2016 was filled with some of the decade’s greatest highs and lows. In the areas of music, comedy, film, art and social media, the entertainment world was rocked with shocking news throughout the year. Here are my picks for some of 2016’s best and worst moments in entertainment.
Best:
1) 2016 Challenges
The Water Bottle Flip Challenge began in May of 2016 when Mike Senatore, a high school student from North Carolina, flipped a water bottle at his school’s talent show. From then on, high school students around the nation began adding on more complicated aspects, such as flipping the water bottle from on top of a house.
According to mic.com, a group of high school students from Jackson, Mississippi started the Mannequin Challenge, and from there it blew up to become one of the biggest social media crazes since the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. One of the students spoke with reporters from Inverse about the creation of the challenge. Originally, it was a prank posted on Twitter with the caption #mannequinchallenge, and it quickly went viral. The objective of the challenge is to pose like a mannequin as someone records a video done to the song “Black Beatles” by rap duo Rae Sremmurd ft. Gucci Mane. The University even got in on the challenge a few times including the “accidental” Mannequin Challenge after our defeat against Florida.
The U Name It Challenge came shortly after the Mannequin Challenge when legendary gospel singer Shirley Caesar’s song, “Hold my Mule” was remixed. Many people used it as a way to celebrate the coming of Thanksgiving. The objective is to dance on beat to the remixed song. Caesar wasted no time in capitalizing on her newfound social media fame, and is selling items etched with popular lyrics from the song such as “I got beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes.”
2) Awesome Movies and Documentaries
2016 was a year of great movies and documentaries, ranging from action to comedy to children’s movies.
“Zootopia” and “Finding Dory” were among some of the top children’s movies to come out this year. They were filled with great life lessons from which both children and adults can benefit. “Zootopia” even had many underlying messages about discrimination.
The Marvel and DC Universe went head-to-head again, this time through the movies “Deadpool” and “Suicide Squad.” Both movies received much praise from comic book fans and critics alike.
The documentary “13th” has been widely regarded as a must watch film. With its historical accuracy, investigative tactics and play on the 2016 presidential election, the documentary was not only informative but an interesting and entertaining watch.
3) The Queen Slays Again
The year was full of great things in music. Chance the Rapper dropped his third mixtape “Coloring Book,” which launched his highly regarded Magnificent Coloring World Tour. Frank Ocean finally dropped not one, but two long-anticipated albums, and of course, Beyoncé dropped her visual album “Lemonade” in April.
“Lemonade” was a tribute to women, specifically black women, going through tough times in their relationships. It also included songs like “Freedom” and “Formation,” which were unapologetically black and received much criticism from the mass media. This didn’t stop Queen Bey, as she went on her Formation World Tour which generated over $123 million dollars, according to Billboard Magazine.
Worst:
1) Bye Bye Vine
Former popular social media app Vine was pronounced dead as its founders decided to discontinue the short-form video app in October. With the rise of Snapchat and Instagram videos, Vine quickly began to die out among young users. Popular Vine stars began abandoning Vine to use Instagram’s longer video times, and their fans quickly followed.
On the plus side, many Twitter users reminisced on their time using the app before its passing. We’ll miss you, Vine. Here are a few tweets commemorating Vine:
2) Celebrity Mental Breakdowns
We tend to laugh at the breakdowns of celebrities, such as Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, and this year was no exception.
With constant memes and videos teasing celebrities like Katt Williams, Orlando Brown and Kanye West, we still tend to have a pretty sick sense of humor, but many people are now beginning to see that what is happening to these celebrities is actually pretty sad.
Whether it’s drugs or stress, many of the people we make fun of may have mental health issues. Kanye West was reportedly hospitalized recently due to stress and exhaustion, according to the Washington Post. Some celebrities have even tried to commit suicide or have a severe case of depression, such as Kid Cudi and Kehlani.
3) The Death of a Legend
It seems like all of our music icons are taking their place in the big music concert in the sky. First Michael Jackson, then Whitney Houston, and in 2016, pop and funk singer-songwriter Prince, were all taken away from us and seemingly in similar ways — overdose.
The late singer passed away in April due to fentanyl overdose, and it completely shook the music world. His death garnered various dedications from celebrities such as Beyoncé and different music awards throughout the year. Prince’s legacy and beautiful music will continue to live on.

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