In a word, 2020 has been hectic. This year has been filled with a pandemic, a tumultuous presidential election, the new experience of online school, natural disasters and more. Read below to see our highlights of 2020; from hits to hurdles, this year has been intense.

January

Music: “The Box” by Roddy Ricch started off the year at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. This hip-hop hit was the lead single from Ricch’s debut album, “Please Excuse me For Being Antisocial.” 

Netflix shows: N/A

Big Events: The year started off with a bang, or really a fire, when Australia experienced unprecedented bushfires resulting in the destruction of 16 million acres of land and the death of over a billion animals. The U.S. was spared from the mass fires, but it still had its problems of its own: a potential war with Iran loomed in the air after Trump ordered a mission that caused the murder of Qausem Soliemani, a major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

Tiktok trends: The flexibility test was a very popular trend in January. Users would try to lift their leg up in a clockwise motion, to try to see how high they could reach. As of December, over 1.5 million videos have been made under this challenge’s audio.  

February

Music: “The Box’s” reign continued through February. Ricch ended the month by releasing a surreal and action-packed music video, directed by himself.

Netflix shows: Netflix first rolled out their official top 10 ranking of the United States in February 2020. This month, their biggest show was “Love is Blind.” In this romantic reality show, contestants had to build connections with each other without seeing each other’s faces. Viewers across the country were tantalized by this new dating show.

Big Events: This month got off to an overwhelming start with Trump being acquitted by the Senate after being impeached by the House in January, causing chaos between Trump supporters and those supporting the impeachment. February was the calm before the storm of the rest of the year, with a major highlight being Shakira and Jennifer Lopez performing a controversial show at the halftime of the Super Bowl. 

Tiktok trends: The Ahi challenge was a popular dance in February-racking up 8.6 million videos over the sound. Charli Damelio, a famous Tik Tok star, garnered over 12.5 million views on a video participating in this challenge. 

March

Music: “The Box” kept its top spot for 11 weeks, and was crowned Apple Music’s Song of the Year. The song has also been nominated for three Grammy Awards.

Netflix shows: In March, during the beginning of quarantine, the top Netflix show was “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.” In this true crime documentary, viewers were introduced to zookeeper Joe Exotic and his efforts to take down rival Carol Baskin. The show was watched by 34.3 million people over its first 10 days online.

Big Events: Although the first COVID-19 case in the U.S. was reported in January, people only began taking it seriously when the cases and the severity of the outcomes started to rise. Montgomery County Public Schools had their last in-person school day on Mar. 13 and Hogan issued lockdowns that put everyone in quarantine to try to prevent the spread of the virus most people thought would only last two weeks. Unfortunately, those people were mistaken. 

Tiktok trends: Whipped coffee was all the rage in March, where users tried to figure out fun ways to occupy their time. 

April

Music: “Toosie Slide” by Drake was released in April, and accompanied by a quarantine-themed music video. Its success made Drake the first male artist to accomplish three number-one debuts.

Netflix shows: “Tiger King” spent nearly two months at the top of the charts. Viewers ate up the drama between these wildlife experts, eventually earning the show six Emmy nominations.

Big Events: April was the month of quarantine, with no end in sight for the virus and the death toll rising past what was predicted. Despite this, anti-lockdown protests erupted around the country, with people wanting businesses to reopen, fueled by the feeling that lockdowns restricted their constitutional rights. 

Tiktok trends: “Bored in the House” by Curtis Roach became the anthem of Tik Tok in April, with lyrics that perfectly exemplified the feelings of everyone stuck in quarantine. 

May

Music: The Nicki Minaj remix of “Say So” by Doja Cat was the first song by two female rappers to reach #1 on the Top 100 Chart. Like many hits this year, the song was popularized by a TikTok dance choreographed by Haley Sharpe and has been nominated for eight awards in various shows.

Netflix shows: “The Wrong Missy” earned the crown in May. In this zany romantic comedy, Tim (David Spade) is forced to deal with repercussions when he invites the wrong girl (Lauren Lapkus) to a work retreat in Hawaii.

Big Events: May is for… Murder Hornets! When you wonder how much worse the state of the world could be, multiply that by 100 when you add an insect that is a danger to both bees and humans alike. May was also the start of the Black Lives Matter protests. The murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin, sparked mass social and racial justice protests across the country. 

Tiktok trends: The #Randomthings was trending on Tik Tok this month, and it was used to showcase the special details and interesting additions of users homes.

June

Music: “Rockstar” by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch spent seven weeks on top of the charts. This song was the second single from DaBaby’s third album.

Netflix shows: In June, “Da 5 Bloods” was the top film on Netflix. This war drama told the story of four African-American veterans who return to Vietnam decades later to find the remains of their missing squad leader. The film was initially planned to premier at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival but was unable to do so due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Big Events: June was the month where Americans realized that they could no longer turn a blind eye to the systemic racism that plagued this country. People all over the world protested to end racial injustice in America. These protests lead to meaningful police reform and also spotlighted other facets of the country for their past and current racism. However, not everyone supported this social justice movement, with some starting a movement called “All Lives Matter.” 

Tiktok trends: Social and racial justice videos flooded everyone’s FYP, a lot of them to the popular Childish Gambino song “This is America.” 

July

Music: “Rockstar” by DaBaby feat. Roddy Ricch spent a second month at #1. DaBaby released a remix, featuring an extra verse about police brutality to support the Black Lives Matter movement. The song was nominated for three Grammy Awards.

Netflix shows: “The Old Guard,” starring Charlize Theron, was the #1 film on Netflix in July. This action movie based off a comic of the same name tells the story of a team of immortal mercenaries who try to protect the world while remaining hidden.

Big Events: The Black Lives Matter protests continued across the country and COVID-19 cases continued to rise in the U.S. Although the Black Lives Matter protests have not been linked to spreading the virus – the early reopening of businesses did – causing an uptick in cases in places like Florida and Georgia. In more local news, the Washington Football team changed their name from the derogatory name towards Indigenous people from the past, and are still scrambling to find a new name.  

Tiktok trends:  Users participated in the “What I’d Wear-” trend where they picked outfits and accessories they would wear if they were placed in situations like 90’s sitcoms or popular cartoons. 

August

Music: “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles skyrocketed to the top of the charts in August. This funky rock track was nominated for a Grammy Award and was Styles’ first number-one single.

Netflix shows: Another superhero movie, “Project Power,” was the most watched movie in August. This film features an acting team made up of Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Dominique Fishback which endeavors to put a stop to the rise of a pill that gives any user superhuman powers for a short period of time.

Big Events: The Beirut Explosion in Lebanon shocked people around the world and created a social movement around helping the people in Lebanon after this devastating event. 

Tiktok trends: “Mi Pan Su Su Sum” became the trending song this August. Also, WCHS’s Evan Papier went viral for his cover of “Foreigner” by Pop Smoke. 

September

Music: “WAP” by Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion turned many heads upon its release in August and reached number one on the charts in September. This scandalous track broke the record for the largest opening streaming week for a song in U.S. history and had the most Googled lyrics of any song in 2020. It has been nominated for ten awards.

Netflix shows: The number one show in September was “Ratched.” Starring Sarah Paulson as the titular character, this show functions as a prequel to “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” The psychological thriller amassed 48 million viewers in its first four weeks.

Big Events: Much to the chagrin of students everywhere, virtual school started up this month. 

Tiktok trends: Tik Tok usually influences the trending music of the month and vice versa, and this month was no exception. The WAP dance was the most memorable trend of this month- with over 5.8 million videos made under the audio, and over 4.2 million videos from another part of the song. 

October

Music: “Savage Love” (Laxed – Siren Beat) by Jawsh 685 x Jason Derulo reached the top of the charts in October. This song was surrounded by controversy, as Derulo initially released the song in May without giving credits to Jawsh 685, whose beat he used. Derulo re-released the song in June and received greater attention after the release of a remix featuring K-pop group BTS, which was nominated for two Korean awards.

Netflix shows: “The Haunting of Bly Manor”

In the spirit of Halloween, “The Haunting of Bly Manor” topped the charts in October. This gothic series is a loose adaptation of The Turning of the Screw as well as the second installment in Mike Flanagan’s Haunting anthology, after “The Haunting of Hill House” last year. The show was nominated for three Critics’ Choice Awards.

Big Events: After downplaying the danger of COVID-19 and making fun of Joe Biden for wearing a mask, Donald Trump contracted COVID-19. This set off a wave of White House officials testing positive for the virus, causing many people to point to a ceremony for Amy Coney Barret as a superspreader event. 

Tiktok trends: User Jay Scotty inspired a whole month of memes based off of his viral video where he states “I ain’t never seen two pretty best friends, it’s always one of them got to be ugly”. This line will trigger flashbacks for anyone on Tik Tok during this time, because it became the new “Rick Roll.” 

November

Music: Ariana Grande’s “Positions” was released in late October and was crowned number one in November. This pop and R&B song was released with a music video featuring Grande as the President of the United States. Grande’s album of the same name was released a week after the song.

Netflix shows: “The Queen’s Gambit,” based off of Walter Tevis’ novel of the same name, was number one in November. Viewers were captivated by the journey of Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), an orphaned chess prodigy who dreams of stardom. The series became Netflix’s most-watched scripted miniseries just four weeks after release.

Big Events: On Nov. 8, Biden was officially declared the winner of the presidency after a tumultuous and dragged out election process. He makes history as the oldest President of the United States, and also for his pick of Kamala Harris as Vice President, the first Black woman of South Asian descent to ever be at such a high position in the U.S. While this presidency is monumental, many refuse to accept the election results, leading to mass protests such as the “Million Maga March.”

Tiktok trends: The release of “Positions” by Ariana Grande and her popular music video inspired many users to create a trend of transitioning from outfits with the song. 

December

Music: “Mood” by 24kGoldn Featuring iann dior has spent six weeks at number one on the Hot 100 Chart. This song, dealing with unhealthy relationships, has been featured in more than 300,000 TikToks. A remix featuring Justin Bieber and J Balvin was later released.

Netflix shows: “Ava,” starring Jessica Chastain, was at the top of the list in December. This action thriller follows an assassin who finds herself as the target. The film was initially released in Hungary before becoming available on demand for American audiences and ultimately finding a home on Netflix.  

Big Events: The perfect way to end this year is with a sign for better times – COVID-19 vaccines have been approved and are beginning to be distributed. 

Tiktok trends: The #ruinourfriendship went viral on Tik Tok this month, where users would Snapchat their friends (or random people), lyrics to the song “Jenny” by the Studio Killers.