says goodbye to ROBERT REDFORD, Hollywoods golden screen idol turned influential activist. OCTOBERSo, how was your October? Oh, 6-7. Thats apparently how one should use the new viral term accompanied by that palms-up gesture. You know who has better moves than that? BAD BUNNY, who hosts the season premiere of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. In SWIFT updates, her new album THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRLsets sales records. The shocking LOUVRE HEIST captures the worlds attention, not least for the impossibly dapper stranger who walks into an AP photographers frame. Another sad loss: DIANE KEATON, famous for her fedoras, vests and especially La di da, La di da.NOVEMBERAre we at the end of the yellow brick road? The WICKED press tour, which reached all ends of the universe actual and fictional, wraps with the release of JON M. CHUS second installment, WICKED: FOR GOOD. The reviews are much less, er, enthusiastical this time, but the movie defies gravity at the box office. Thats not enough for JONATHAN BAILEY, aka FIYERO, who is named Peoples Sexiest Man Alive. Another fan favorite, ROBERT IRWIN, is also having a very good month: a decade after his sister, BINDI, did the same, the son of late conservationist STEVE IRWIN is crowned winner of DANCING WITH THE STARS.DECEMBEROne award after another! Excuse the rather obvious pun, but its the perfect one to describe momentum in the OSCARS race. While some films see their fortunes fade on GOLDEN GLOBE nominations day, the emerging favorite is ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, director PAUL THOMAS ANDERSONS father-daughter saga of political resistance starring LEONARDO DiCAPRIO and newcomer CHASE INFINITI. Its success also lends a victory to WARNER BROS. in the middle of its NETFLIX acquisition deal which, at years end, is in a holding pattern, facing antitrust challenges and a hostile takeover effort from PARAMOUNT, and sowing one fear after another that the very nature of entertainment will change. JOCELYN NOVECK Noveck is an Associated Press national writer specializing in culture and gender, and a film critic. twitter mailto