The Year in Pop Culture

The top keywords throughout 2013 in the world of pop culture were "twerking", "selfie", and "sharknado"...all not necessarily in that order. But in between all those, lines were blurred, lionesses roared, royal babies on opposite sides of the Atlantic were born, and we've experience a dynasty which right now appears to be quacked away. That, or a coked-up Canadian mayor has cared more about Candy Crush Saga and less about running his city.

But we begin with redemption, and Ben Affleck got his when even without a Director nod, "Argo" walked out of the 85th Annual Academy Awards the big winner with three Oscars including Best Picture (sharing it with George Clooney). Daniel Day-Lewis made history by becoming a triple Best Actor holder, while Jennifer Lawrence's Best Actress would be the start of her landmark year, which I'll get to in a bit.

"Modern Family" continued to reign supreme at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, while "Breaking Bad" closed out in style with Outstanding Drama. "The Colbert Report" ended "The Daily Show's" long streak, "The Voice" was the next show to dethrone "The Amazing Race", and Bob Newhart after many decades finally took home his first Emmy.

In other 2013 television highlights and lowlights: "NCIS" finally becoming the #1 show in all of television, the live "Sound of Music" musical starring Carrie Underwood attracting 18 million eyeballs, the returns of Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar in "The Crazy Ones" and Arsenio Hall in late night after a 19-year hiatus, "Sharknado" reviving once-dead careers of Tara Reid and Ian Ziering, "Sleepy Hollow" and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" ratings grabbers for Fox, the ends of "Private Practice", "The Office", and "30 Rock", the very ends of "1600 Penn", "Golden Boy", and the "Ironside" reboot, and "All My Children" and "One Life To Live" being granted second lives online. And speaking of which, Netflix had a banner year themselves with "House of Cards", the new "Arrested Development", and "Orange Is The New Black" (in which one superfan, Julianne Hough, took her obsession with the show a little too far by going as Blackface for Halloween) all worth the $8 monthly subscription fee.

And then you have what was the year's biggest TV phenomenon: "Duck Dynasty" and the Robertson family whose beards would make ZZ Top go duck hunting themselves. From scoring sky-high ratings for A&E to merchandise galore, it was duck season all year round...that is, until just recently. Phil Robertson, the engine behind all this, made a remark about homosexuals in GQ magazine which didn't sit well with A&E executives, and he was put on indefinite hiatus. With the show's future on the line, many have now come in defense of Robertson, hoping the network reverses its decision. As of publish time, we've now learned that Robertson will be back on board after all and that A&E has just lifted the ban on Robertson.

In movies, "Gravity" soared to new heights, the minions returned in "Despicable Me 2", we felt "The Heat", and "Her", "Dallas Buyers Club, "Nebraska", "Saving Mr. Banks", and "Nebraska" had filmgoers sending a three-word message to Oscar voters: "For your consideration". As for "The Lone Ranger", "R.I.P.D.", the "Carrie" remake, and "The Fifth Estate?" They were sent that very same message alright...to Razzie voters.

The world of music saw some shocks and surprises. First, the surprises: Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" and its very saucy video creating a star in model Emily Ratajkowski, Justin Timberlake still having "20/20" vision, Katy Perry still "Roar"-ing (all while becoming the new Twitter queen with 48 million followers), and the biggest of them all: Beyonce dropping her latest album right from under us...unlike Britney Spears, whose new album "Britney Jean" came in time for her new stint at Las Vegas' Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino, which begins by the time this portion gets published.

There is that show "Scandal" which was fiery hot this year...and then there were actual scandals that were more than just fiery hot! The annual queen of them all, Lindsay Lohan, passed the crown to Amanda Bynes this year, as her erratic behavior and saliacious selfies have landed her to a psychiatric facility. Sassy celebrity chef Paula Deen was at the epicenter of controversy when she dropped the N-bomb after having an all-black waitstaff at her brothers plantation-themed wedding. That cost her her Food Network contract as well as partnerships with QVC and Smithfield Foods. 

We also had Lance Armstrong admitting to Oprah Winfrey that he was indeed doping before his races, Reese Witherspoon busted for DUI and trying to play the celebrity card to a Georgia state trooper (this was months before I moved here to Atlanta), Justin Bieber's wild adventures ranging from urinating in a mop bucket to getting kicked out of his Brazilian hotel for getting way too freaky, and Alec Baldwin threatening paparazzi in New York followed by some very scathing remarks that led to his MSNBC show being yanked off the air.

But forget "Girls Gone Wild"; in 2013, it was all about "Politicians Gone Wild"! Anthony Weiner's latest sexting scandal (and using the psuedonym "Carlos Danger") costing him his one and only shot at New York City mayor, San Diego mayor Bob Filner resigning in the wake of numerous sexual harassment claims, and you have the king of them all: Toronto mayor Rob Ford admitting to smoking crack cocaine, pushing a city council member, and even a cable news stint that lasted only one night. Toronto City Council took action and stripped Ford of almost all his powers, even though he vows to remain mayor for who knows when. If only Chris Farley lived 16 more years to offer his own spin on this...

Technology and trends continued to run rampant this year, with Apple releasing the iPhone 5S and 5C and the iPad Air (all with the new iOS 7) being the major highlight. And we now know why sales have continued to be up the creek: "Selfie" becoming the Oxford dictionary's word of the year, and the addictive Candy Crush Saga the app to get hooked on. Speaking of which, the Harlem Shake had us up on our feet though thanks to somebody else which I'll get to later, that craze didn't last long.

Christian Slater and Brittany Lopez, Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard (just moments after applying for a marriage license), Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock, Kate Bosworth and Michael Polish, Keira Knightley and James Righton, Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler, Kerry Washington and Nnmadi Asomugha, Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney, Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger, and John Legend and Chrissy Tiegen were among the couples that headed down the altat this year, while Dario Franchitti and Ashley Judd, Bethenny Frankel and Jason Hoppy, Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom, Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr, and Diane Lane and Josh Brolin were those that headed to divorce court. And those who headed to Splitsville? George Clooney and Stacy Keibler, Kaley Cuoco and Henry Cavill, Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder, Ryan Seacrest and Julianne Hough, and Minka Kelly (who too returned to TV with "Almost Human") and Chris Evans.

The year's two biggest births belonged to Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George, and Kim Kardsahian and Kanye West with North West. But there were several others: Channing and Jenna Dewan-Tatum (Everly), Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez (Maceo, three months after they were wed), Jennifer Love Hewitt and Brian Hallisay (Autumn James, shortly after their secret nuptials), Jimmy Fallon and Nancy Juvonen (Winnie Rose), Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson (Ace Knute), Kate Winslet and Ned Rocknroll (Bear), and Elton John and David Furnish (Elijah Joseph Daniel). And this year, we've been seeing baby bumps on the aforementioned Kelly Clarkson and Olivia Wilde.

All that's left now is to name my Entertainer of the Year for 2013: Jennifer Lawrence! And why? She began her year with that much-deserved Oscar for "Silver Linings Playbook", continued it with "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" collecting over $160 million in its opening weekend, and is already capping off with "American Hustle" earning Golden Globe and SAG honors...which could result in a repeat trip (not trip-up) to the Oscar stage.

But the most honorable mention goes to Miley Cyrus, as her 2013 was ripe with...well, everything. From using both her foam finger and twerking technique to arouse Robin Thicke at the MTV Video Music Awards while tonguing it out, to saying "It's over!" to Liam Hemsworth, to straddling around naked in a wrecking ball for her music video, to going toe-to-toe with Sinead O'Connor, you can sure bet that Santa was busy this Christmas putting tickets to her upcoming Bangerz Tour in 2014 in stockings everywhere.


And that's not the only thing that'll happen in the upcoming year. No Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nods for "The Butler" (and Oprah Winfrey) opens the door wide open for an Oscar race that may come down to "Dallas Buyers Club", "Nebraska", and "12 Years A Slave" for the big Best Picture prize, and a showdown between Tom Hanks vs. Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Lawrence vs. Sandra Bullock. Speaking of J-Law, she's been filming "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay" on and off here in Atlanta, and so were Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels with the "Dumb and Dumber" sequel; both will be making millions in the box office. And One Direction will be hitting the road in a stadium tour that is expected to be sold out, while new late night torches will be passed from Jay Leno to Jimmy Fallon (who's upgrading to 11:35) and Seth Meyers. There are countless scenarios that'll come into play in 2014, but as the old saying goes: "Expect the unexpected."

Next time: We wrap it all up with the Top 20 Things That Were Trending in 2013 and what I call the "Britney Guarantee"!