2025 Pop Culture Wrap-Up: From an American Pope to the Labubu Craze

From a shocking Vatican election to a niche toy obsession that caused store brawls, 2025 has been a year of unpredictable cultural shifts. In a world driven by social algorithms, global headlines and 15-second TikTok clips now hold equal weight in shaping our collective reality.

Historic Transitions in Power and Fashion

The year kicked off with a seismic shift in the Catholic Church. According to Al Jazeera, on May 8, 2025, U.S. Cardinal Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV, making history as the first American to lead the Vatican. Meanwhile, the fashion world saw its own regime change. Anna Wintour stepped down as Editor-in-Chief of Vogue on June 25, ending an era of influence that began in 1988. Though she'll remain in senior roles at Condé Nast, her departure marks a turning point for traditional media.

Icons Dominating the Charts and Courts

Music icons reclaimed their thrones this year. Taylor Swift broke records again, announcing her engagement to Travis Kelce and releasing an album that moved 3.5 million units in its first week. Not to be outdone, Beyoncé finally won her first Album of the Year at the 2025 Grammys. On the athletic stage, Mondo Duplantis stunned the world at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships by setting a new world record of 6.30m in pole vault, proving that humans are still pushing physical limits.

Digital Chaos and Viral Hysteria

The internet's sense of humor reached peak absurdity in 2025. Dictionary.com named 6-7 as its Word of the Year, despite its lack of a fixed meaning. Meanwhile, the Labubu doll craze accounted for one-third of Pop Mart's $630 million revenue, driven by celebrities like Rihanna. In the streaming world, Netflix momentarily crashed as fans rushed to watch the Stranger Things finale. Lastly, the erratic friendship between Donald Trump and Elon Musk kept political and tech news in a constant state of flux.