SHOWS
MUSIC
POPULAR FEMALE ATHLETES
• Naomi Osaka
• Alex Morgan
• Mikaela Shiffrin
• Eileen Gu
• Ivona Dadic
• Coco Gauff
• Megan Rapinoe
• Simone Biles
• Paige Spiranac
Serena Williams
• Sydney Leroux
• Elena Rybakina
Eugenie Bouchard
• Katie Ledecky
TOP GROSSING MOVIES (DOMESTIC)
• Barbie
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie
• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
• Oppenheimer
• The Little Mermaid
• Avatar: The Way of Water
• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
• John Wick: Chapter 4
• Sound of Freedom
AVERAGE PRICE OF GAS
After hitting an all-time high in 2022 of $5.02, the average gas price per gallon in 2023 was $3.52. The highest average gas prices in 2023 were in Hawaii ($4.68 per gallon), California ($4.62) and the state of Washington ($4.04).
INFLATION RATE
After hitting a 40-year high in 2022 of 9.1%, inflation was aggressively addressed by the Federal Reserve using monetary policies to help reduce the annual inflation rate to 3.4% in 2023.
A.I. ARRIVES
Chat GPT-4 is released.
BARBENHEIMER
The simultaneous release of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” led to a widespread phenomenon known as “Barbenheimer” across social media, pushing people to theaters to watch both movies, some even on the same day. The two movies combined have already surpassed $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales. (*M = million subscribers)
POPULAR MALE ATHLETES
• Robert Lewandowski
• Alphonso Davies
• Harry Kane
• Lando Norris
• Bukayo Saka
• Cristiano Ronaldo
• Charles Leclerc
POPULAR YOUTUBE CHANNELS
•
•
• Cocomelon
• Sony Entertainment Television
• Kids Diana Show
• PewDiePew
• Like Nastya
• Vlad and Niki
• Zee Music Company
• WWE
THE CORONATION
The coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom, took place on May 6, 2023.
THE IMPLOSION OF THE TITAN
The Titan submersible imploded during an expedition to view the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean.
HOLLYWOOD WRITERS STRIKE
The Writers Guild of America went on strike from May 2 to September 27 to renegotiate contract terms including pay raises, regulations for the use of artificial intelligence, provisions for health care, and increased residuals from streaming.
COVID-19 NO LONGER A GLOBAL HEALTH EMERGENCY
On May 5, more than three years since COVID-19 was designated as a pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to the global Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19.
MAUI WILDFIRES
On August 2023, the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century devastated the Hawaiian island of Maui.
TOM BRADY RETIRES
Tom Brady retires “for good” from football, ending his illustrious 23year NFL career.
TOP TOUR RENAISSANCE TOUR
Beyonce’s critically celebrated Renaissance tour was the top spot on the year-end Billboard Boxscore rankings, grossing $570.5 million across 55 shows with 2.7 million tickets sold.
TOP GLOBAL ARTIST TAYLOR SWIFT
Re-imagined re-releases, record-breaking world tours, and colorful friendship bracelets have fans everywhere thrilled to see Taylor Swift as this year’s top artist, with more than 26.1 billion global streams in 2023.
#1 STREAMED ALBUM ON SPOTIFY
UN VERANO SIN TI - BAD BUNNY
More than 4.5 billion streams globally.
#1 SONG OF 2023
LAST NIGHTMORGAN WALLEN
Jumping to the year-end Hot 100 Songs ranking — Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” dominated 2023. The track stayed at Number One on the Hot 100 for 16 weeks, beating out Harry Styles’ record of longest run for a non-collaboration. Wallen even tied with “Despacito” for the secondlongest reign in Hot 100 history.
#1 STREAMED SONG ON SPOTIFY FLOWERS - MILEY
More than 1.6 billion streams globally.
CYRUS
BILLIE EILISH AND FINNEAS
Won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song – Motion Picture for their emotional “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie.
ELEMENTAL
Inspired by an Director Peter Sohn’s immigration story and observations of diversity in New York City. This movie showcases a city where fire, water, land, and air residents coexist, where a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy discover how much they have in common. This portrayal reflects the various elements living in Element City and captures Ember’s family’s aspirations for a better life.
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE
Miles Morales, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, is thrust across the Multiverse and encounters a team of Spider-People tasked with safeguarding its existence. Amidst differing opinions on handling a new threat, Miles is compelled to face off against his fellow Spiders, forcing him to reassess the essence of heroism in order to protect those he cares about deeply.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3
After losing Gamora in Infinity War, a depressed Peter Quill must reunite the Guardians of the Galaxy when Rocket’s past resurfaces. With help from the Ravagers and a memory-lacking duplicate Gamora, they venture to an Earth-like world ruled by the villainous High Evolutionary, aiming to reshape the universe. The Guardians must use their wit, charm, and strength to thwart the High Evolutionary’s plans and save the universe once and for all.
BLUE BEETLE
Jaime Reyes unexpectedly acquires an ancient alien biotech relic, the Scarab, which selects him as its host. The symbiotic connection grants him an extraordinary, unpredictable suit of armor, altering his destiny and transforming him into the superhero Blue Beetle.
BARBIE
While Barbie and Ken are enjoying their time in the vibrant and seemingly flawless realm of Barbie Land, they are presented with an opportunity to enter the real world. The movie follows “Stereotypical Barbie”, played by Margot Robbie, as she goes on a journey of self-discovery and redefines her views of the world around her.
THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES
To help revive the Hunger Games’ declining viewership, 24 Capitol Academy students, including Coriolanus, are chosen to mentor tributes for the upcoming 10th Hunger Games.
THE LITTLE MERMAID
Halle Bailey’s The Little Mermaid reimagines the original with Ariel’s sisters as kingdom leaders, Scuttle as a gannet, and Ursula as King Triton’s sister. The 2023 version explores Ariel’s mother’s backstory, portrays Eric as an orphan-turned-prince, and shows Ariel dealing the decisive blow to Ursula.
AHSOKA
Ahsoka Tano, the former Jedi apprentice of Anakin Skywalker, seeks to prevent the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn.
WEDNESDAY
After Pugsley Addams is bullied at a regular high school, Wednesday Addams seeks revenge by releasing piranhas in the bully’s pool, resulting in consequences. Sent to Nevermore, her parents’ alma mater, Wednesday clashes with her werewolf roommate, Enid. Concurrently, a monster terrorizes the town and students. Wednesday confronts it after a classmate’s attack, unraveling the mystery while attempting to master her emerging psychic abilities.
GOOSEBUMPS
Five high school students embark on a mysterious quest to uncover the details surrounding the tragic death of a teenager named Harold Biddle, that occurred three decades ago.
NETFLIX’S ONE PIECE
The show chronicles the escapades of the Straw Hat Pirates on their quest for the legendary “One Piece,” a prestigious treasure that could potentially crown their captain, Monkey D. Luffy, as “The King of the Pirates.”
AMERICAN BORN CHINESE
American Born Chinese follows the story of Jin Wang (played by Ben Wang), a typical high school teenager and son of Chinese immigrants. Engaging in pursuits like collecting manga and attempting to join the soccer team, Jin grapples with his identity, embarking on a journey to discover who he truly is.
SCHOOL SPIRITS
The show follows Maddie, a teen girl stuck in the afterlife investigating her own mysterious disappearance.
TOM BRADY
Tom Brady retires “for good” from football, ending his illustrious 23-year NFL career.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS WIN SUPERBOWL LVIII
The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers, 25-22 in overtime.
LIONEL MESSI
Lionel Messi Signs With Inter Miami, Starting New Era for Major League Soccer in the United States.
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS WIN THE STANLEY CUP
The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers 9-3 to win the 2023 Stanley Cup.
DENVER NUGGETS ARE NBA CHAMPS
The Denver Nuggets win their first championship in franchise history after defeating the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
THE TEXAS RANGERS ARE WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!
This is their first World Series championship in club history.
ANALOGUE POCKET: LIMITED EDITION CLASSIC COLORS
This impressive third-party Game Boy handheld took inspiration from past Nintendo colorways.
META QUEST 3 VR HEADSET
Meta launched the Meta Quest 3 – a mixed reality headset that allows users to dive into a complete VR immersion or seamlessly merge the physical and virtual realms.
CHAT GPT-4
GPT-4 can process both images and text as input, enabling it to describe humor in unconventional images, provide summaries from screenshots, and address exam questions incorporating diagrams.
APPLE IMAC M3 CHIP (7 COLOR OPTIONS)
Apple released the world’s best all-inone with the M3 chip, up to 2x faster performance, and 7 colors to choose from.
APPLE IPHONE 15 PRO MAX
Apple released the iPhone 15 Pro Max with a new 5x telephoto camera, and a processor capable of running console-grade games.
SONOS - ERA 300 SPEAKER
This breakthrough acoustic design features six optimally positioned drivers all around the front, sides, and top to support Dolby Atmos Music.
MURTAGH
Christopher Paolini
DIVINE RIVALS
Rebecca Ross
A STUDY IN DROWNING Ava Reid
INVISIBLE SON
Kim Johnson
PHOTO CREDITS: COVER: TAYLOR SWIFT: JOHN MEDINA/GETTY IMAGES, THEIR MAJESTIES KING CHARLES III AND QUEEN CAMILLA: CHRISTOPHER FURLONG/GETTY IMAGES, LIONEL MESSI: TIM NWACHUKWU/GETTY IMAGES, STAR WARS REBELS: DISNEY XD VIA GETTY IMAGES, THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3: IWASBOREDSOIDIDTHIS/DEVIANTART, META QUEST 3: META/HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM, YEAR IN REVIEW: TAYLOR SWIFT: ALLEN J. SCHABEN / LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA GETTY IMAGES, LIONEL MESSI: CLIVE BRUNSKILL/ GETTY IMAGES, NAOMI OSAKA: ROBERT PRANGE/GETTY IMAGES, GAS PRICES: JEFF GRITCHEN/MEDIANEWS GROUP/ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER VIA GETTY IMAGES, CONSUMER PRICES RISE SHARPLY IN JULY: SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES, BARBENHEIMER: SHUTTERSTOCK/ADRYAN SAMUEL HUTAGALUNG, BARBIE’ SKYSCRAPER BILLBOARD CAMPAIGN AT HOLLYWOOD & HIGHLAND: AARONP/BAUER-GRIFFIN/GC IMAGES, CHATGPT OFFICIAL APP PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS: JAKUB PORZYCKI/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES, NEWS: THEIR MAJESTIES KING CHARLES III AND QUEEN CAMILLA: SAMIR HUSSEIN/WIREIMAGE, OCEANGATE’S ‘TITAN’ SUBMERSIBLE: ALAMY STOCK PHOTO/PEOPLE.COM, LAHAINA: ROBERT GAUTHIER/LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA GETTY IMAGES, TOMMY DORFMAN: JOHN NACION/GETTY IMAGES, TOM BRADY: JULIO AGUILAR/GETTY IMAGES, MARYLAND GOVERNOR LARRY HOGAN MANDATES FACE COVERINGS WHEN IN STORES AND PUBLIC TRANSIT: CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES MUSIC: MORGAN WALLEN: ERIKA GOLDRING/GETTY IMAGES FOR BMI, TAYLOR SWIFT: ALLEN J. SCHABEN / LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA GETTY IMAGES, MORGAN WALLEN: CHRISTOPHER POLK/PENSKE MEDIA VIA GETTY IMAGES, TAYLOR SWIFT: JOHN MEDINA/GETTY IMAGES, BEYONCÉ: KEVIN MAZUR/WIREIMAGE FOR PARKWOOD, BILLIE EILISH AND FINNEAS O’CONNELL: AMANDA EDWARDS/GETTY IMAGES, MILEY CYRUS: MAURICIO SANTANA/GETTY IMAGES, BAD BUNNY: KEVIN WINTER/GETTY IMAGES FOR THE RECORDING ACADEMY, MOVIES: HALLE BAILEY “THE LITTLE MERMAID” UK PREMIERE: HODA DAVAINE/DAVE BENETT/WIREIMAGE, THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE: NINTENDO/UNIVERSALSTUDIOS/NEWYORKER.COM, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE: SONY PICTURES ANIMATION/PEOPLE.COM, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3: MARVEL STUDIOS/RADIOTIMES.COM, ELEMENTAL: DISNEY/PIXAR/TIMES-STANDARD.COM, BLUE BEETLE: GASA979/DEVIANTART.COM, BARBIE THE MOVIE: YOURPRINCESSOFSTORY/DEVIANTART.COM, THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES: MURRAY CLOSE/ LIONSGATE /COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION/VARIETY.COM, SHOWS: AHSOKA: LUCASFILM/DISNEY+/ALLTHEFANFARE.COM, ONE PIECE: NETFLIX/VARIETY.COM, AMERICAN BORN CHINESE: DISNEY+/EW.COM, GOOSEBUMPS: DISNEY+/COMINGSOON.NET, SCHOOL SPIRITS: PARAMOUNT+/KGET.COM, SPORTS: NATHAN EOVALDI: CARMEN MANDATO/GETTY IMAGES, LIONEL MESSI: TIM NWACHUKWU/GETTY IMAGES, TOM BRADY: JULIO AGUILAR/GETTY IMAGES, DENVER NUGGETS: GARRETT ELLWOOD/NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES, MARK STONE: STEPH CHAMBERS/GETTY IMAGES, GADGETS: APPLE IPHONE 15 PRO: APPLE, INC., ANALOGUE POCKET: ANALOGUE ENTERPRISES LIMITED, 24-INCH IMAC M3 CHIP: APPLE, INC., ERA 300: SONOS, INC., OPENAI - CHATGPT PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: JONATHAN RAA/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES, META QUEST 3: META/HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM, BOOKS: ‘DIVINE RIVALS’ BY REBECCA ROSS: MACMILLAN, ‘A STUDY IN DROWNING’ BY AVA REID: DEL REY BOOKS/PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE LLC., ‘INVISIBLE SON’ BY KIM JOHNSON: PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE LLC.
