Badlands by Halsey
Even though it was the 2014 Tumblr aesthetic that made a resurgence at the start of this decade, nothing could beat the iconic era that was the following year, when Halsey dropped her debut studio album Badlands. You just had to be there. Inventing cursive singing and injecting pastels into the black-and-white soft grunge lookbooks of the 2010s was no easy feat, but Halsey did it, no sweat. The internet was truly never the same—why did I see a Sonic the Hedgehog 3 ship edit set to “Colors?” Her impact, indeed.
— Sagun Shrestha
An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success
Before Olivia Rodrigo was SOUR, she was sweet. You may think of O-Rod as one of the breakout stars of the 2020s, but OG fans remember her decade-old debut in American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success. In this (phenomenal) movie, Grace Thomas travels to Paris, masters French pâtisserie, wins MasterChef Junior, and saves her grandparents’ bakery—quite the impressive resume. Unfortunately, no matter how hard you try, you’ll never be as accomplished as a nine-year-old in an American Girl Doll movie. Sorry! (Or as the French say, désolé!)
— Lucy Montalti
25 by Adele
“Hello, it’s me,” said the album marking Adele’s highly anticipated and powerful return to the music industry. Even if you were just a middle schooler melodramatically belting about heartbreak (aka me), 25 unified us through a melancholic image of intimacy and youth and a nostalgic visualization of motherhood—something we clearly ate up, and still do. New electronic elements and rhythmic patterns certified the Grammy winner’s esteem. Listed as one of the Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone, Adele’s work is unforgettable.
— Rhea Banerjee
To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar
Before Kendrick Lamar had us emphatically telling “bitches” to “be humble” or chanting “WOP WOP WOP WOP WOP” to Drake’s downfall, it was To Pimp a Butterfly that brought the rapper onto pop culture’s central stage. Audaciously ingenious, the album has not only sold over a million copies in the U.S. and won five Grammys, but delivers an important message about systemic racism, capturing a striking picture of what it means to be Black in America. Still as relevant as ever, we can only hope to be “Alright.”
— Kristy Li
Hamilton
Whether you were feverishly trying to memorize the lyrics of “Guns and Ships” or rolling your eyes as theater kids broke out into another unprompted performance of “My Shot,” no one escaped the cultural phenomenon that is Hamilton. The musical’s legacy (“What is a legacy?”) certainly lives on through the widely-acclaimed genius of this hip-hop-inspired retelling of the American Founding Fathers. “Hamilfan” or not, there’s no doubt that this Lin-Manuel Miranda brainchild was revolutionary, addressing timeless themes of ambition, advocacy, and rebellion while bringing the past alive through the art of the present.
— Elizabeth Adler
Cinderella
Disney’s 2015 adaptation of Cinderella was not the studio’s first stab at “reimagining” its classic catalogue as live-action. On its own, Cinderella was pretty good—by some standards. What this film did right (or wrong, depending on how you look at it), was show Disney that live-action remakes are a formula to sell big. For audiences, 2015 Cinderella retroactively doomed us to a decade of glaringly mediocre remakes (with some outliers) that have little creative merit and serve no greater purpose than keeping the money rolling in—and for that, her legacy is bittersweet.
— Ajani Jones
Donutgate
Before she was a seldomly-disputed vocalist of the generation, Ariana Grande was the untamed 22-year-old caught on CCTV licking a donut in a mom-and-pop bakery. Besides being a gross violation of health code, Grande’s unauthorized tasting was also cause for political unrest—her post-pastry-violation proclamation that she hated America convinced Republican parents across the country that the young star was a devout Communist. These statements were later retracted by Grande on Good Morning America, as she sat beside a comically large bottle of her beloved fragrance, Ari.
— Karcin Hagi
The Creation of James Charles’s YouTube Channel
Coinciding with other monumental gay moments of 2015 (cough, cough same-sex marriage), make-up guru James Charles created his now iconic YouTube channel on Dec. 1, 2015. The young artist would become a major face of the beauty industry with the release of his Morphe palette and clothing line. From the crazy crossover that was the Sister Squad, to the Vitamin Civil War of our middle school years—Dramageddon, may we get another like it soon—this controversial influencer’s rise was one-of-a-kind.
— Aubrey Butterfield
Glee’s Final Episode
The sun may have set on Glee, but the age of gleeks never ends. A decade later, fans are craving a reboot. What’s not to miss? It’s a musical comedy about a high school show choir featuring the creepy Will Schuester, the filterless Santana Lopez, and the relentlessly competitive Rachel Berry, who sent a fellow classmate to a crack house. But hey, at least it wasn’t an active crackhouse. The show also had its musical accolades, with the original members’ cover of “Don’t Stop Believing” reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2009.
— Aaron Pollock
Rocket League
Rocket League had a monumental takeoff, and its consistent drive over the years explains our shock that it turns 10 this year. From a simple game of rocket-powered cars playing soccer, Psyonix fueled Rocket League’s relevance today with the creation of esports leagues (including at Georgetown!) and an explosion of new modes like ranked play. Famous content creators like SunlessKhan also helped cement Rocket League as evergreen. While Rocket League had moments of stagnation, the game will likely remain pertinent for the foreseeable future.
— Bradshaw Cate
