Sapere Aude || The Quizarc Newsletter. Year in review Part-2
Second edition of Quizarc's "year in review 2024" newsletter
In this special edition of Sapere Aude, we will be looking into the biggest MELA (Music, Entertainment, Literature and Arts) news of 2024.
Year of female Pop stars:
Taylor Swift was on our minds again this year, having released her new album "Tortured Poet's Department" and embarked on another leg of her record-breaking Eras tour which grossed around $2 billion by its final show in December. She also won a record-setting fourth Grammy Award for album of the year for Midnights.
Thanks to Charli XCX’s brat album, summer 2024 was all about letting loose. From the lime-green aesthetic to viral dances and the iconic tweet “Kamala is brat,” this phenomenon took over clubs, campaigns, and even politics.
Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess was a sleeper hit largely influenced by her stint as a supporting act on Olivia Rodrigo's Guts World Tour.
Madonna’s free concert on the beach in Brazil was attended by 1.6 million fans, making it the largest standalone concert event in history by a recording artist.
Beyonce’s Americana epic Cowboy Carter topped the charts and featured in a Levi’s Jeans ad.
Sabrina Carpenter had the world craving an Espresso.
Celine Dion made her triumphant return at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Selena Gomez focused on her acting and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards. She guest-starred and reprised her role as Alex Russo in the pilot of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, the spin-off and sequel to Wizards of Waverly Place. In the business front, her brand Rare Beauty was named as Time's most influential company of 2024.
Concerts and lack of tickets:
From Diljit Dosanjh to AP Dhillon to Coldplay to Bryan Adams, the issues faced by fans were similar: tickets getting sold out instantly, exorbitant black market prices and hotels getting sold out.
Other news from the world of Music:
Shaboozey announced that there's a party downtown near 5th St. and got five Grammy nominations in the process.
Tracy Chapman performed on live TV for the first time in nearly a decade.
Mylie Crus earned her first Grammy for her song "Flowers".
Ryan Gosling sang ‘I’m Just Ken’ at the Oscars.
Dua Lipa swept the audience off their feet as she performed a fan-made mashup of her song Levitating and the track Woh Ladki Jo from Baadshah at the Zomato Feeding India Concert.
To the delight of Britpop fans and music lovers alike, it was announced that the band Oasis, fronted by the feuding siblings Liam and Noel Gallagher, would be reunited for a summer of touring in 2025.
Darshan Magdum earned a special shoutout from Maroon 5's Adam Levine at Mumbai concert.
Year of sequels for movies:
This year, the world's top 10 grossing films include nine Hollywood films - all remakes or sequels - Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine, Despicable Me 4, Moana 2, Dune Part Two, Wicked, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kung Fu Panda 4, and Venom: The Last Dance 4. Incidentally, the only non-American film on the list - the Chinese film YOLO - is also a remake, an adaptation of the Japanese film 100 Yen Love.
The highest grossing Indian movie of 2024 was also a sequel, Pushpa 2; which grossed Rs 1700 crore.
Resurgence of horror:
Stree 2 became the first Hindi film to cross ₹600 crore at domestic box office.
Mammootty’s period folk horror film Bramayugam managed to captivate the audience despite being released in black and white.
Shaitaan was a remake of the 2023 Gujarati film Vash; in which the lead actress Janki Bodiwala reprised her role.
Munjya was a sleeper hit that earned over 100 crores without any superstars in the movie. The titular character of the movie was entirely created using CGI!
The horror genre's success streak continued through Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 which earned over 400 crores.
The cult classic Tummbad beat its original run in just a week upon re-release.
In Hollywood, movies like The Substance, I saw the TV glow, A quiet place: Day one and The first omen contributed to the scream-fest.
Movies that deserve a special mention:
Wicked’s pink and green promo was everywhere.
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer was the big winner at the Academy Awards, receiving seven Oscars, including for best picture.
Horror movie Mouse trap was announced on January 1, 2024, the same day Mickey's Steamboat Willie version went into the public domain.
Inside Out 2 surpassed The Lion King to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time.
Deadpool & Wolverine surpassed Joker as the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. The lead characters were also famously compared by Heinz to their ketchup and mustard!
Speaking about the tepid response to 'Fighter', the director Siddharth Anand remarked that people couldn’t connect with his movie because around 90% Indians have never flown in a plane.
Singham Again’s 5-minute trailer gave away the whole movie.
Box office failures:
Joker 2 failed big time at the box office and was beaten by another clown centric horror movie Terrifier 3 which grossed $90 million worldwide in a measly budget of $2 million and is now the highest-grossing unrated film in cinema history.
Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppla's ambitious project, in which he invested $120 million of his own money was another box office debacle and could only gross $14 million.
Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, in which Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff came together for the first time was made on a massive budget of ₹350 crore. But the film failed to attract audience to theatres after day 1 and eventually ended its run at the box office by earning only ₹111 crore.
Maidaan told the inspiring story of Syed Abdul Rahim, the coach who shaped Indian football. Although the movie was praised by critics, frequent delays in its release and a clash with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan led to the film’s failure at the box office. Made on a massive budget of ₹250 crore, the film collected only ₹71 crore at the box office worldwide.
Shows that enthralled:
Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist vied for Zendaya’s affections in the great tennis romance “Challengers”.
Ted Danson starrer A Man On The Inside is a heartwarming show about a man hired to go undercover at nursing home to solve the mystery of a stolen necklace.
Shogun, a sweeping, gorgeously filmed period drama about the clash of cultures in feudal Japan won in 18 categories at the 76th Emmy Awards, setting a record as the most awarded single season of television in Emmy history.
Colin Farrell-led series, Penguin picked up after the events of The Batman and followed the rise of Oz Cobb, a mobster in Gotham’s seedy underworld.
Baby Reindeer was based on the true story of its creator, Richard Gadd, and his experience of being stalked by a woman.
Freedom at Midnight, a historical drama that takes the voewer straight into the heart of India’s dramatic birth as a nation was adapted from a book authored by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins.
Heeramandi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s first tryst with streaming, took us to the heart of pre-independence India where the glittering world of Lahore’s Heera Mandi met the raw truths of love, betrayal and ambition.
This gripping series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack dramatised the harrowing events of the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, chronicling the tense seven-day hostage situation as the hijackers, affiliated with Al-Qaeda, demand the release of terrorists in exchange for the passengers’ lives.
Controversies:
Film Federation of India picked Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies as India’s official entry for the Oscars 2025, which sparked outrage with many feeling Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light was a more apt choice.
Kangana Ranaut was slapped at Chandigarh airport by a CISF personnel.
Divya Khosla Kumar accused Jigra makers of plagiarizing the story of her film, Savi, which was also a jailbreak drama.
Allu Arjun was arrested by the Hyderabad Police in connection with the death of a fan at Pushpa 2's premiere.
Poonam Pandey faked her death and later revealed that it was a publicity stunt to raise awareness about cervical cancer.
Willy's Chocolate Experience, an unlicensed event based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory turned out to be a scandal in a sparsely decorated warehouse.
Celebs in Spotlight:
Actor Glen Powell was in the spotlight for much of 2024, earning critical acclaim for his performances in "Anyone But You," "Hitman" and "Twisters."
Kani Kusriti dominated the screens through her performances in the Netflix show Killer Soup, Amazon show Poacher, Shuchi Talati’s Girls Will Be Girls and Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light.
SRK became the first Indian actor to be honored with special coin by Paris Grevin Musuem.
Anasuya Sengupta was the first Indian actress to win the Best Actress award at Cannes in 2024.
Sabyasachi became the first Indian designer to walk the Met Gala red carpet.
Vir Das became the first Indian to host the International Emmy awards following his Emmy win for the stand-up special Vir Das: Landing.
From the world of books:
Keanu Reeves released his debut novel, “The Book of Elsewhere,” which he co-wrote with the British science fiction author China Miéville.
J.K. Rowling was named in the cyberbullying lawsuit filed by Olympic champion boxer Imane Khelif.
Despite his express instruction that it be destroyed, Gabriel García Mårquez’s final, unfinished novel “Until August,” was published in 30 countries.
Korean novelist Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in Literature—and refused to celebrate it in the face of violence in the Ukraine and in Palestine.
Samantha Harvey won the Booker Prize 2024 for her novel Orbital, the first space book to win the Booker Prize.
German writer Jenny Erpenbeck and translator Michael Hofmann won the International Booker Prize for their novel Kairos which follows the destructive love affair between a 19-year-old student and a married man in his 50s who meet on a bus in East Berlin around 1986.
From the world of Arts:
A banana fixed to the white wall with silver duct tape, entitled "Comedian," by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan sold for $6.2 million at an auction at Sotheby's in New York.
Over the course of nine days, animal-themed Banksy murals sprung up across London.
The opening ceremony at the Olympics caused an art historical stir as it too closely resembled Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic painting The Last Supper. However, the art director later revealed that the true inspiration for the vignette was Jan van Bijlert’s The Feast of the Gods
Jonathan Yeo’s stunningly strange painting of King Charles III featured the king’s face emerging from a red haze, while a butterfly flitted above his right shoulder.
Anto Brennan’s bronze sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II featured the monarch standing in a headscarf and checkered coat. However, it greatly resembled Robin Williams’s character from the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire.
Iván Argote’s Dinosaur, a 17-foot-tall cast aluminum pigeon, appeared on the High Line Plinth in New York as part of the site’s public sculpture programming.
Indian-origin artist Anish Kapoor topped the Hurun India Art List this year for the sixth consecutive year.
Activists from environmental group Riposte Alimentaire hurled soup at the Mona Lisa. In the Netherlands, three Belgian climate activists targeted Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. In November, some young demonstrators attacked Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, with tomato soup, and got sentenced to two years and 20 months of imprisonment.
Jasleen Kaur won the 2024 Turner Prize for her solo exhibition, Alter Altar, which was shown at the Tramway in Glasgow.
Celebrity beefs and breakups:
The feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake dominated the music scene in 2024. What started as subtle jabs in their lyrics exploded into a full-scale battle, making it one of the most intense rivalries in rap history. Kendrick’s song Not Like Us became an anthem for the year, with lyrics directly calling out Drake.
Cardi B and BIA’s feud began when BIA accused Cardi B of copying her style and music. The tension escalated with the release of diss tracks and social media exchanges. In her diss track "Sue Me", BIA accused Cardi B of cheating on her husband and questioned her songwriting.
The drama between Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion hit its boiling point when Minaj released a lone single called “Big Foot” a diss track in retaliation to Megan Thee Stallion’s song “Hiss.”
Honey Singh rekindled his rivalry with Badhshah by questioning Badshah's rapping abilities.
Nayanthara sparked a controversy with an open letter, accusing producer and actor Dhanush of taking legal action against her and her husband, filmmaker Vignesh Shivan around the release of her documentary in December.
Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from Ben Affleck after two years of marriage, ending their kindled relationship.
Natalie Portman split from Black Swan choreographer Benjamin Millipied after 12 years.
Viral moments
"Dancing with the Stars" viral leg lift.
Tauba Tauba hook step.
Nancy Tyagi's self made dresses at Cannes.
“I’m Looking for a Man in Finance”, a satirical song written by singer Megan Boni known as @girl_on_couch.
Ms. Hawk Tuah, Hailey Welch, parlayed her 15 seconds of fame into an extended stint with a podcast and botched crypto launch.
Sooraj Cherukat, popularly known as Hanumankind released Big Dawgs, which gained international popularity. He went on to perform the rap anthem The game don’t stop for Squid Game season 2.
Shalini Passi featured in the second season of Netflix’s Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives, and her unfiltered conversations made her a household name.
Chandrika Dixit, better known as the Vada Pav Girl, took over Instagram feeds and went on to become a Big Boss contestant.
The Dune and Deadpool and wolverine popcorn buckets made waves.
Robert Downey Jr returned to MCU as Doctor Doom.
Crazy News:
Chhota Bheem and the Curse of Damyaan was submitted for the Oscar's official entry consideration.
Bill Gates appeared in a viral video with Dolly Chaiwala.
Timothée Chalamet showed up in his own lookalike contest.
Johhny Sinns and Ranveer Singh appeared in Boldcare ad made by Tanmay Bhatt’s Moonshot.
Munawar Faruqui took Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket part in the Entertainers Premier League.
Makers of Luck sued Netflix alleging Squid Game copied its plot.
Sandeep Reddy Vanga won the Best Director award at the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards for his film Animal.
In Memorium
Shyam Benegal: Filmmaker known for directing socially conscious and critically acclaimed movies like Manthan that explore the complexities of Indian society and culture.
Zakir Hussein: Four-time Grammy winning tabla player.
Pankaj Udas: Padma Shri winning Ghazal singer
Rashid Khan: Padma Bhushan winning classical musician in the Hindustani tradition.
Ameen Sayani: Radio announcer who presented the show Binaca Geetmala over the airwaves of Radio Ceylon.
Rohit Bal: Fashion designer who designed costumes for KBC.
Liam Payne: A member of the English-Irish pop band One Direction
Donald Sutherland: Actor who rose to fame after roles in the war films The Dirty Dozen, M*A*S*H, and Kelly's Heroes.
Maggie Smith: Actress portrayed Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series
James Earl Jones: Voice actor who voiced both Mufasa and Darth Vader.
Quincy Jones: American producer and composer who is known for his work on Michael Jackson’s blockbuster album Thriller.
Alice Munro: Canadian short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013.
And that’s a wrap for this special edition of Quizarc’s Sapere Aude newsletter, in which we delved into the top MELA stories of 2024.
In the next edition we will be covering all the biggest sports stories.
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