2025 Pop Culture breakdown: AI-Drake, Yakuza Zendaya & the Cowgirl Queen

Alright. Let’s not lie to ourselves.Between going back to work in January, those “good resolutions” abandoned on the 8th, and the occasional existential crisis TikTok scroll, you’ve probably missed half the pop culture goodies you needed to watch, listen to, or completely dismiss to stay in the game.

That’s where I come in—armed with my cappuccino, my still-warm croissant, and a juicy little roundup of what the first three months of 2025 have thrown in our faces. Sometimes elegantly, sometimes like a shoe hurled at the Oscars ceremony.

We’ve got cinema luring people back to the dark theater—yes, yes, people still actually get up and go to the movies. We’ve got TV shows giving the entire planet cultural whiplash. Awards ceremonies where Beyoncé wins… a country Grammy. Fashion weeks turned into LAN parties. TikToks resurrecting The Cranberries while Instagram pretends to be your personal diary. And of course, AI—omnipresent, all-seeing, and mildly omnigrumpy.

So grab a seat, put on your vintage headphones or your Bluetooth hearing implants—I’m not here to judge—and welcome to this new episode of Cappuccino & Croissant, your pop culture fix that’s crispy, enlightening, and slightly over-caffeinated.

🎬 CINEMA: “Oscars, Minecraft, and Other Big-Screen Earthquakes”

First off, yes: cinema is alive. Against all odds—despite AIs churning out scripts in three seconds, streaming platforms dumping movies like muffins at a brunch buffet, and our collective inability to sit still for more than 12 minutes without checking notifications—people actually returned to theaters. Willingly. Sometimes even without popcorn. Right? Shocking.

And honestly? It was worth it. Because early 2025 was juicier than ever for film. Loud awards, big box-office surprises, and trends that shattered the boundaries between the big screen and… your TikTok feed.

🏆 Oscars, Golden Globes & the Comeback of Auteur Cinema

Let’s start with the Golden Globes in early January. Ah, the Golden Globes… that ceremony where Hollywood sips champagne, acting like they’re not stressed out by Twitter critiques. This year, Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez stole the show with four awards, including Best Musical/Comedy Film, and Zoe Saldaña in a state of absolute grace, honored for her supporting role. Yes, Gamora sings now. And she does it well.

Meanwhile, The Brutalist, that artsy flick about architecture and fractured souls (you know the style), won Best Drama, and Adrien Brody—our king of intense gazes and velvet suits—snagged Best Actor.

But the real fireworks? That was at the Oscars in early March. An unexpected masterclass: Anora, a small indie gem by Sean Baker, swept the board with five statuettes, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress for the luminous Mikey Madison, and even Best Editing. It’s not just a movie; it’s a demonstration.

Adrien Brody pulled off a repeat by winning the Oscar for Best Actor, turning him into the chillest man alive for at least 48 hours—until his acceptance speech was dissected on X and parodied on TikTok with cowboy hats and ASMR remixes.

And for France—cocorico—Emilia Pérez also triumphed at the Césars, winning seven awards, including Best Film. Not a single scandal at the ceremony this time, which for the Césars is basically a miracle.

💣 The Box Office Explodes… Thanks to Minecraft (Yes, Really)

While the Academy was slow-clapping for indie films in Dior gowns, the global box office was blowing up… courtesy of pixels.

Yup, we’re talking about Minecraft: The Movie. You think it’s a joke? It literally smashed every record in early April, grossing $313 million on its opening weekend. A film based on a game where you spend your life breaking cubes actually outperformed some of Marvel’s recent releases.

And the craziest part? It wasn’t half bad. The movie—a meta-humor, action-packed nod to the super-nerd culture—made kids laugh, made nostalgic parents cry, and sent TikTok into a frenzy with costumed Creeper memes. The marketing was a masterpiece, featuring Jason Momoa (who voices the hero) showing up IRL in a blocky set for WTF interviews.

🧧 Meanwhile, in China: $1.3 Billion in a Single Week

Over in China, it wasn’t Minecraft causing tremors, but the Lunar New Year. Local films shattered box-office records like never before: Nezha 2 led the pack, followed by a handful of comedies and historical dramas boosted by the collective urge to go out with the family. Result? A Chinese box office haul of $1.3 billion in just one week. Numbers like these make U.S. studios want to add dragons to every screenplay.

🎥 Festivals: From Engaged Sundance to Ultra-Political Berlin

Film festivals didn’t slack off either, serving up independent cinema that’ll make you think, cry, or both.

At the Sundance Film Festival, Atropia, an experimental oddity directed by Hailey Gates, took home the Grand Jury Prize. Spoiler alert: there’s no real ending. But it’s visually stunning, super slow, and very Instagrammable.

In Berlin, the big winner was Dreams (Sex Love), a hyper-realistic Norwegian film about modern loneliness. It snagged the Golden Bear in a “you’re not ready for this gentle Scandinavian heartbreak” kind of way. And as usual, the Berlinale sprinkled its awards on Brazilian and Argentinian films, reminding us that Latin America still masters the art of poetic chaos.

🍿 Bottom Line: The Theaters Strike Back

Yep, you could’ve believed that cinema was heading the way of blank DVDs: tossed in a drawer, forgotten, and later sold in bulk on Vinted. But nope.

Between bold films (Anora), box-office blowouts (Minecraft), and inspiring features (Emilia Pérez), the seventh art is in a stylish survival mode. And viewers are along for the ride. The audience is coming back. Not just for the post-credits scene.

So if you haven’t watched anything since Barbie, maybe it’s time to stop binging “this movie summarized in three minutes” on YouTube and get back to a dark theater. Because this year, cinema has decided not to die. It’s decided to make some noise.

📺 SERIES: “Samurai, Miniseries, and Platforms in Identity Crisis”

Let’s talk TV. Or rather, let’s talk series—because in 2025, “TV” is that fuzzy thing you half-watch while checking your emails or cooking comfort curry. But series? They still rule our evenings, our water-cooler chats, and our “just one more episode” insomnia.

This year so far? Pretty solid. Less volume, more quality. More variety, fewer copy-paste, overused franchises (well… almost). If you’ve missed the train, have a seat—I’ve curated the gems, the flops, and the must-binge hits.

🥷 Shōgun: How a FX Series Decapitated Everyone in the Rankings

Let’s kick things off with a katana slicing through your spaghetti bowl: Shōgun.

Adapted from James Clavell’s classic novel (you know, that 1,200-page brick everyone owns but no one actually finishes), this series is the biggest sword slash of 2025.

First, it’s visually gorgeous—a 4K poem. Second, it’s smart: a trilingual narrative, political intrigue worthy of Game of Thrones (minus awkward dragons), and an impeccable Japanese cast: Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawai… legends and fresh faces, no white savior nonsense in sight. FX and Disney+ served up a masterpiece, period.

Cue the flood of awards at the Golden Globes, SAG, and so on. Even the most jaded critics applauded. If you haven’t started the pilot yet, you’re missing out on a show that checks all the boxes: historical, epic, and cinematic. Prestige TV with swords and sake. What else do you need?

🏆 Awards: The Year of the Hard-Hitting Miniseries

But Shōgun wasn’t the only one shining under the blue light of our screens. The SAG Awards—livestreamed on Netflix for the first time (we’ll get back to that)—showcased the miniseries as the streaming world’s secret weapon.

Special mention to Baby Reindeer, a British series based on its creator’s real-life experiences. Stalkers, trauma, and enough free therapy for everyone. Jessica Gunning’s performance as the chilling stalker was absolutely electrifying. By the third episode, half of us were Googling, “Wait, does she exist in real life?”

Also worth noting: Jean Smart, still hilarious and shameless in Hacks (HBO Max), continues eviscerating the stand-up world with punchlines sharper than an Elsa Majimbo TikTok. She casually snagged Golden Globe and SAG awards like it’s no big deal.

📉 Netflix, Prime & Co.: Fewer Shows, Way More Backstage Drama

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the streaming world is on edge. After the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, platforms are changing course, shifting from “longer is better” to “less is more (maybe).”

Netflix, for instance, announced a “quality over quantity” strategy. Translation: “We’re canceling half of your favorite shows, but it’s for your own good.” So yeah, we saw a bunch of abrupt endings this quarter. Shadow & Bone? Axed. 1899? Don’t even mention it. On the plus side, Overclock (produced by the Russo brothers) dropped in March: a short action-tech mini-series that proudly flaunts its visual overload and hammer-to-the-head dialogue. Not revolutionary, but bingeable in 48 hours—so sure, we’ll take it.

Over at Amazon Prime, they acquired MGM’s entire catalog. Result? Old-school James Bond flicks, an ocean of classics, and a marketing position that’s a little… fuzzy. The only real standout for original content was more The Boys, teased heavily for the next season with a Homelander-centric propaganda mockumentary. Both terrifying and hilarious.

Meanwhile, Disney+ continues ladling out Star Wars content with cookie-cutter regularity: in February, Knights of the Old Republic hit the screen, the first live-action adaptation of the cult video game. Expect lost Jedi, slick lightsaber duels, and suitably cinematic shots. It’s no Andor, but it scratches the itch for fans.

📱 Series & Social Media: The Era of Meme-Driven Promo and Micro-Formats

Another 2025 phenomenon: the total fusion between series and social networks.

Example? Right after every Koh-Lanta episode, the French channel TF1 now offers a TikTok-exclusive after-show, where contestants go live with silly filters and trending one-liners. All sponsored by water bottle brands and mosquito repellent. It’s ridiculous. And brilliant.

Meanwhile, some series go viral for all the wrong reasons. In January, a snippet from Emily in Paris Season 5 got hijacked on X, mocking the “AI-generated wine-night dialogue.” Result? That scene became an international meme… and viewership jumped by 20% the following week. See? We don’t need a script—just cringe and an algorithm.

📊 The Meta-Trend: Audiences Want to Suffer—But Make It Aesthetic

These first months confirm one thing: we still love stories that hurt, but with the right ratio of style to trauma.

Be it feudal wars in Japan, painfully sharp stand-up in Vegas, or a disturbingly sympathetic stalker in the London suburbs, the shows that make an impact are the ones that strike an emotional, social, or intellectual chord.

And with the content overload, platforms are finally getting it: it’s no longer about volume; it’s about resonance.

🎤 In a Nutshell:

Shōgun planted the prestige flag.
Real-life (or near enough) miniseries dominated the awards.
The major platforms are re-evaluating (sometimes in panic mode).
And the audience? It wants to suffer—but in style, with subtitles.

So if you’re looking for a new show, pick something short, intense, featuring at least one lingering shot of tearful eyes and minimalistic background music. That’s the new chic binge.

🎵 MUSIC: “Beyoncé’s a Cowgirl, Gaga’s a Priestess, and TikTok is the Main DJ”

Sure, 2025 might’ve started out cold and with taxes to pay, but musically, it’s been on fire—and a little schizophrenic, let’s be honest. Between queer country, viral AI voice mashups, and nostalgia disguised as innovation, the music industry in Q1 gave us a cocktail as disorienting as it is delicious. Like a mojito + pastis, but in Dolby Atmos.

We’re talking flamboyant Grammy Awards, impossible comebacks, festivals in full blaze, and TikTok resurrecting artists (literally and figuratively). Buckle up—we’re about to spin these last few months like a Berlin DJ on amphetamines.

🏆 Beyoncé Goes Country, Kendrick Gets Political, Grammys on Creative LSD

On February 2, the Grammys basically redefined “genre-bending.” Picture it: Beyoncé—Queen of Pop/R&B—winning a Country Grammy. Historic. Her album Cowboy Carter shook Nashville like a lasso in a hair salon. Bold, political, western—but with lip gloss and a message.

The track “Texas Hold ’Em”? An anthem. Marketed as country, certified TikTok gold, remixed 14 times in two days. Even dudes who only listen to rap ended up humming it in the shower. Proof that Beyoncé can literally do it all, including dominating an industry that once gave her the cold shoulder.

Meanwhile, Kendrick Lamar delivered the knockout punch of the evening: “Not Like Us” won both Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Yep, both. Sometimes, when you’re that good, everyone needs to remember it. The track is refined fury, social commentary layered over 808 beats, a ballistic missile targeting awkward silences. It hits. Hard.

Other big surprises: Chappell Roan, the new queer-pop mermaid, clinched Best New Artist with a flamboyant yet sincere style—think feathered gowns, running mascara, and restroom dance choreographies. Charli XCX’s electro juggernaut Brat swept the dance-pop categories, proving the glitchy side of pop is alive and well.

And in a vintage twist, The Beatles snagged Best Rock Performance for “Now and Then,” a track assembled from archival vocals and AI. Yes, The Beatles dropped a hit in 2025. No, this isn’t Black Mirror (well, almost).

🎤 Live Performances: Gaga, Shakira, and the Return of the Spectacle

As for the live acts, the Grammys outdid themselves, showcasing everything music does best: too much, but transcendently.

Shakira roared back onto the stage like a Colombian volcano. At 47, her hips still don’t lie (even after three kids and two ex-future-husbands). Her medley was a masterclass in well-honed sensuality, nodding to her Arab and Latin roots. She slipped a spicy jab between two verses: “This one’s for the Spotify accountants.” Iconic.

Lady Gaga, meanwhile, transformed Coachella into a Mass. In April, she headlined in full cyber-priestess mode. Holographic dress, literally flaming piano, culminating in an a cappella finale that made the tattooed dudes at the back tear up. Bonus: she snuck in a trap-psychedelic cover of Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” Yes, that’s a thing now.

📈 TikTok Remixes Everything, Even the Dead

All the while, TikTok continued playing God in the music industry.

Thought “Zombie” by The Cranberries would stay tucked away in 1994? Nope. One sped-up remix, a poignant dance posted by a Ukrainian dancer, and BAM—it’s back in the global Spotify Top 50. Teenagers may not realize it’s about war, but they know every word of the chorus.

We’ve got a name for this phenomenon now: “songflation.” Old tunes, revamped as pitched-up or hyper-pop versions, become belated hits. Labels are reissuing back catalogs like they’re thrift shops: “You like these vintage jeans? Here’s a micro-low-rise version with a vocoder stitch!”

And sometimes it goes further: AI-generated collabs between artists who never actually worked together. That Drake x Michael Jackson duet that shook YouTube? 100% fake. But unbelievably convincing—and it got huge numbers.

Meanwhile, Grimes embraced the chaos, launching a global AI vocal contest in her name. The prize? Money. And attention. Lots of attention.

🌍 Festivals & Tours: Old School Meets New School

On the touring side, Coldplay kicked off their Music of the Spheres 2.0 with a giant charity concert in Cape Town. Huge screens, drones, glowing wristbands—an “eco-friendly” show that was anything but subtle. Beautiful, a little tear-jerking, very Coldplay.

Taylor Swift did the opposite: after her megastadium runs, she announced a series of intimate acoustic gigs in small theaters. Tickets vanished in milliseconds, triggering mass hysteria, and returning an almost library-like hush to the venue. Think old-school, unplugged Taylor. It works.

And of course, Coachella:

Green Day played Dookie in its entirety, maximum nostalgia.
Travis Scott blew up the stage with a half-desert, half-metaverse set.
XG (the Japanese-Korean girl group) won everyone over with a perfectly choreographed, futuristic performance that felt like Sailor Moon meets Skrillex.

🎶 In a Nutshell:

Beyoncé does country, and it’s not a joke.
The Beatles win a posthumous Grammy in 2025.
TikTok becomes a retroactive hit machine.
AI is the shadowy producer behind everything.

Music in early 2025 is a big shakeup—a reason to cry, dance, laugh, or whine. And honestly? We’re down for round two.

📺 TV & EVENTS

Alright, let’s talk about television—this strange beast many assume is dead, but that still lingers, like CDs or people who still “Like” things on Facebook.

Except surprise: Event TV—big, bold, “put down your phone and watch like it’s 2003” television—is back in color this quarter. Big time. Between a scorching Super Bowl, tearful farewells, a reality show copying Squid Game, and a slew of carefully crafted viral moments, we’re practically witnessing a comeback. Wrinkles and all, but with serious charisma.

🏈 Super Bowl LIX: Kendrick, SZA, and a Halftime Show Worth Ten Seasons of “The Voice”

On February 9, the world once again watched the same program at the same time, with the fervor of a Travis Scott x Nike sneaker drop. And no, it wasn’t about the football. Not really. It was about that Halftime Show.

Kendrick Lamar delivered a scorching performance, as politically charged as it was visually epic. Cyberpunk pyrotechnics, choreography straight out of Westworld, and a setlist packed with punches. Midway through, SZA appeared like a soul goddess for All the Stars—collective chills from coast to coast, plus a Twitter meltdown for a solid eight minutes.

Add cameo appearances (Samuel L. Jackson in a goofy sketch, Serena Williams spitting punchlines) and a post-apocalyptic-meets-spiritual stage design… we’ve definitely got one of the most memorable shows since Beyoncé’s 2016 performance.

📺 Reality TV: “Squid Game: The Challenge,” or Morality KO’d by Clicks

On a more dubiously iconic note: in March, Netflix dropped Squid Game: The Challenge, the reality show version of the Korean smash hit. The concept? Real contestants, real game tasks (minus actual murders… we think?), and a giant cash prize.

The result? Skyrocketing ratings, slick production, and an underlying sense of unease. Because yes, watching people sob as they’re “eliminated” from a show inspired by capitalism critiques… is ironically meta.

But Netflix went all in: dramatic slow-mos, tearful confessions, documentary-style voiceovers. Naturally, the winners launched their influencer careers immediately after. As if it’s all normal.

Is it entertaining? Absolutely. Is it terrifying? Kinda. But hey, it works. And that’s the scariest part.

🎤 Traditional TV: Tearful Goodbyes and Longevity Records

Meanwhile, old-school TV is having its final curtain calls with varying degrees of silence and spectacle.

On February 28, Whoopi Goldberg bid farewell to The View after 15 years of sharp commentary, political jousting, and on-air awkward pauses. The last episode felt like a swirl of nostalgia, heartfelt thanks, plus Oprah’s cameo for a final hug. Very “90s family sitcom finale.”

Twitter wept, TikTok looped her “I said what I said!” rant, and that was that. A heartfelt goodbye.

In France, the long-running game show Des Chiffres et des Lettres celebrated its 50th anniversary. Yes, that puzzle show grandparents love is still on-air, alive, and thoroughly unexciting in the adrenaline department. But the special anniversary episode was a nostalgic gathering of former contestants, plus a final shout-out from host Laurent Romejko. No, he didn’t do it in Alexandrines—but we deserved it.

📡 TV & Social Media: The Marriage Is Sealed

If you thought TV and social media lived apart like exes who ignore each other, you’d be wrong. They hook up every single night.

Case in point: TF1 launched a Koh-Lanta aftershow on TikTok this year. Literally the second the episode ends, the app fires up a live stream with contestants, a YouTuber, and random challenges. Sponsored by… a brand of organic applesauce.

And guess what? It’s a hit. TV reaches young viewers where they hang out: on their phones, in bed, at 10:47 p.m., in dire need of a snack.

Even the most “traditional” shows are adapting: everything’s about replay numbers, vertical snippets on Instagram Reels, and next-day memes. Today’s TV is no longer just scheduled programming; it’s content that gets extracted, repackaged, and memed to death—giving it a second life. Like a vintage Friends T-shirt: slightly yellowed, but still cool.

🔮 Underlying Trend: TV as a Social Event

The real takeaway for Q1 is the return of TV as a “collective event.”

Not necessarily every day.
Not necessarily with the whole family.
But something communal.

Between a Super Bowl watched by 100 million people, Whoopi’s farewell, or a Squid Game spin-off with a whiff of Hunger Games, we’re all seeking moments that reconnect us—if only briefly.

So ironically, the “old lady” we called TV is reinventing itself as a master of ceremonies. More humble. More hybrid. Less dominant, but still crucial for the big stuff.

🧾 In a Nutshell:

The Super Bowl proved one show can still silence the internet.
Reality TV reached a new moral gray zone.
TV dinosaurs bowed out with flair.
And television fully married social media to survive.

TV in 2025? Not (yet) dead. It’s metamorphosed. And between two cat reels, we still manage to tune in and feel something.

👗 FASHION & LUXURY

It’s official: 2025’s fashion world can’t decide if it wants to be art, a living NFT, a Snapchat filter, or a Balmain lightsaber. But one thing is certain: it refuses to be ignored.

This quarter, from visionary fashion weeks to viral pieces, from superpowered watches to collections more ethical than your vegan ex, the style universe showed it can still surprise—even while selling a €5,000 bag made from “recycled jump rope.”

So let’s see what the fashion gods served up from January to March. Spoiler: it’s not just skirts and logos; it’s LSD-fueled textile storytelling.

🪡 Fashion Weeks: Between LAN Party and Absurd Theater

Obviously, we start with Paris Fashion Week—front row, baby. This year, haute couture decided on a clear message: “Sexy is passé—strange is the new black.”

At Valentino, the runway was a red-tiled path, reminiscent of a post-apocalyptic art installation. Models strutted in slow motion, some not blinking at all. You’re left between admiration and demon possession vibes. Creepy? Yes. Fabulous? Also yes.

Coperni took it further—or geekier—by turning its show into a giant LAN party. Yep, 200 gamers all networked together, playing while models weaved among them. Tribute, troll, or prophecy? Who knows. But did it blow up on TikTok? Absolutely. Mission accomplished.

Another moment of raw emotion: Sarah Burton’s first collection for Givenchy since leaving Alexander McQueen. A line that stays true to McQueen’s goth-glam legacy but with a futuristic sobriety. Fewer frills, more razor-sharp cuts. The message: mourning can be classy, even in heels.

🕶️ Viral Moments & the Front-Row Circus

But fashion isn’t just the catwalk now—sometimes it’s all about who’s in the front row.

Zendaya showed up at the Louis Vuitton show in a three-piece men’s suit + skinny tie, hair slicked back, rocking that boss-lady vibe. The internet promptly dubbed her “Zendaya Yakuza Arc,” fanart sprang up, and ties became the must-have accessory of March. Moral: forget trailing gowns. In 2025, it’s the power suit that pleases the algorithm.

Doechii, the rising rap star and muse of avant-garde designers, cranked out four viral outfits in two days: hot-pink latex at Acne Studios, a library-themed corset at Vivienne Westwood, etc. She’s becoming what Rihanna was in 2015: the celeb you watch to know what you’ll be liking next week.

Meanwhile, couture houses are all about AR filters: Dior launched a “virtual beret” on Snapchat so anyone can “wear” it during the show. Teens spammed selfies; fashion purists groaned; sales soared. That’s the loop.

💍 Watches & Wonders: Rolex Comes Out Swinging (in Style)

Now let’s glide into a realm where time stands still yet costs the price of a used car: high watchmaking.

At 2025’s Watches & Wonders in Geneva, Rolex dropped a legit new model. Yes, a real one. The Land-Dweller—thinner, lighter, integrated bracelet—welcomed like a Swiss rock star. Collectors? Hysterical. Speculators? Ready to pawn a kidney. Total newbies? “So… it just tells time?”

No, Karen, it tells social status + family inheritance + subtle flex.

Other brands are going green: Chopard uses recycled gold, Ulysse Nardin is all about ocean plastic straps. And for once, the eco-friendly narrative feels somewhat sincere—or brilliantly marketed. Possibly both.

👜 Global Luxury: Banksy for Vuitton, LVMH’s Galactic Empire

Speaking of storytelling, luxury is smitten with street art.

Louis Vuitton presented a capsule in collaboration with… Banksy. Yes, the same anti-system Banksy, now emblazoned on €7,000 bags. Irony? Absolutely. But also gorgeously designed. Confusing message, massive sales.

Meanwhile, LVMH is posting obscene profits yet again—over €12 billion in 2024, growth reignited in China, and Bernard Arnault reelected for, well, basically life. It’s not just a luxury house, it’s an intergalactic empire.

Kering, for its part, finalized a 30% takeover of Valentino, confirming that high-end fashion is basically a HBO-level corporate thriller.

🛍️ Secondhand & Digital: Luxury (Almost) for Everyone

For us mere mortals? Good news: secondhand is booming.

Platforms like Vestiaire Collective report a 25% sales spike this quarter. Vintage bags, 2006 Dior sunglasses, slightly worn Chanel heels—everything’s making a comeback. In 2025, ultra-luxury is tinged with nostalgia and a lot of stylish recycling.

With augmented reality on the rise, brands are everywhere: virtual try-ons, NFTs bundled with your purse, or items you never physically receive but can “wear” in the metaverse. We’ve arrived at that stage.

🧵 In a Nutshell:

Runways are becoming interactive digital installations.
Celebs set the trends from their seats, not the catwalk.
Rolex reasserts itself, Banksy goes luxe, and eco-fashion is now a strong marketing angle.
Luxury in 2025? An experience. A game. A mirror. And a hand-stitched rope bag designed by an AI.

It’s beautiful, absurd, and fascinating—exactly what we expected from this quarter.

📲 WEB CULTURE:

Web culture is that elusive, bubbling, unpredictable, slightly chaotic thing, like a Twitter war featuring a 19-year-old vegan, a crypto-bro, and someone who posts daily affirmations for their private Instagram circle.

And this quarter? We’ve had AIs forging duets with the dead, a meme drought that became a meme, a real-life treasure hunt by a megalomaniac YouTuber, and TikTok continuing to sort out music careers like it’s a digital Simon Cowell none of us asked for.

🧠 When AI Wants Your Voice (and Michael Jackson’s)

Let’s start with the phenomenon that’s giving artists nightmares: AI-generated vocals.

You thought we’d stop at AI images of “Harry Potter in the ’80s”? Ha, no. Now AIs sing, rap, and create “duets” between people who never performed together, some of whom aren’t even alive.

The biggest buzz? A fake Drake/Michael Jackson collab that reached 4 million views in 24 hours on YouTube before it got nuked. But in that time, it spread to playlists, TikToks, and even a local radio station that thought it was a “surprise release.”

So, the record labels panic, fans argue, lawyers lose sleep. And in the middle of this chaos, Grimes does the opposite—launching a worldwide “Grimes Approved” AI vocal contest, handing out cash and hype.

Long story short: AI is rewriting the music industry’s rules, and nobody’s sure where the rulebook even is.

🌵 TikTok & the “Meme Drought”

Now to a truly magical moment we might label “The Great Meme Drought of March 2025.”

For two weeks, TikTok, Reddit, and X (yes, Twitter is still called that) were creatively empty. Zero trending audio, zero relevant jokes, no comedic gold. A collective, comedic vacuum.

As everyone despaired, the vacuum itself became the meme. Users started posting:

“Nothing left. We devoured it all. We are the survivors of the great silence.”

Hashtag #memedrought, black-and-white videos, dramatic music over slow-motion chips falling… Boom. Viral.

The meme of the non-meme became the meme. Confusing? Doesn’t matter; it was funny.

💃 Instagram Becomes Your Diary, While YouTube Plays Global Monopoly

On Instagram, a whole different vibe.

In March, the “Notes” feature (those little text bubbles above DMs that nobody used) suddenly blew up with a heartfelt challenge: “12 things I want for 2025” Everybody started sharing their personal manifestos:

“Respect myself + stress less”
“Get rich without working”
“Stop stalking my ex”
“Get a two-bedroom with a balcony and a cat”

It was sweet, a bit naive, a bit sad, but definitely communal.

Meanwhile on YouTube, MrBeast decided the planet is his playground. Literally. He launched a global treasure hunt by hiding a $500,000 gold note in a random country, dropping a series of Da Vinci Code–style riddles.

He stashed it in… an old book in a Tokyo bookstore, and some Argentine student found it. The whole thing was followed like a new season of Stranger Things: insane Reddit threads, multilingual Discord servers, even a custom tracking app made by a fan.

Moral: if you’ve got a Marvel-sized budget and Elon Musk–level ego, you can turn the real world into a Netflix series.

🎵 Viral Music Trends: The Algorithm Decides

On the music trends side, TikTok still calls the shots. The pattern is straightforward:

Some old ’90s or ’00s hit
Sped-up version
A dance or bizarre filter
Bam, #1 on Spotify Viral

Examples?

“Zombie” (The Cranberries) gets a trap remix with a hyper-slow dance.
“I Will Survive” turned into a 15-second loop for comedic breakup stories like, “He ghosted me after introducing me to his mom.”
A “Hit Me Baby One More Time” lo-fi jazz remix used for a trend of “2025 personality rebrand.”

Basically, TikTok is now part psych lab, part music studio, part endless dopamine dispenser.

🔍 In a Nutshell:

AI vocals make music a slippery (and intriguing) slope.
Memes literally went on strike, becoming meme gold.
Instagram wants to be your pocket diary.
MrBeast turned the planet into his game board.
TikTok recycles pop culture faster than its own shadow.

Web culture in 2025? Still impossible to pin down, brilliant in its stupidity, and more potent than a Grammy or an Oscar—because online, anything can become cult or vanish overnight. If you want to keep up, you can’t just follow the wind; you have to be the current.

🥐 CONCLUSION

So. Three months.Surprise Oscars, Grammy-winning cowgirls, haute-couture lightsabers, AI that can’t sing but belts out anyway, and television revived via TikTok. That’s pop culture in 2025: controlled chaos, a parade of fleeting trends, and hidden gems that truly matter. It’s loud, occasionally exhausting, often sublime, and always in flux.

But the real question: Are we witnessing total content overload… or the rebirth of formats, voices, and ways we consume? Are we overdoing it… or just evolving? Is our relationship with culture unhealthy… or mutating like a digital supernova?

I’ll let you ponder that over a cappuccino or a two-hour TikTok binge—your call. But one thing’s certain: the pop world has never been this messy. And that’s exactly why we love it.

📣 AND NOW, BIG DECLARATION OF LOVE MOMENT

If you enjoyed the show—if you dig sharp analysis, well-timed jokes, and crispy pop recaps like a bakery-fresh pastry at 7 a.m.:

SUBSCRIBE to Cappuccino & Croissant on your platform of choice. Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Deezer, your smart fridge—I’m literally everywhere.

🎧 Want more?

All my books are available in English and French, in eBook or paperback (so you can sniff them like the hopeless romantic you are).
The Free Verse Chronicles songs are already online on Spotify and all platforms.

🛒 To support my work (and save me from surviving on instant noodles forever):

Discover the exclusive merch, illustrations, book+music bundles… and soon, a capsule collection inspired by Niohmar.exe.

📱 And of course, to rant, react, send me memes, or share that Zendaya also made you want to rock a tie this year:

Instagram / TikTok / YouTube / etc.: @harmoniedemieville
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Alright. I’ll see you very soon for a new episode—probably less chaotic but just as caffeinated. Until then: stay curious, stay sharp, stay stylish, and keep being sassy in the face of the absurd. 💙

This was Cappuccino & Croissant. Always hot. Always crispy. Bye!