This year has been a lot to digest for the chronically online. From Gen Alpha memes (yes, they’re officially here), TikTok sounds we can never escape from, and the rise of every possible “mentality” and “core edits,” 2025 was a full-blown fever dream of top-tier and ridiculous brainrot.
It’s a fact that these moments held us all in a collective chokehold, with many becoming our vocal stims. Whether it was the infamous Jet2Holidays sound that took over our feeds and FYPs, or perhaps the outrageous labubu era we all went through, we just can’t help but look back at 2025 with equal parts confusion and laughter.
And for the uninitiated, consider this all the things you’ve missed – and a much-needed catch-up for the New Year tomorrow – courtesy of someone who doomscrolls for a living. Here are all the best pop culture moments of 2025.
Dubai Chocolate’s expansion
Who would’ve thought the viral Fix Dubai Chocolate would soon take over the world? Well, everyone did. With over 731.1K posts on TikTok as of December 2025, it was no feat that that the Dubai-based brand would launch its first-ever pop-up in Harrods, London. Since then, they’ve been popping up almost everywhere.
Taylor Swift’s engagement with Travis Kelcee
We can’t sign off the year without remembering Taylor Swift’s most iconic love story (see what I did there) with Travis Kelce, with whom she finally said yes to the ring back in August. And of course, she had to use a cute trope to tell the news.
Labubu
Now, don’t think you’re better than us just because you didn’t have a Labubu phase. Labubu’s genuinely weren’t just a toy you would easily spend a couple of hundred bucks for to tag on your bag, it was a whole economy and fashion fiasco. And we obviously can’t forget the iconic 24K gold Labubu.
Onijah Andrew Robinson’s “Respect to the law.”
@brixtonarmstrong MOST GOATED QUOTE EVER: “RESPECT TO THE LAW, RESPECT FOR THE LAW, RESPECT TO ALLAH.”- 💎 #therealonijah #onijahrobinson #fyp #funny #cnn #karachi #Pakistan #nyc #fy #pakistantiktok ♬ original sound – Brixton
Uhm, does anyone else still remember this? My friends don’t seem to – so here’s a little nudge. Onijah literally took over the internet after refusing to leave her “home”, Pakistan, even after travelling all the way from New York to wed her online boyfriend… only for family drama to say no. What followed was a full-blown saga: breakdowns and a whole debacle on national television, which quickly grew to fame. Viral clips of her talking about becoming a person in power?? Surely a storyline that felt scripted, only it wasnt. Inevitably, the internet stayed clocked in. The craziest part? The plot extended to the UAE, where she made a quick pit stop in Dubai.
Coldplay kisscam incident
@aminahussein5_ يريت تسكوتي😂😂😂حوار حفلة ColdPlay 💃🏻💃🏻
Well, this isn’t a surprise. The Coldplay kisscam incident was surely a 2025 plot twist no one would have expected. Like, wdym, a CEO and the HR director was caught cheating? The memes that followed? Insane, hilarious and downright top-tier content that became a viral marketing strategy.
Jet2Holiday
@charlotteoandr Looool live laugh love @jet2 ♬ Jet2 Advert – ✈️A7-BBH | MAN 🇬🇧
Imagine your business going viral over a sound? Well, that’s exactly what happened during the height of the summer period with Jet2’s travel jingle. It was so insanely popular that it became the vocal stim. And now? It has over 3.3 million videos on TikTok.
“Holding Space”
@soceleb Defying Gravity is holding space! #foryou #fyp #arianagrande #cynthiaerivo #wicked #funny #popculture #celebrity #hollywood #foryoupage ♬ original sound – soceleb
Sorry, we’re not defying gravity anymore, we’re “holding space.” Frankly, it was a touching interview with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande during their press tour for Wicked Part 2. And because of the internet’s habit of turning moments into memes, “holding space” quite literally became the talk of every friend group. TikTok was flooded with searches asking what it actually meant, while clips of the queens tearing up over the fact that people were putting the song on such a high pedestal for empowerment circulated nonstop. The cherry on top that made this even wilder? It was all because of the finger hold.
The Wizard Liz breakup
This one was a rollercoaster of emotions. The Wizard Liz, everyone’s big sister for resetting the mindset and just the go-to for levelling, announced her split with her boyfriend-turned-fiance, Landon Nickerson. It was a moment where everyone thought the green flag was…well, green, but it turned out to be the most devastating red flag ever. So much so, she decided to sell off her engagement ring for 100K.
K-pop Demon Hunters
@kyraadones the honmoon has been sealed #abg #fyp #kpopdemonhunters #sajaboys #honmoon #bsf #squad #asian #socal #labubu #dubaichocolate #asmr #socool ♬ original sound – Xia🐥 – Xia!
We love the animation genre in this household. Our top favourite, alongside the 500 million streamers out there, was K-pop Demon Hunters. It was a flurry of different emotions for everyone, particularly obsession with the animated characters featuring the three characters from the Huntrix, a fictional K-pop group turned demon hunters, and the Saja Boys, literal demons cosplaying as humans whose main motto in life was to destroy the Honmoon. Your FYP has seen it, your friends probably tuned in to the viral sound and did the trend too.
Performative Males
@jen.trt 1st performative male contest in Canada taking place in Toronto 🤣🤣🤣 #performativemale ♬ original sound – Jen | Toronto Date Guide – Toronto Date Spots | Jen
Truth be told, the performative male trend woke us all up. Because wdym, there isn’t a single man who’s Jacob Elordi-coded in our perimeter? In short, the performative male internet meme (also known as the matcha male) was all about men cosplaying to be a certain archetype to appear like the perfect internet-approved boyfriend. He likes matcha? He likes to thrift and carries a tote bag. Does he have a book behind his back pocket? Oh, of course, it’s feminist literature – purely for the plot. So much so, the viral costume contest took over the world.
Katseye’s Gap Campaign
@marieclaireuk #gap x #katseye is the duo we didn’t know we needed 🔥 🎥: @Gap ♬ original sound – Marie Claire UK
We’re forever holding space for Katseye’s Gap campaign. We love our inclusive queens for bringing a new wave of enjoying music, fashion and representation. The campaign where they danced to Milkshake quickly became one of the most iconic moments in 2025. But the best part was how young little girls felt seen and represented.
67
@scrolldeep The 67 meme, fully explained in 6,7 minutes
To my fellow Gen Z’s, we have officially been promoted to Millennials – lowkey. Gen Alpha is quickly dominating the social media space with new terms that honestly make everyone scratch their heads in confusion. The latest Gen Alpha colloquial term that brought everyone to a unified confusion? 67. It means absolutely. It’s just pure brainrot.
Kuwaiti’s standing up for the Filipino girl who broke up with her boyfriend
@mayrinburonmuanya #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp ♬ original sound – QUEEN OF TIKTOK
We’ve all learned that once you post the tea online, it becomes everyone’s business. Just this month, a Filipino woman went viral after spilling the tea about her breakup with her boyfriend who, newsflash, made endless promises only to break them (typical male behaviour). To make matters worse, he even blocked her on all social media channels. Naturally, the internet stepped in, and she won over Kuwait’s hearts, with so many content creators using the “I don’t think he’s good for you” sound to show their support.
Cynthia Erivo memes
@mswatchmojo The concept of Cynthia Erivo being a walking meme ✋😲 #cynthiaerivo #wicked #celeb ♬ original sound – msmojo
Just the queen being funny during interviews, press tours and her interactions with her fans.
Cardi B in Saudi Arabia
@cosmopolitanme Halal B is in the house. 🔥🔥 @Cardi B just performed at @MDLBEAST Soundstorm, and we can’t get enough of her. ✨ #CosmoME #CardiB #Riyadh ♬ original sound – Cardi B
Make way for Khadija B! Cardi B’s recent concert in Saudi Arabia officially cemented her as the region’s favourite. Aside from completely embracing her “Halal B” persona, the rap queen made it to every Arab person’s favourite list mostly because of her genuine appreciation for the culture and the country’s hospitality.
Here’s how to celebrate the New Years in Dubai.