In weather terminology, they call it “rapid intensification†— the process by which a storm strengthens dramatically in a short period.
In pop culture terminology, they call it
±õ³Ù’s not like Swift didn’t have big – huge! – years before this. But 2023? This was ridiculous.
From the blockbuster “Eras†tour that conquered the United States before a to the on the road to to the to becoming a billionaire — and yeah, — it all made for a year you could reasonably call “2023 (Taylor’s Version).â€
There were, of course, non-Swiftian developments in pop culture. Beyoncé, ever the superstar, had a and ruled the box office with Speaking of renaissance, look no further than Barbie — technically age 64 but now living her most fantastic life in plastic, thanks to Through mere coincidence of timing, paired to fuel that singlehandedly revitalized the multiplex.
There were comebacks, as always. The Rolling Stones never left, surely, but in decades. Even the Beatles . On TV, Samantha even made it back — for a minute — to the “Sex and the City†franchise. A pregnant soared (literally) at the Super Bowl, and again showed us that nobody makes a more glamorous, more fashionably late Met Gala entrance.
Our very selective (and this year, very Swift-centric) stroll down pop culture memory lane:
JANUARY
If anyone needs a comeback, it’s The year begins with comic JERROD CARMICHAEL quipping, “I’m here because I’m Black†— a nod to plaguing the awards. Speaking of scandal, nobody does it better than the royals: sells more than 3.2 million copies in one week. Also breaking records: “BZRP Music Session #53,†in which she bitingly sings of her ex, January (Taylor's version): about its
FEBRUARY
At the Super Bowl, above the 50-yard line in a bright red jumpsuit … and ±õ³Ù’s her in seven years and her first since nine months earlier. Now’s the time to learn things we didn’t know about whose memoir “Love, Pamela†drops, joining At it's a decidedly mixed bag for BEYONCÉ, who for career wins, but is shut out in the top categories. bests her for album of the year, with his acceptance speech.
MARCH
±õ³Ù’s And nobody gets slapped! “Everything Everywhere All at Once†sweeping nearly every major category. This feel-good night proves a huge moment for Asians and “My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp,†says an emotional winning best supporting actor. Some may have skipped the Oscars entirely — namely catching the finale of Longtime Bravolebrities Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix break up when it’s revealed Sandoval has been having an affair with their “Vanderpump Rules†co-star, a development soon In a Utah courtroom, a battle over a ski collision, but also nabs the fashion award. And the “Eras†era begins: SWIFT
APRIL
Back to the courtroom for a sec: have you seen The sticks the landing. Somehow, regular guy RONALD GLADDEN never figured out that everyone else doing jury duty was an actor, including playing a deliciously conceited … JAMES MARSDEN. And back to SWIFT watch: Neither confirms it, but reports say she and longtime boyfriend JOE ALWYN have split.
MAY
If Samuel Beckett had attended he’d surely have written â€Waiting for Rihanna.†Most guests come in time for cocktails; closer to dessert, but makes it worth the wait. This is the year but still the animal world is most memorably represented by A real one, who walks the carpet and entertains media waiting for Rihanna, until, squish! Bye, cockroach — and bye also to the ROY kids, aka KENDALL, ROMAN and SHIV, who self-destruct gloriously in the Leave it to Hollywood's writers, to have the cleverest signs: “HBO Max Pays HBO Minimum,†reads one. They will remain on strike for nearly 150 days, in July.
JUNE
We'll keep this one brief: Heard of the at McDonald's? ±õ³Ù’s all the rage on TikTok. A new group of luminaries is invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, among them DAVID BYRNE, AUSTIN BUTLER, KEKE PALMER, KE HUY QUAN — and yes, SWIFT.
JULY
Take one famous doll with a complicated history. Add a talent like GERWIG, get to star, bring in to chew the scenery, and you have “BARBIE,†the biggest movie of 2023 and a Now stir in and the rest is Speaking of history, one famous bird is no more — drops a longtime logo and decrees TWITTER will henceforth Also history: SWIFT now has than any woman, eclipsing From eclipse to earthquake: Scientists report they've detected seismic signals roughly akin to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake under Swift's Seattle show.
AUGUST
Guess who has 277 million Instagram followers? You know who. Guess who has almost double that? that’s who, with 493 million. The Argentine soccer god, in his first month thrills fans and gives a makes a very quick return to the “Sex and the City†reboot.
SEPTEMBER
Now that summer is over, let's inspect the damage — by which we mean all the recent celebrity splits: ARIANA GRANDE and DALTON GOMEZ, SOFIA VERGARA and JOE MANGANIELLO, among others. But hey, someone's looking for love: Retired widower GERRY TURNER, begins his search on ABC. Also, this month for one tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, by some 400%. So weird, any idea why? In unrelated news,
OCTOBER
±õ³Ù’s a good month to be 80! becomes a TikTok star via daughter Francesca's and presents one of his most ambitious films yet, Also 80, MICK JAGGER joins slightly younger ROLLING STONES bandmates KEITH RICHARDS (79) and RONNIE WOOD (76) in producing the crackling new album In a BRITNEY SPEARS details her heartbreaks and her struggles, her relationships and her . SWIFT reaches billionaire status — and throws a Hollywood premiere for her which will become the of all time.
NOVEMBER
Hollywood’s writers and actors are back to where they once belonged. Which brings us to the BEATLES: No, they aren’t getting back together. But six decades after Beatlemania ruled, a new and final tune, is released, thanks to artificial intelligence. Cast members of “Friends†gather to mourn at his funeral. The “Eras†tour goes international, packing stadiums with more to go in 2024.
DECEMBER
SPOTIFY announces 2023’s — it’s SWIFT, dethroning BAD BUNNY. BEYONCÉ on opening weekend Is it a foregone conclusion, finally, that SWIFT would close out her year staring at us from magazine covers as in a year her fame achieved something akin to “nuclear fusion� Which brings us to our final question: How long can a storm rapidly intensify? Fact is, though, SWIFT seems to always be rewriting the rules.
