Once again, December is upon us here in Toronto, bringing with it the annual barrage of holiday music, rampant commercialism, and occasional snowfalls that have melted by morning. It’s time to count our blessings and reflect on all the year has brought us. A time to celebrate the year in pop culture gone by!
As far as pop culture is concerned, 2023 has been positively jam-packed. This year has delivered us everything from the box-office ascendancy of the Super Mario Bros Movie and the Barbenheimer phenomenon to Ariana Debose rapping at the BAFTAS and courtroom thrills both real (the Gweneth Paltrow ski accident trial) and imagined (the surprise Amazon Freevee hit, Jury Duty). The writers were on strike, and then so were the actors, leading to a decidedly less star-studded TIFF than usual. Artists like Miley Cyrus, SZA, Morgan Wallen, and Taylor Swift ruled the Canadian Billboard charts. We bid adieu to Succession and said hello to new celebrity couples like Kylie Jenner and Young Wonka (née Timothee Chalamet) and Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, who kept the rumour mills churning and converted millions into football fans in the process. Never mind that Toronto Swifties have got a whole year to wait until Taylor brings the Eras Tour to Toronto – this year, they comforted themselves by seeing Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in cinemas multiple times or focused on enjoying the other huge arena show of the year, Beyonce’s Renaissance Tour, when it rolled through town in August. Everyone was briefly obsessed with Nepo Babies, and a cockroach stole the show on the Met Gala red carpet. I mean, what a year!
But of course, as much as we here at Met Radio love mainstream pop culture, we want to make sure we’re also shining a light on the things that might have escaped your attention. For every Taylor Swift, Super Mario Bros Movie, and Succession, there are hundreds of other artists, films, TV shows and more that we think deserve your attention. So, for the month of December, Met Radio will be counting down our Top Tens of 2023! We’re covering everything from the ten best local tracks of the year to the ten best recipes cooked – check back weekly for new lists by staff and volunteers alike.
