Our 2024 Favorites
Better late than never. From Charli's indie sleaze to Y2K teen classics, here is a collection of our favorite music, TV shows, movies, and trends from 2024.
Music
Subcultures left the underground and took center stage. The tunes of these two artists were the soundtrack of our year.
Charli XCX- Brat
Neon lime green, street style, and a carefree spirit are essentials for the starter pack of a Brat summer. The trend referencing UK born singer Charli XCX’s sixth studio album Brat, which has taken the cultural zeitgeist by storm. Debuting at number two on the UK Albums Chart and number three on the Billboard 200, Brat is Charli's most commercially successful body of work. From beginning to end she takes you on a wild ride of emotions that one would not typically expect from an alternative electropop album. Weather it's the unabashed confidence in "360" and "Von Dutch" or the overwhelming insecurity in "Sympathy Is a Knife", the listener is sure to find a track that they can identify with.
Tyla- Tyla (Self Titled)
Amapiano, a subgenre born from a blend of New York house and kwaito, gained prominence in South African townships during the late 2010s. With its eclectic mixture of soulful vocals over synths, basslines, and drums the sounds have become a nightlife staple. The most well known face to the genre is Tyla Seethal, a Johannesburg native who’s breakout single “Water” peaked at seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned her numerous awards including a Grammy for “Best African Music Performance”. Critics have famously coined her music “Popiano”, a fusion of Amapiano with pop elements and she exemplified this several months later upon the release of her first full length project titled Tyla. The project, which debuted at twenty four on the Billboard 200, takes the listener on a sonic journey of Afrobeats and R&B without straying too far from the artist’s Amapiano roots.
TV Shows
In a world where 8 episode Netflix series are the norm, we yearned for the nostalgia of the 24 episode series. To get our fix we turned to the teen dramas of the early aughts.
The O.C.
Set in sunny and affluent Newport Beach, California, The O.C. centers around the age old story of a tale of two worlds. Main character Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), hailing from Chino, California is taken in by the Cohen family in search for a better life. His arrival to Newport Beach shakes things up as he faces rejection, culture clash, and a tumultuous relationships, the most prominent one being with on and off girlfriend Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton). Over the course of the show's four season run the viewer experiences the highs and lows of adolescence and young adulthood, especially when navigating through a city where appearances are everything.
One Tree Hill
In the fictional town of Tree Hill, North Carolina the viewer is introduced to the half brothers Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) and Nathan (James Lafferty) Scott along with the secrets their families hide. In the earlier seasons competitiveness and teenage life are central themes to the series with the Scott brothers pushing their limits to succeed as star basketball players for the Tree Hill Ravens as well as juggling their romantic lives with Lucas being involved with cheerleaders and best friends Peyton Sawyer (Hilarie Burton) and Brooke Davis (Sophia Bush) and Nathan's high school sweetheart Haley James (Bethany Joy Lenz). Later seasons explore more mature themes with us diving into the character's post college careers as well as marriage and parenthood.
Movies
Psychological thrillers featuring female leads had their moment. We loved the sensory rollercoaster these films took us on along with their thought provoking messages.
Smile 2
Sequel to the 2022 movie Smile, Smile 2 stars Naomi Scott as Skye Riley, troubled pop star who plans to embark on a comeback tour following the death of her actor boyfriend (Ray Nicholson) and a stint in rehab. She becomes possessed by the Smile entity following a drug deal gone wrong and experiences never-ending hallucinations featuring the people around her. The mental pressure that Skye faces leaves the viewer on the edge of their seat and contains parallels between many of the struggles we've witnessed women within the entertainment industry go through.
The Substance
Coralie Fargeat's critically acclaimed body horror film tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), an aging actress who feels the pressure to embrace youth. She utilizes "The Substance", a black market drug that promises to create a younger version of yourself under one condition: Being able to switch back and forth between your new and original self every seven days. The newer version of herself Sue (Margaret Qualley) captivates everyone while Elisabeth continues to take hits to her self esteem. Originally seen as one being the two start to diverge into an intense battle between mind and flesh.
Trends
In a post pandemic world people crave togetherness and a sense of meaning. These are interesting ways we saw this happen.
Concert Costumes
Dressing up to see your favorite artist has always been a thing. Who doesn't love sporting a band tee or collecting merch as a souvenir of the live shows you've attended? Since 2022, concert fashion has gone to new heights with attendees starting to plan their outfits in extensive detail and meaning. This was notable seen during Beyonce's Renaissance Tour and Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. A sea of metallic outfits with cowboy hats graced our social media feeds as well as bright, girly dresses paired with cowboy boots. The trend continued in 2024 with pinup and baby doll styles found at Sabrina Carpenter's Sweet N Sour Tour and punk princess fits donned at Olivia Rodrigo's Guts Tour.
Community Building
According to a study conducted by Gallup, 1 in 5 American adults experience daily loneliness. People strive for a sense of support and friendship but often feel isolated from their peers due to the stressors of work, school, and family life. The rise of online communities centered around hobbies such as reading, gardening, and art have created a sense of belonging for many. In person events using platforms like MeetUp and Bumble BFF have been used increasingly to form friendships surrounding these hobbies on a local level.