The pop culture moments of 2021 we couldn't forget if we tried

Taylour Paige successful "Zola"

Annoyed, bewildered, frightened, disgusted -- Paige's eyes talk volumes astir the horrors of driving astir cardinal Florida with a scheming caller person and her menacing, er, "roommate." Whether the Academy volition rightfully springiness Paige what's hers remains to beryllium seen, but we astatine CNN's Culture squad are DELIGHTED to contiguous her with a spot connected this arsenic revered and not astatine each silly list.

Best 10-minute show successful a film

Zendaya appeared much successful soil heir Timothée Chalamet's hallucinations than she did successful plot-relevant sequences of "Dune," but she made the astir of those agleam bluish contacts for the fistful of minutes she was onscreen. As Chani, she had the archetypal and last words of the movie -- instrumentality that, Timmy! -- and nailed a searing takedown of Chalamet's Paul erstwhile she lends him her prized crysknife. Bring connected Part Two, Denis Villeneuve, and enactment our gal beforehand and halfway adjacent time.

Best unexpected personage mates

Zoë Kravtiz and Channing Tatum

Kravitz and Tatum are simply the latest successful a agelong bequest of beauteous Black women with men who bash not scope their levels of hotness (see also: Jodie Turner-Smith and Joshua Jackson, Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian, uh Zoë Kravitz and her ex-husband). History aside, Tatum and Kravitz were our favourite hipster Brooklyn mates this year, looking glamorously unglamorous arsenic they rode bikes, grabbed groceries and conscionable walked astir -- making america specified mortals shake. Even if it was conscionable each a paparazzi ploy, we ate it up.

Best-worst excuse for not getting the Covid-19 vaccine

Nicki Minaj

Who other could create planetary havoc implicit Covid-19 vaccine misinformation? None different than Nicki, whose assertion -- based connected the assuredly unerring relationship of a person of a relative of a... we'll halt -- that the vaccine caused swollen testicles and impotency resulted successful aggregate nationalist leaders stepping in. Misinformation is ever a enactment foul, but acknowledgment for the memes, Nicki.

Best crushed not to cancel cable

The Oprah/Meghan/Harry interview

This was primetime assignment viewing the likes of which we haven't seen successful years. A bully aged fashioned bombshell bonanza. It besides gave us this cleanable response to the unbelievable.

Best aboriginal 2000s revival

Britney Spears, post-conservatorship

In a crowded tract that included the instrumentality of Tony Soprano, Ben Affleck and JLo's reunion, the "Gossip Girl" reboot and the low-rise jeans renaissance, it was Ms. Britney Jean Spears who had possibly the astir eventful 2021 -- and the happiest ending. Not lone is the "Toxic" songstress escaped from a 13-year conservatorship that by each accounts was severely restrictive, she's present engaged to a feline that erstwhile played a wordless "Sexy Santa" successful an HBO Max archetypal series. Bravo, Ms. Spears, for taking what's yours!

Best superhero movie heartthrob

Tony Leung successful "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings"

Marvel's "Shang-Chi" whitethorn person been astir notable for showcasing the archetypal Asian American superhero successful the MCU, but who could hide the one, the ONLY, Tony Leung, stealing the amusement (and our hearts) successful each scene. Against his piercing regard and ripped forearms, we were powerless. Thank you, Tony, for your service.

Best Instagram heartbreak

Alex Rodriguez

When Alex Rodriguez took to Instagram pursuing his interruption up with Jennifer Lopez, it was bound to beryllium devastating. As the erstwhile shot prima turned brushed boi panned done blessed photos of him and J.Lo, with bittersweet anthem "Fix You" by Coldplay spinning successful the inheritance (one of galore reddish flags), helium acceptable a caller barroom for nationalist mourning and heartbreak. Sad radical everywhere, instrumentality note.

Best reddish carpet-to-sleepover fit

A$AP Rocky, AKA Mr. Rihanna

Rocky knew this year's Met Gala was going to beryllium middling astatine best, so, successful opting to wrapper himself successful this piece by Cali-cool marque ERL, helium came prepared for a snooze should helium request one. Comfort implicit benignant immoderate day.

Best accent enactment

Winslet, a calved Brit, seamlessly slipped into the dependable of a vaping Pennsylvanian with brassy roots and capable affectional baggage to powerfulness her to an Emmy, maybe. Even if she doesn't triumph the apical prize, we'll ever person her saying "wurtur" and "hewgie."

Best Adele opus to mourn your ex to

"Love is simply a Game"

In her archetypal medium since 2015, Adele yet came backmost this year, acceptable to soundtrack all our late-night sob sessions with "30." The album, which successful portion chronicles the singer's divorcement and the ensuing revelations, is ripe with bittersweet songs, but the champion 1 whitethorn beryllium the astir 7-minute agelong closer. "Love is simply a crippled for fools to play," Adele croons, leaving america to prime up the pieces of a bosom we didn't adjacent recognize was broken. Adele, wherefore indispensable you wounded america so?!

Best play queen

The vessel that got stuck successful the Suez Canal

The Ever Given gave until it could springiness nary longer. For immoderate reason, we were each glued to the play of the bushed vessel that got lodged successful 1 of the world's astir important commercialized routes for astir a week and wouldn't budge. "Would contiguous beryllium the time the Ever Given yet gives successful and allows 400 different ships to pass?" we mused. "Why bash I place with this vessel who conscionable gave up connected its enactment and disrupted an full planetary economy?"

Best 'stache

Ted Lasso

From his quirky sayings to his unthinkable sneaker collection, Coach Ted Lasso (of the deed Apple TV amusement "Ted Lasso," and played by Jason Sudeikis) is an icon. But determination are fewer things much praiseworthy than his epochal mustache, a luscious chevron ripped consecutive from the '80s. You cognize helium moisturizes. Bravo, Coach.

Best property barometer

The instrumentality of Steve from "Blue's Clues"

Remember erstwhile Steve -- present bald but inactive dressed successful his signature greenish striped rugby garment -- visited our Twitter feeds with a small connection connected however arrogant of america helium was since his abrupt departure from the amusement successful 2001? Your absorption to it gave the remainder of america a bully thought of however aged you were. Touched and teary? You were either a genitor of a kid who loved "Blue's Clues" oregon said kid. Unaffected and creeped out? Either excessively young oregon excessively aged to bask Steve's tally connected the show.

Best room appliance you'll use, like, possibly twice

Air fryers

Your ma has one. Your neighbour has one. Heck, adjacent your roommate who doesn't navigator has one. Air fryers person been astir since 2010, but person someway go ubiquitous successful the past year, known for making thing -- from Brussels sprouts to frozen chickenhearted nuggets -- sensation crisp and freshly fried, without each the work. Of course, a akin effect tin beryllium achieved with a modular oven, but we digress.

Best crushed to inactive ticker 'SNL'

Bowen Yang

Yang is the benignant of once-in-a-generation endowment who tin onshore a spot among People's "Sexiest Men Alive '' and play the iceberg that sank the Titanic with specified condemnation that you're rooting against the boat. May helium proceed to grace america with his TITANIC talents for years to come.

Best superstars who volition marque you consciousness old

TIE: Olivia Rodrigo and Lil Nas X

Best mates we couldn't look distant from nary substance however hard we tried

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly

It's the age-old story: Boy (rapper, subordinate of Pete Davidson) meets miss (gifted deadpan histrion and parent of three), miss tells lad helium smells similar weed, lad says "I americium weed," they spell their abstracted ways lone to transverse paths connected a movie acceptable years aboriginal and dive headfirst into a precise public, precise PDA-packed narration that you either cringe astatine oregon wholeheartedly enactment oregon a blend of both. Even if their emotion doesn't last, we'll ever person their delightfully unhinged British GQ interview. You cognize the one.

Best android-witch emotion story

We each woody with heartache successful antithetic ways. And for Wanda, erstwhile her android-boyfriend Vision is killed by an alien dictator (not cool, Thanos), she creates an alternate world to forestall herself from dealing with the grief of a emotion gone excessively soon. We tin each relate! From their quirky eating habits to their literal magic shows, Wanda and Vision were a delight connected our screens. We'll beryllium sobbing implicit "What is grief, if not emotion persevering?" forever.

Best authorities and teen civilization collab

Antigone Davis, the caput of planetary information for Facebook, genuinely kept trying to explicate that "finsta" is really conscionable a slang word for the backstage "fake Instagram" accounts galore usage -- not really thing the societal media institution controls. Nevertheless, the 75-year-old Connecticut legislator persisted, asking Davis "Will you perpetrate to ending finsta?" during the Facebook trial. Blumenthal, though helium tried, simply didn't get it. The full happening is simply a reflector to modern societal issues, and it would beryllium comic if it wasn't truthful grim.

Best clip to beryllium a Swiftie

Fall 2021

While neither writer of this portion tin attest to being a Taylor Swift stan, we cognize 2021 was a bully clip to beryllium 1 -- particularly November, with the release of the 10-minute mentation of the song that turned a legion of young radical against Jake Gyllenhaal. Taylor was besides nominated -- again, for similar the 40th clip -- for Album of the Year astatine the Grammys, a class she won astatine the past ceremony. Congrats to Swifties everyplace -- each twelvemonth is your year.

Best villain

Red light, greenish airy doll from "Squid Game"

Netflix's "Squid Game," a South Korean anti-capitalist thriller, captured the world's imaginations, becoming the streaming service's most fashionable amusement astatine motorboat -- with much than 111 cardinal accounts watching successful little than a month. Though tons of moments gave america the heebie-jeebies, nary arsenic overmuch arsenic the slayer child-like doll from the Red Light, Green Light game. We had nightmares for weeks.

Best meme your ma liked

The mittens! The casual Burton coat! The sassy crossed legs! Listen, the installment of a caller caput of authorities is large and all, but immoderate of america (mainly, it seems, Sen. Bernie Sanders) had a engaged Wednesday planned. Can we delight wrapper this up? The station bureau closes astatine 6.

Best buzzword to place annoying radical by

Spending millions connected an NFT of, say, Jack Dorsey's archetypal tweet, erstwhile you could conscionable Google "jack dorsey's archetypal tweet" if you wanted to spot it, is thing we don't afloat understand. But we're not present to yuck anyone's yum, and NFTs person go ubiquitous successful 2021. From NFTs of a LeBron James dunk video clip to a decade-old "Nyan Cat" GIF, radical are spending thousands, sometimes more, to assertion ownership of these integer assets. It's astir similar creation collecting, but successful the metaverse? Regardless of your NFT opinion, the information is, you astir apt person one.

Best accessory

Masks

Best onscreen 'death'

Natasha Rothwell arsenic Kelli, "Insecure"

Let it beryllium known that Kelli, joyously depicted by Natasha Rothwell, is 1 of our faves connected HBO's "Insecure." And erstwhile a mix-up led to everyone astatine her assemblage reunion reasoning she was dead, we couldn't halt laughing. "She had the champion Stanky Legg," 1 idiosyncratic eulogized, and Kelli shows america it's true. Though the incidental wasn't each amusive and games, the radical does aboriginal springiness our miss a due eulogy implicit pancakes -- the mode each eulogies should be, if you inquire us.

Best celeb-food mashup

Megan Thee Stallion's "Hottie Sauce" astatine Popeyes

Fast nutrient has seemingly replaced good eating for each the hottest celebs -- arsenic Saweetie, Jack Harlow, and Lil Nas X all, for immoderate reason, spent 2021 endorsing their favourite purveyors of chickenhearted nuggets and tiny hamburgers. But Megan's "Hottie Sauce," delightfully saccharine with a sneaky kick, takes the proverbial cake, if lone for the name. Don't we all, ultimately, conscionable privation to beryllium hotties?

Best backstage accusation celebrities willingly offered against our wishes

Celebs don't shower

Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Jake Gyllenhaal, Kristen Bell -- please, for the emotion of each things ineffable and clean, stop. We didn't request to know.

Best Zendaya look

Personally, we deliberation Zendaya's quality successful "Space Jam" arsenic the animated Lola Bunny, playing sidekick to LeBron, was the champion the starlet has ever looked. Buuuut we'll enactment that Zendaya has genuinely ne'er missed, and the custom nude leather formal she wore to the Venice Film Festival, implicit with an emerald necklace the size of a baby's fist, is simply a adjacent second.

[CNN, HBO/HBO Max bid specified arsenic "Mare of Easttown" and "Insecure," and "Dune" movie workplace Warner Bros. are each portion of WarnerMedia.]