Highlights of the Major Pop Culture Trends of the 2010s

Just a few months back we said our goodbyes to 2019 and now we are about to be done with the roaring 2020. Not only does this mark the end of a year but a decade as well. Technology in general surpassed human imagination and created new ways for artists to share their music with fans.

The Television and Film industry had comparatively spent the most amount of money ever on their projects. At the political front, we might have at times felt like we have taken a step back but then again, it creates a new way to grab potential opportunities and possibilities. Therefore, one could surely admit that the 2010 decade was the most exciting and surprising especially when it comes to Pop. Let’s review the highlights of major pop culture trends of the 2010s.

Major Highlights of pop culture trends in 2010s

Music

The 2010 year for music began with Glee. Then it was Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, Kesha, and Eminem and Rihanna’s collaboration that gave the music fans exactly what they had wanted. While Taylor bagged four Grammys being just 21, Lady Antebellum, Kesha, and Eminem, and Rihanna came out with their hit singles that broke several records in different countries

The 2011 music year began with Britney Spears releasing her single ‘Hold it Against Me’. Meanwhile, Justin Bieber went platinum by releasing his mix album ‘Never Say Never: The Remixes’.

Some say that Lady Gaga was a star the day she was born. It might be true because in 2011 when she released her single ‘Born This Way’ from the album of the same title, it took the music industry by storm.

2012 was a major year for music. It began with Katy Perry, followed by Adele. In January, Katy Perry released her single ‘The One That Got Away’. The song was such a hit that it debuted at the No.1 spot at Hot Dance Club Songs Chart..

Then it was time for Adele to show what she had got. In February, she released her single ‘Set Fire to the Rain’, which became an overnight major hit. The song reached the No.1 spot at the Billboard Hot 100.

It was not long until Adele won six Grammy awards for her album 21 and as March began, she had become the first female artists to have three singles in the top ten list of Billboard Hot 100 and the first female artist to have two albums in the top five list of Billboard 200.

However, 2012 was a sad year for Whitney Houston fans as she bid farewell to the world.

Justin Timberlake pushed started the 2013 music year by releasing his album ‘The 20/20 Experience’. It had been six years until his previous album ‘Future Sex/Love Sounds’.

Furthermore, Super Bowl XLVII was an exciting event as well due to the fact that it had hired the services of the two most celebrated female singers, Alicia Keys, and Beyoncé.

As if it was not Beyonce’s year already that she released her album Beyoncé by Beyoncé. It was a surprise fifth studio album that literally caught her fans by surprise.

The 56th Annual Grammy Awards were held in 2014 at Staples Center, Los Angeles. It was a huge even for artists such as Daft Punk who won 5 awards including album of the year..

Following the Grammys, Katy Perry released her single ‘Black Horse’. The song was a major hit and it climbed the no.1 spot at the US Billboard Hot 100.

Finally, it was Taylor Swift with her single ‘Shake it off’ from the album ‘1989’.

Adele began the year by saying ‘Hello’ to the world. It was such a big hit that today it has 2.7 billion views on YouTube.

On the other hand, the 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held, where Sam Smith was the biggest winner of the night having won four awards.

Jamie Fox showed off his hosting skills at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. Taylor Swift won three awards while Justin Timberlake was presented with the innovator award. The event managed to achieve 75% more viewers as compared to the last year.

2016 was Beyoncé’s year as she released her album ‘Lemonade’. Prior to releasing her album, she had released her single ‘Formation’ that made the headlines for the new few months.

Then, Kanye West again stepped into the spotlight for a reason no one could understand. He had released his ‘Famous’ video, which included several celebrities laying naked in bed. The video caused controversy as some celebrities stated that they were not asked for their consent.

The entrance of Frank Ocean back into the music scene silenced many critics. It had been a while since he had produced anything. However, in 2016 the hashtag #frankoceanisaliar started trending, influencing him to finally release his album.

The 59th Annual Grammy Awards were held in 2017 in Staples Center, Los Angeles. James Corden was chosen to host the show, which was actually his first time. The music world was on repeat mode once Taylor Swift released her song ‘Look What You Made Me Do’. The song broke Adele’s record by grossing 43.2 million views in just 24 hours.

On January 28, 2018, the 60th Annual Grammy Awards were held in New York City. Even though it was a live broadcast, but the management had to pay comparatively more amount than Staples Center to host the event. Furthermore, the dates of the event were moved as well so that it did not clash with the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The music world in 2018 was mostly quiet but a big bang was heard when Camilla Cabello released her album ‘Camilla’. Initially, it was decided that the title would be ‘The Hurting. The Healing. The Loving’ while the lead single was ‘Crying In The Club’. However, the title was later changed to ‘Camilla’.

2019 began with the 61st Annual Grammy Awards with Alicia Keys hosting the event this time. Kendrick Lamar received the greatest number of nominations while Childish Gambino and KaceyMusgraves tied for the numerous Grammys won.Then, entered Billie Eilish who along with her brother was the most exciting addition to Hollywood. Furthermore, Lil Nas jumped into the music scene out of nowhere after releasing ‘Old Town Road’.

On October 23, 2019, Selena Gomez released her single ‘Lose You to Love Me’ which the fans speculated was aimed towards her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber.

Hollywood

Hollywood received a couple of surprises in 2010. First, it was Die Hard’s director John McTiernan sentenced for 1 year in prison due to lying to the FBI, followed by Lindsay Lohan’s escape from Betty Ford center. Meanwhile, Sandra Bullock won the Academy Award for the best actress role in the movie ‘The Blind Side’ and thanked her husband. Little did she know that he was cheating on her.

The last drop was handed to Rickey Martin fans when the artist announced that he was homosexual after years of speculations about his sexual identity.Melissa McCarthy shocked Hollywood when she won an Emmy award. 2011 was a problematic one for Charlie Sheen. He was both losing and winning everything throughout the year. He had checked into Rehab and resulted in ‘Two and a Half Men’ being brought to a halt for 2 years.

Nobody knew that a song describing the joys of Friday would take the internet by storm. This was exactly the case with Rebecca Black’s Friday. Either love or hate it, the song was able to garner 180 million views on the site.

Hollywood witnessed the demise of one of the most admired actresses Elizabeth Taylor on March 23, 2011. In 2012 Korean Singer named ‘Psy’ took the entire Hollywood by storm as he introduced his single ‘Gangnam Style’.

On the other hand, Hollywood’s most admired young couple Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber had parted ways. 2013 was a pretty rough year for Justin Bieber as he was always in the news for one reason or the other. He had posted a picture of his naked bottom on Instagram that landed him in a controversy. Furthermore, his pet capuchin monkey was seized by the German authorities as well.

Meanwhile, Miley Cyrus was showcasing her inner wild side at the VMAs through her performance with Robin Thickie. In addition to that, Former NBA star Dennis Rodman caused quite the controversy when he visited North Korea. He had met the country’s prime leader as well.

Perhaps the biggest worst news of 2014 associated with Hollywood was Kim Kardashian’s attempt at burlesque. The biggest surprise of the year was given by Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes to their fans after it was confirmed that the two were in a relationship and Ryan Gosling was fathering Eva’s child.

The worst candid camera moment of the year belonged to Jay-Z’s elevator fight. The leaked video showed Solange Knowles attacking Jay-Z in an elevator. When Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner tied the knots, it was believed that a more perfect couple could not exist. But little did they know that after 10 years the couple would split in 2015.

Moreover the same year, Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj clashed over the MTV awards.Leonardo Di Caprio winning his first Oscar in 2016 was the biggest headline of Hollywood. Then it was Kim Kardashian who was robbed at gunpoint in a Paris hotel room. The robbers got away with jewelry and over $10 million worth of belongings.

Lastly, it was Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt announcing their split in 2016. It was actually Angelina who had filed a divorce from Brad Pitt due to ‘irreconcilable differences.

Known for his spectacular performances in movies, Kevin Spacey in 2017 was alleged to have sexually assaulted actor Anthony Rapp while he was 14 and Kevin was 24.

The one and only playboy to have ever existed Hugh Hefner died in 2017 as well. He was considered to be a pop culture icon and was responsible for helping many models jumpstart their careers.

Kate Spade’s death by suicide was the most unfortunate incident of 2018 in Hollywood. Her death caught everyone by surprise until it was revealed what she was going through. While it was known that Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin were dating it was not known that they had secretly married.

In September 2018, rapper Mac Miller died from a drug overdose. Then, NipseyHussle’s death in 2019 by shooting destroyed the entire vibe of Hollywood. On the other, ASAP Rocky in 2019 had gotten himself in a scuffle with someone in Stockholm, which landed him in jail.

Meanwhile, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in 2019 performed ‘Shallow’ at the Oscars, shutting down everyone in Hollywood. It was such an anticipated performance that there was pin-drop silence inside the venue.  In 2019, the Kardashian family was hit by a rock when it was reported that Kylie Jenner’s best friend Jordyn Woods was caught kissing KhloeKardashian’s baby daddy Tristan Thompson.

Film

It began with the ‘Twilight Saga: Eclipse’ and continued till ‘Alice in Wonderland’. One could say that 2010 had something for everyone. Social network was released, which was based on how Facebook came out and the legal proceedings that followed. Both Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland was a treat for animation fans. The films did huge numbers and were amongst the highest-grossing films of the year.

In 2011, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ was released, which grossed $1,045,713,802 at the box office. Following Pirates of the Caribbean was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part 2, which became the third-highest grossing film.

The year 2012, saw both movies squaring off. For the fans, it was perhaps the best year. The Avengers was the winner as it pulled $1.5 billion at the end of the day, whereas The Dark Knight was able to rack in $1 billion at the box office.The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 was released in November 2012. It marked the ending of the immensely popular teen series.

In 2013, Frozen and Despicable Me 2 were released for those who love animation.

Then, for action fans, Fast & Furious 6 was released along with Man of Steel and Thor: The Dark World. These movies not only had huge openings but also were amongst the highest-grossing films of all time.

Released in 2014, Transformers: Age of Extinction was the highest-grossing film of the year. This specific Transformers movie served as a reimagining of the original Transformers animated TV show that aired in the 1980s. If you want to know more about the original Transformers show, check out our article on The Best TV Shows Based on 80s Toys. The year 2014 also saw the release of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. It received mixed reviews and earned over $956 million worldwide. Guardians of the Galaxy was released in 2014 and collected a worldwide total of $773.3 million.

In 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the highest-grossing film of the year. Jurassic World is the fourth installment of the Jurassic Park series. It was the second-highest-grossing film of 2015.

The release of the new Star Wars film revived the fans’ interest in vintage Star Wars action figures, so Hasbro decided to make retro action figure versions of the characters that appeared in the new movie. Hasbro placed these retro-style action figures to the Kenner brand, which was actually a former company that produced the very first Star Wars action figures in 1978.

Kenner made a deal with Lucasfilm (the creator of Star Wars) and 20th Century Fox (the distributor of the first movie) in order to produce Star Wars action figures. Interestingly, the deal was made one year before the premiere of the first Star Wars film. To learn more about these classic Star Wars action figures, head over to our article titled “Things to Know About the Kenner Star Wars Action Figures.”

2016 was a great year for Marvel fans as they watch their favorite superheroes fight against each other. Captain America: Civil War was the highest-grossing film of the year having made over $408.1 million in the U.S. The second highest-grossing film of 2016 was Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It collected over $532.2 million in Canada and the United States.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi was the highest-grossing film of 2017. It grossed $620.2 million in the United States. Beauty and the Beast grossed $504 million in the United States and Canada while collecting $759.5 in other countries.The highest-grossing film of 2018 was Avengers: Infinity War. Whereas, Black Panther was the second-highest-grossing film of 2018.

2019 was the year of Marvel Comics. Avengers: Endgame was the highest-grossing film of 2019. The Lion King was the second highest-grossing film of 2019. Spirder-Man: Far From Home did pretty well in 2019. It grossed $390.5 million in Canada and the United States alone. Captain Marvel managed to gross $426.8 million in Canada and the United States.

Television

In 2010, Conan O’Brien was introduced to the world and perhaps was the best thing that had happened to television. Jay Leno had retired and it was Conan O’Brian’s time to shine and he did. At the same time ‘Lost’ announced its last season and walked away from the scene, leaving its fans clueless. For better or worse, the executives thought that the season had a pretty long run, therefore, it is time to say goodbye. Lastly, it was American Idol with its lowest ratings in history. Things were quite blurry as important names jumped ships. It wasn’t until Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler took the stage.

Games of Thrones premiered in April 2011 on HBO. To date, it is one of the most top-rated and highest-grossing TV series ever. Gabrielle Giffords was an Arizona congresswoman who was shot at point-blank range by Jared Lee Loughner.

In January 2011, CBS announced that Two and a Half Men would be discontinued for an indefinite time period due to Charlie Sheen being admitted to the rehabilitation center.

In 2012, The Walking Dead was a tremendous success. On the day of the third season’s premiere, around 10.9 million viewers tuned into watch. However, Star Wars fan experienced a slight blow when Disney announced that they would be purchasing Lucasfilm, which included the Star Wars franchise as well.

In November 2013, Netflix had announced that it had planned a major overhaul for those who stream videos to televisions. Time Warner Cable in January took a bold step by banning ads associated with rifles and guns.

It was March 31, 2014, when How I Met Your Mother fans got to know who the mother of Ted’s children was since it was the last time the last season was aired. It was in 2014 that Letterman had announced the retirement and said that by May 20, 2015, he would leave the show. Then it was, Chelsea Handler who was saying goodbye to her viewers. She was TV’s sole female late-night show host bidding farewell. Her show ‘Chelsea Lately’ aired its finale on August 26.

Madonna stepped onto the stage wearing an oversize cape in 2015. Game of Thrown is notorious for killing important characters. But the series took a step ahead when it decided to possibly kill Jon Snow.

Perhaps the most popular and viewed Television series was Planet Earth II in 2016. Come 2016, Jon Snow was resurrected and fans could take a deep breath one more time. It was one of the most epic moments in the history of television.

One of the most hilarious and surprising moments of Television in 2017 was associated with a reporter from the BBC. It was Robert E. Kelly’s time to shine. His daughter stormed inside the room followed by the second child. In 2017, Jimmy Kimmel paid tribute to Don Rickles and told his viewers how special he was to him while he was growing up.

In June 2018, Indian actress Priyanka Chopra had apologized for the plotline of the episode ‘The Blood of Romeo’ belonging to the drama ‘Quantico’.The world is well-familiar with the Chernobyl disaster. From the outside, it was just an accident that claimed millions of lives. In 2019, the Television Series splendidly portrayed the events. Donald Trump hade his first prime time interview in which he addressed the Federal government shutdown and the funding of the Mexican border wall.  Also The Vampire Diaries started its long 8 year run on the CW.

News

The biggest news of 2011 was the killing of Osama Bin Laden. He was the most wanted terrorist at the time and was responsible for carrying the 9/11 attacks, which claimed thousands of lives.

The disappearance of Malaysian Flight MH370 caused a stir when it vanished in thin air without any clues. Even today, the incident is a mystery as no one has been able to explain the truth.

At the global front, the Syrian refugee crisis had gripped the world. It shook the entire world for a moment. Syria’s involvement in the conflict claimed the lives of 220,000 people. President Bashar Assad’s bloody tirade against his opponents provoked countries like Russia to step in.

#Metoo was the biggest event of the year after famous director Harvey Weinstein was alleged to have raped several women and actresses. The news took the industry by storm until he was brought to court and the investigations began. As a result, the #Metoo movement was born, which spread across the world, influencing actresses like Alyssa Milani to step ahead and claim sexual abuse.

Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria suffered a severe electric shutdown. The state-owned utility companies found it hard to provide electricity to its residents. As a result, the world jumped in to help, raising charities to help Puerto Rico in time of need until the electricity was restored.

At the political front, the U.S and China were engaged in a bitter trade war.

President Trump had announced to implement tariffs worth $300 billion on Chinese imported goods while delaying them to give negotiators some time. Both leaders then agreed to push the trade talks until President Trump implement Tariffs, which provoked China to implement tariffs worth $75 billion on American goods as well. Although the sides shook hands after some time but critics were unsure of whether the differences were actually gone.

Art

In February 2010, L’Homme qui Marche 1’s second edition was sold at an auction for US $104.3 million. Nude, Green Leaves and Bust was sold at an auction for US $106.5 million. In May 2010, thief VjeranTomic stole several paintings from the museum Art Moderne de Paris.

In 2011, the Rhein II was sold for $4.3 million, which made it the most expensive photograph to be ever sold. Then, MuseoSumaya was a private museum that was designed by designer Fernando Romero opened to the public in 2011.Mougins Museum of Classical Art was opened in June 2011 to the public and features an antique collection of artwork.

The Isleworth Mona Lisa is an oil canvas painting that belongs to the sixteenth-century. It was displayed to the public in 2012. In March 2012, the Palm Springs Art Museum opened and introduced a satellite facility in Palm Desert. The year 2012 was a big one interms of a huge discovery that took place in Munich. Known as the Gurlitt Collection, around 1,500 artwork pieces were discovered that were collected and assembled by HilderbrandGurlitt.

Located in Downtown Miami, Florida, The Perez Art Museum Miami is a contemporary art museum opened in 2013. In November 2013, the Three Studies of Lucian Friend was sold for US$142.4 million. In July 2013, artist David Lewis created and installed a sculpture dedicated to Rachel Carson.

In 2014, a group of scientists and art historians were able to discover another painting hidden under the painting The Blue Room by Pablo Picasso using X-ray technology.The Aspen Art Museum is basically a conversion of a hydroelectric plant. It was opened for the public on August 9, 2014. In 2014, Amy Winehouse statue was unveiled in north London by Scott Eaton who had sculpted it.

In 2015, Sheikh Al-MayassaHamad Al-Thani bought the painting Will You Marry Me? for nearly US$210 million. Opened in September 2015, the Broad museum attracts a significant number of visitors each year, who adore the efforts of contemporary artists.

Met Breuer was opened in March 2016, in the same building that was occupied by the Whitney Museum of American Art. The Beach at Scheveningen in Stormy Weather is an old painting by Vincent Van Gogh. The painting remained missing for nearly 13 years before it was found in January 2016 by the Italian guards.On November 15, 2017, Salvador Mundi was sold at an auction for $450.3 million. Then the very same year, Louvre Abu Dhabi was opened to the public.

On April 21, 2018, The Institute for Contemporary Art designed by Steven Holl was opened to the public. In May, the collection of both David and Peggy Rockefeller was put on Christie’s auction to be sold in New York City. The event sold the first oil canvas painting ‘Young Girl with a Flower Basket’ made by Pablo Picasso. It was sold for US$115 Million.

Rabbit is a stainless-steel sculpture made by Jeff Koons. It was the most expensive piece of artwork sold by a living artist in May 2019 for $91.1 million. Then, Museum of Modern Art was reopened after another phase of renovations on October 21, 2019.

Fashion

Fashion

The 2010 MTV music awards took everyone by surprise when Lady Gaga stepped onto the stage to receive her award in a dress that was made completely of meat.In 2012, Angelina Jolie’s Oscar look was simply stunning. She wore a Versace gown with a thigh-high split. Then, The Marc Jacobs show was designed as such that the models wore perfect traveling dresses and walked off a retro train that was reconstructed only for the show.

Stella McCartney’s two-tone dress that featured one color on the bodice and back while a different color on the sleeves and sides was carried to the red carpet. In 2013, Kate Moss poses for playboy. Then, history was in the making when Prada hired its first black model in almost 20 years.

In 2014, LupitaNyong’o was a newbie as she walked on the red carpet of the Golden Globes. She wore a caped Ralph Lauren gown for the big appearance. Sarah Jessica Parker announced that she would be launching her shoe line, SJP. In 2014, Kendall Jenner’s official journey as a model started.

In 2015, Paris based brand Givenchy for the first time decided to showcase its collection at the New York Fashion Week instead of Paris. Furthermore, both Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid as they were cast for the first time by Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

It was 2016 when plus-sized models made their way in, thanks to Ashley Graham. Rihanna collaborating with Puma to showcase her worth in the fashion industry and she did.

PrabalGurung showcased his politically charged T-shirts in 2017. 11 Honore stepped into the spotlight and tried bridging the gap between normal and plus-sized females.

In 2018, Lady Gaga downed a flamingo dress for the 2018 red carpet. Meanwhile, Cate Blanchett revised what she wore at the 2014 Golden Globes.Lady Gaga in May 2019, attended the MET Gala in a multi-layered outfit that consisted of a giant bow on her head along with an umbrella carrying Tuxedo personnel who helped her with the outfit. Cardi B wore a Clam Shell gown that was inspired by Mugler’sFall 1995 Couture show archives.

Literature

The year 2010 was a huge year for Stieg Larsson who was a Swedish novelist. Although he died in 2004 but his crime novels were brought from the dead. Founded by Michael Rothenberg in 2011, the 100 Thousand Poets for Change was introduced and created to focus on arts, particularly music, poetry, and literary arts. Then. The literature world saw a huge contribution with the opening of AhmetHamdiTanpur Literature Museum Library in Turkey.

In April 2012, Ma Jian attended the London Book Fair. He had painted a smear across his face by using red paint to present a copy of his banned book Beijing Coma. Then, British based novelist Salman Rushdie cancels his appearance at the Jaipur Literature Festival. MalalaYousafzai opened the Library of Birmingham in 2013. In 2013 J.K. Rowling released a crime fiction titled ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’.

In 2015, The main research library of the University of Oxford, the Bodleian Library acquired its twelve millionth book. On May 24, 2016, Hundreds of US writers including Robert Polito, Stephen King, and Nicole Krauss wrote an open letter to the people of America to not vote for Donald Trump.

In 2017, famous comic book author Terry Pratchett’s hard disk was crushed according to his request after his death. In 2018, The Nobel Prize for Literature was cancelled.

J.D. Sallinger’s son in 2019 decides to publish his unpublished work.

Sports

The 2010 Winter Olympics took place in Vancouver with the international event attracting more than 2,600 athletes around the world.One of the most exciting and watched sports events, the FIFA world cup was held in 2010.Serbian tennis player in 2011, competed against Rafael Nadal and beat him to claim his first-ever Wimbledon title.

In 2012, the most important and significant event in the world of sports took place in London.

Perhaps the most surprising event of 2013 was Andy Murray defeating Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.Yet another surprise awaits tennis fans. 19-year old Sloane Stephens defeated Serena Williams at the Australian Open.

One of the biggest upsets of 2014 in the world of sports was Nishikori beating Novak Djokovic in the U.S open semifinals.Termed as “Historic Disgrace”, Brazil had shocked the world when it was beaten inhumanely at the WorldCup semifinal.

In 2015, Rafael Nadal was fighting for his sixth-consecutive French Open title but was denied access by Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. The queen of tennis, Serena Williams lost against Roberta Vinci in the semi-finals at the US Open.

In 2016, Kobe Bryant announces his last game. Forever the greatest, Muhammad Ali passed away in 2016.In 2017, Real Madrid became the first European team to become European champions twice in the Champions League era. Serena Williams beats her sister at the Australian Open and then gives birth to a baby girl in September.

2018 was a bitter year for Lewis as he secured 4th position in the Australian Grand Prix held in July.Serena Williams was again shining in 2018 as she won her 2018 Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award.Tiger Woods winning the Masters in 2019 marked a huge comeback for the controversial sportsman.MMA fighter ConorMcCgregor took his chances and stepped into the right to fight against the best Boxer Floyd Mayweather.

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