Top 10 Viral Moments of 2023
These viral moments were all anyone was talking about in 2023. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most popular events and occurrences that broke the internet in 2023.
Transcript
00:00 What does it feel like to be so much a part of this conversation?
00:02 It's overwhelming, but wonderful.
00:04 And I'm so humble and grateful.
00:06 Welcome to Watch Mojo.
00:08 And today we're counting down our picks for the most popular events
00:11 and occurrences that broke the Internet in 2023.
00:13 But as the multinational search coalition scours the Atlantic Ocean,
00:17 time is running out.
00:19 Number 10, Rihanna's halftime show.
00:23 The National Football League welcomes you to the Apple Music
00:27 Super Bowl 57 halftime show.
00:29 Glendale, Arizona, was the place to be on February 12th, 2023.
00:33 Not only could you watch a great Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Eagles,
00:36 but you could watch Rihanna put on one of the greatest halftime shows
00:40 in recent memory.
00:41 Rattling off a medley of popular tunes, Rihanna shone bright like a diamond
00:45 and committed attention, proving why she's one of the best pop stars in the game.
00:49 It was the most watched halftime show in history,
00:59 with 121 million viewers and her streams jumped 140% in the days
01:03 following the performance.
01:04 It was enough to give Rihanna her best streaming week of all time,
01:07 with 166 million plays across the week ending February 16th.
01:12 Number nine, the big red boots.
01:22 It's the hottest new fashion trend making waves right now online.
01:25 Yeah, we're talking about mischief's big red boots.
01:28 High fashion is an acquired taste, to say the least.
01:31 What is gorgeous and groundbreaking to some may look ridiculous to others.
01:35 And that's where mischief's big red boots come in.
01:37 Released in February 2023, the boots have a very distinct look
01:41 that many on social media took to mocking.
01:43 They're big, they're red, and they're generating opinion.
01:47 Would you wear them? Absolutely not.
01:49 No one knew how to style them, leading to widespread hilarity.
01:52 And despite a valiant attempt from the NBA's Shea Gildress Alexander,
01:56 they never really took off.
01:57 Well, not in real life anyway.
01:59 They were all the rage on Twitter.
02:01 Many even compared them to boots worn by Astro Boy,
02:04 which, of course, only fueled the ridicule.
02:05 Do it, please.
02:07 Tell me, how did you do it?
02:09 I just kicked it, you know, like like a vending machine.
02:13 Give me back my money.
02:14 Number eight, Skibbity Toilet.
02:16 Generation Alpha has one of their first cultural hits,
02:24 and it's Skibbity Toilet,
02:25 a surprise phenomenon from animator Alexei Gerasimov.
02:28 Skibbity Toilet is a surreal web series about singing toilets with human heads.
02:32 That's not all.
02:34 These singing toilets with human heads are also at war with humans
02:37 with electronic heads.
02:38 The series is made on Valve Source Filmmaker and made its debut in February.
02:49 In just eight months, Gerasimov's YouTube channel acquired over 30 million
02:53 subscribers and 12 billion views.
02:56 Many outlets see it as a focal point for the changing nature of entertainment
02:59 and Internet phenomenon made by a younger generation using a video game engine.
03:03 The future is now.
03:05 Number seven, the Chinese spy balloon.
03:11 We begin tonight with the breaking headline late today,
03:14 the Pentagon briefing reporters just before we came on the air,
03:17 saying they are now tracking a suspected Chinese spy balloon
03:20 hovering over the northern U.S.
03:22 2023 started off with a bang.
03:24 Literally, a Chinese spy balloon floated across Canada and the United States
03:28 between January 28th and February 4th.
03:31 It was then that an F-22 Raptor was assigned to shoot it down,
03:34 and it did so off the coast of North Carolina using an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile.
03:39 The giant Chinese balloon that had been floating across parts
03:42 of the United States has been shot down by an American fighter jet.
03:47 Analysis of the wreckage proved that the balloon was carrying spy equipment,
03:50 but that nothing substantial was relayed back to China.
03:52 It was a bizarre week and a rather fun one for those on social media.
03:56 Aside from the serious political discourse, countless memes were made about the balloon,
04:00 and it resulted in a viral conversation that started the year off right.
04:03 Whoever brings down that balloon doesn't have to learn faction.
04:06 Number six, the Grimace shake.
04:12 McDonald's sent over some shakes for you guys to try.
04:15 The berry flavored shakes.
04:16 It's purple like Grimace.
04:18 It's for Grimace's birthday.
04:20 Happy birthday, Grimace.
04:21 The purple monster Grimace was first introduced in 1971,
04:24 and in June 2023, McDonald's released a limited time milkshake
04:28 to celebrate his 52nd birthday.
04:30 Purple to match the character, the milkshake was berry flavored and received mixed responses.
04:34 Mmm, delicious.
04:36 Thank you.
04:37 I like when they do the different flavors like they do the Shamrock shakes and everything.
04:40 This is great.
04:41 But more important was the hilarious, somewhat morbid trend that it generated.
04:45 A viral meme on TikTok, it showed users drinking the milkshake and ending up dead,
04:50 with purple liquid often spread around them like blood.
04:52 Some didn't go the death route and opted instead to show themselves drinking the milkshake
04:56 and ending up in bizarre, often creepy locations.
04:59 The trend inspired endless creativity and boosted McDonald's sales by over 10%.
05:04 The power of social media.
05:05 We talked about the internet's new TikTok obsession, and it is the Grimace shake.
05:11 Number five, King Charles' coronation.
05:13 State trumpeters of the household cavalry,
05:16 sounding a fanfare to tell the world that
05:20 the king and queen have arrived at the great west door of Westminster Abbey.
05:24 On September 8th, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II passed away after ruling for 70 years and 214 days,
05:31 the longest reign of any British monarch.
05:33 Eight months later, on May 6th, 2023,
05:35 her son, King Charles III, was crowned at Westminster Abbey.
05:39 Royal scepter, the ensign of kingly power and justice.
05:43 This was the first coronation of a British monarch in the 21st century,
05:47 and it received a suitably large reaction on social media.
05:50 Discussions ranged from his regal outfit to the somewhat hostile reaction
05:53 that the coronation drew in its native Britain.
05:55 And of course, the coronation was memed far and wide,
05:58 with Queen Camilla taking a good brunt of the damage.
06:00 Bless we beseech thee this crown, and so sanctify thy servant Charles.
06:07 Number 4 - The Titan Submersible
06:10 But we begin our report with hope on Wednesday that banging sounds detected
06:16 in the North Atlantic might be coming from the five-passenger Titan Submersible.
06:21 For four days in June, the world watched with intense interest as the story of Titan unfolded.
06:26 A shoddy submersible made by Oceangate,
06:28 the Titan was ferrying five individuals down to the wreck of the Titanic.
06:32 Communication with the submersible was lost less than two hours into its descent,
06:36 and the internet was ablaze with theories, memes, and discussion for the next four days.
06:40 Even though they've warned that the vessel could run out of air tomorrow morning,
06:44 they're saying this is still very much a search and rescue operation.
06:48 Are they dead? Are they trapped at the bottom of the ocean?
06:51 Some jokes were even made about the cheap nature of the submersible,
06:54 as it ignored basic safety protocols and was piloted by a video game controller.
06:58 The unbelievable story concluded on June 22,
07:01 when it was announced that debris had been found and that the Titan had imploded.
07:05 "It's been just over two months now since a submersible on its way to the Titanic wreckage
07:10 imploded at a depth of about 12,000 feet, killing all five people on board."
07:14 Number three, Taylor Swift at Sheep's Games.
07:17 "Tremendous singer, tremendous at everything she does, and I haven't got to meet her,
07:21 but I mean, I guess if she ends up being with Travis,
07:25 then I'll probably get to meet her at some point."
07:27 Times are changing, and celebrity seems to be a fluid and ever-elusive word.
07:31 Taylor Swift proves the exception. An old-school celebrity with legions of fans,
07:35 Swift is one of those public figures who turns heads no matter what they do.
07:39 Swift began dating Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelsey in September
07:43 and attended his games in person.
07:44 "A source tells People magazine Taylor is very focused on her work and hanging with
07:49 her girlfriends, but Travis invited her and of course she said yes."
07:52 For some reason, this was a huge pop culture event.
07:55 Media outlets were predicting if Swift would be at that Sunday's game,
07:59 and one missed week was headline-making news. Kelsey's jersey was suddenly a hot commodity.
08:03 Chiefs games even saw a massive increase in viewership, with the teen girl demographic
08:08 spiking by as much as 53%. Slap Swift's name onto something, and it's guaranteed to sell.
08:13 "Swift is enchanted with Kansas City, and our tight end is Travis Kelsey as well."
08:18 Number two, Donald Trump's arrest and mugshot.
08:21 "This is the mugshot released by Fulton County Sheriff's Office,
08:25 and we can expect to see a lot more before the next election."
08:28 We can't seem to get enough of celebrity mugshots, and Donald Trump's is now one of the most famous.
08:33 The former president was arrested on August 24th after he was indicted in Georgia on a
08:37 number of felonies like racketeering and conspiracy to overturn election results.
08:42 "Donald Trump has been officially booked in Georgia on charges of attempting to overturn
08:47 his 2020 election defeat."
08:49 History was made when the Fulton County Sheriff's Office released Trump's mugshot,
08:53 making this the first mugshot ever taken of a United States president.
08:57 Understandably, the picture kick-started a media frenzy and was widely memed on social media.
09:02 People love being a part of history, and this was their opportunity to do so.
09:05 "But face the camera."
09:08 "That's perfect. Tell him not to move."
09:11 "But don't move. I'm getting fed up with her."
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09:30 Number 1. Barbenheimer
09:34 "Have you heard about the Barbenheimer phenomenon sweeping the country right here?
09:42 Lair is here to tell us more."
09:43 They're going to write books about Barbenheimer one day, you watch.
09:46 What started as a goofy joke on social media quickly blossomed into a cultural phenomenon
09:51 as people greatly enjoyed the counter-programming of Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan's
09:55 Oppenheimer. And when both were released on July 21, 2023, the world exploded.
10:01 Esteemed directors like Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese praised the social event,
10:10 calling it a unique form of cinema and both combined to become the fourth-largest joint
10:14 opening weekend in American history. While Barbie was always going to be huge,
10:18 it's Oppenheimer that proved the true surprise here. A dense, three-hour-long biopic that shattered
10:23 box office records, there may never be anything like Barbenheimer again.
10:27 Did you partake in the social media fun? Let us know in the comments below.
10:43 "My first reaction when I saw them was kind of like a little WTF."
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10:55 [Music]