Summer 2024 has arguably been one of, if not, the most memorable summer for Pop Culture when discussing most recent years. Last year when writing my “Moments in Pop Culture that Defined the Summer of 2023” article, I firmly believed that the summer of 2023 would be the most notable summer in terms of Pop Culture.
However, looking back, I could have never predicted how iconic the summer of 2024 would be.
How could I have predicted Charli XCX making a legendary comeback with the release of her smash-hit album Brat or the explosion of “Brat Summer” to the point where presidential-candidate Kamala Harris used it as the theme for her entire campaign?
Speaking of Kamala Harris, how could I have predicted her being the Democratic presidential nominee or her using “Freedom” by Beyoncé as her presidential campaign theme song?
Not to mention the takeover of Cowboy Carter and the numerous other amazing albums/records that hijacked summer such as “Short N’ Sweet” by Sabrina Carpenter (and don’t get me started on Sabrina, that’s for another article!), “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” by Chappell Roan, and the release of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” music video.
Additionally, “Like A Prayer” by Madonna has been stuck in my head for 3 weeks because of the box-office hit that is Deadpool & Wolverine which, in my opinion, single-handedly revived the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
And don’t think I forgot the domination of Love Island USA Season 6 and the countless memes that sprouted from that show (I will never get tired of Rob rolling his eyes, Kaylor bawling her eyes out, or Kordell swinging around his suitcase).
Although it’s technically still summer, the 2024 summer nostalgia is already hitting and I, for one, am very excited for June 2025.
With no further ado, let’s recap some of the moments that defined the summer of 2024!
5. Brat Summer
The revival of Charli XCX’s career was definitely not one of my 2024 predictions.
Despite releasing numerous 2010’s bangers, Charli XCX has notoriously been regarded as an underrated artist. However with the summer release of her most recent album Brat, she’s started to cement herself as one of Gen Z’s main pop girls.
The iconic and simplistic neon green album cover has sparked numerous viral memes, Tiktok dances, and fashion trends. This has led to the explosion of a new aesthetic titled “Brat Summer”.
Brat summer absolutely dominated social media from the months of June-August. The idea behind Brat summer, as noted by the Today Show, is about “accepting your imperfections while embracing the chaos.”
This ideology has become so culturally relevant to the point where presidential-candidate Kamala Harris has used it as one of the driving forces for her campaign.
What once was a fun Tiktok trend soon turned into a cultural phenomenon which is why it deserves an impressive 5th spot on my list.
4. Sabrina Carpenter
When Sabrina Carpenter had started to appear on my “For You Page” in 2022 after the release of her critically acclaimed album emails i can’t send, I had a gut feeling that the music industry would be reciting her name much more frequently than years prior.
Yet, I had no idea just how much I would be seeing her performances or hearing her voice.
Her hit-single “Espresso” already has 1.2 billion spotify streams and recently won “Song of The Year” at the Video Music Awards. Furthermore, her following release of her second single “Please Please Please” which was accompanied by a very memorable music video due to the feature of Saltburn actor Barry Keoghan, has garnered 760 million spotify streams and inspired numerous Tiktok trends.
Most recently, in August, she released her 6th studio album Short N’ Sweet which features her two aforementioned singles and multiple other great tracks (my personal favorite being “Sharpest Tool”).
Sabrina Carpenter has definitely left a strong impression on the summer of 2024 which is why she deserves a notable position at number four.
3. Deadpool & Wolverine
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been having a rough couple of years (with the exception of Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse) with numerous releases that have disappointed casual and hardcore fans alike, such as She-Hulk, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and The Marvels.
As a hardcore Marvel fan, when it was announced that Deadpool & Wolverine was in production and Hugh Jackman was reprising his role as Wolverine, I was extremely excited yet somewhat skeptical of how the MCU would approach the plot of this movie.
It’s safe to say that after watching the movie in theaters 3 times (yes, I did pay to see that movie 3 times on 3 separate occasions), my expectations were exceeded and so were a lot of other people’s.
According to the Walt Disney Company, Deadpool & Wolverine has garnered $1.086 billion which makes it the highest-grossing R-Rated film of all time at the global box office.
This vulgar, yet comedic and heartwarming, movie has won over audiences and single-handedly regained fans’ trust in the MCU which is why it earns a number three position on this list.
2. The Presidential Debates
At the beginning of this summer, the presidential-candidates were reminiscent of those of 2020 with current president Joe Biden being the Democratic Party’s nominee & former president Donald Trump being his opposition as the Republican Party’s candidate.
During the first presidential debate, it became apparent that the debate was no longer about the American people, it was simply about throwing fallacies between candidates.
Due to an immense amount of backlash accompanied by old age, Biden decided to pull out of the presidential race and introduce a new candidate, current vice-president Kamala Harris.
This not only shocked the Democratic party, but stunned the nation as a whole. To this day, there is still discourse on Biden’s decision and whether or not it was the right choice for his party.
In the most recent presidential debate between Harris and Trump, it was. . . entertaining, to say the least. Multiple one-liners from Harris and Trump have gone viral and spread across the country like wildfire.
Due to this debate, countless voters have already decided which candidate they’re casting their vote for come November.
No matter who wins this election, it will be one for the history books which is why the presidential debates are my runner up.
Source. Ben Symons / Peacock via Getty
- “Love Island USA: Season 6”
If you didn’t subscribe to Peacock just to watch this show, then you missed out on a great summer!
“Love Island USA: Season 6” became the show of the summer. The plot of the show is centered around placing conventionally attractive adults on an island and placing them in couples, hoping they find love.
The winning couple, which is decided by fan votes, wins $100,000.
The season featured, arguably, one of the most iconic reality tv casts in a while with the most notable formations of PPG (Leah Kateb, Jana Craig, and Serena Page) and PPGM (Miguel Harichi, Kenny Rodriguez, and Kordell Beckham).
There are too many legendary quotes and scenes from this season that it’d be unfair to just place one scene at the top of the list!
With iconic memes, entertaining cast members, and never-ending drama that drew in millions of viewers each week, Love Island USA Season 6 cemented itself in pop culture history and takes the number one spot as the top moment in pop culture that defined the Summer of 2024.
Honorable Mentions: Chappell Roan, the Tiktok exposée trend (Brooke Schofield v. Clinton Kane, Madeline Argy v. Central Cee & Ice Spice, Olivia v. Sedona, Cleotrapa v. Ice Spice), The Olympics, “Not Like Us” music video release.
