Here's a roundup of notable things that happened in January 2024. I've avoided listing all the Oscar nominations here because it would end up being huge, and Wikipedia have that list if you want it, but I have added a few facts that may crop up at a pub quiz or trivia night. You can also check out the Quizzer's Guide to the Best Picture nominees for a more in-depth overview of each film. In keeping with that idea, I've also summarised some of the things that happened at the Golden Globes, but haven't listed all the winners and nominees as that list is also freely available online.
You will find that I've summarised all the elections that happened around the world in January 2024 in the Politics section, as well as other political events that caught my attention.
I've also added sections on Sport, Literature, Music and Space Travel as well as some notable birthdays.
TV
UK TV
- 22-year-old British Army engineer Harry Clarke won £95,150 on the UK BBC game show "Traitors". He was a "traitor". He beat Mollie Pearce who was a "faithful". Both voted off Jaz Singh (a "faithful").
- Steven Fry became the host of the UK version of "Jeopardy!"
- Stephen Mulhern replaces Philip Schofield on the 16th series of "Dancing on Ice"
- UK Masked Singer season 5 costumes and celebrities revealed so far:
- "Weather" - Dionne Warwick
- "Chicken Cesar" - Alexander Armstrong
- "Rat" - Shirley Ballas
- "Bubble Tea" - Julia Sawalha
- "Owl" - Lorraine Kelly
US TV
- JoJo Siwa set to replace Nigel Lithgow as a judge on "So You Think You Can Dance".
- John Stewart announced he will be returning to "The Daily Show" hosting for 1 day a week (Mondays) during the election cycle.
- The Bachelor caused confusion by blurring out the Canadian flag.
- New Hulu series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans is based on the book Capote's Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era by Laurence Leamer.
Music
Billboard Hot 100 Number 1's (Singles chart)
- "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee
- "Lovin On Me" by Jack Harlow
- "Yes, And?" by Ariana Grande
Billboard 200 Number 1's (Album chart)
- "1989 (Taylor's Version)" by Taylor Swift
- "One Thing At A Time" by Morgan Wallen
- "American Dream" by 21 Savage
Brit Award Nominations
- Raye became most nominated artist with 7 Brit Award nominations.
- Artist of the Year category raised from 5 to 10 nominees at Brit Awards after no female artists were nominated in 2023 .
UK Number 1 Single Number 1's
- "Last Christmas" by Wham (first time the song reached number 1 since release in 1984 [39 years])
- "Stick Season" by Noah Kahan
UK Number 1 album Number 1's
- "Christmas" by Michael Buble
- "Broken by Desire to be Heavenly Sent" by Lewis Capaldi
- "Rolling Stone" by D-Block Europe
- "Saviors" by Green Day
Points of Interest
- 2001 song "Murder on the Dancefloor" by Sophie Ellis Bexter re-entered the UK singles chart at number 8 (peaking at number 2) and entered the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time after being featured in the final scene of viral hit film "Saltburn".
- Elton John reached EGOT status (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony), making him the third musician to win all 4 awards (alongside Jennifer Hudson and John Legend). Here's the breakdown:
- 1 Emmy:
- "Outstanding Variety Special (Live)" for "Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium" (2023)
- 5 Grammys (+1 for Grammy Legend in 1999):
- Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "That's What Friends Are For" (1987)
- Best Instrumental Composition for "Basque" (1992)
- Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (1995)
- Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Candle in the Wind 1997" (1998)
- Best Musical Show Album for "Aida" (2001)
- 2 Oscars:
- "Can you Feel the Love Tonight" from "Lion King" (1994)
- "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from "Rocketman" (2019)
- 1 Tony Award:
- "Best Original Score" for "Aida" (2000)
- Pop group Steps announce new musical titled "Here and Now" based on their music.
- Shed Seven achieved their first UK number one album with "A Matter of Time" 30 years after their debut album.
Film
Golden Globes
- The 81st Golden Globes was hosted by comedian Joe Koy at The Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, California
- Lilly Gladstone became the first Native American to win the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for "Killers of the Flower Moon".
- "Oppenheimer" took the most awards with 5 Golden Globes including "Best Film Drama".
- Both "Barbie" and TV Show "Succession" were the most nominated with 9 nominations each. "Succession" won 4, including "Best Drama Series" and "Barbie" won 2 Golden Globes for "Cinematic and Box Office Achievement" and "Best Original Song" ("What I Was Made For" by Billie Eilish).
Oscar Nominations
- Controversy as Director Greta Gerwig and Lead Margot Robbie not nominated for "Barbie" Oscars (Ryan Gosling was nominated for best supporting actor for playing Ken).
- Lilly Gladstone became the first Native American actress to be nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for "Killers of The Flower Moon".
Science
Space Exploration
- Japan became the 5th country to land a craft on the moon. The SLIM (the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) probe on the moon. Dubbed the "moon sniper" the probe landed upside down and contact was lost for 9 days.
- Nasa Peregrine 1 lunar lander failed to land on the moon after a succussful launch on the Vulcan Centaur rocket at Cape Canaveral. It was the first mission to fly under NASA's commercial lunar payload services (CLPS) which uses private companies to deliver scientific equipment to the moon. It was also reported to have been carrying the DNA of John F. Kennedy and the remains/DNA of writer Arthur C Clarke and Star Trek actors: James Doohan (Scotty), DeForest Kelley (Bones) and Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) as well as many others.
Technology
- Elon Musk's Neuralink implanted its first chip in a human brain, although chips have previously been implanted in human brains.
Politics
Bangladesh
- Sheikh Hasina won the Bangladeshi election for a fifth term, in total she has served as prime minister for 19 years (1996-2001 and 2005-current), making her the world's longest-serving female head of government.
Bhutan
- Tshering Tobgay leader of The People's Democratic Party was elected for a second term as prime minister. His first term being between 2013 - 2018
Comoros
- Azali Assoumani was re-elected for his fourth term as Comoros President. His opponents ran on the slogan "Azali, get out"; Azali Assoumani ran on the slogan "Knock out in one go".
Denmark
- Frederick X took over as King of Denmark after his Mother Queen Marghrete II abdicated.
France
- Gabriel Attal became the first openly gay prime minister of France.
Malaysia
- Ibrahim Iskandor of Johor was elected King of Malaysia replacing Abdullah of Pahang.
Pakistan
- Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for leaking state secrets and a further 14 years for the illegal sale of state gifts. His wife Bushra Bibi was also sentanced to 14 years for the illegal sale of state gifts. Imran Khan was already serving a three year prison sentance for corruption. He is being held in Adiala Prison in Rawalpindi.
Taiwan
- Lai Ching-te (also known as William Lai) was elected as President of Taiwan for the Democratic Progressive Party. William Lai was served as Vice President but ran because incumbent Tsai Ing-wen was no longer eligible due to term limits.
Tuvalu
- Tuvalu held general elections unseating incumbent Prime Minister Kausea Natano. Tuvalu doesn't have any political parties, all candidates run as independent. 6 new members were elected to the 16-seat Parliament. [as of Jan 30th*] Seve Paeniu is currently trying to form a coalition to become prime minister.
UK
- Kingswood MP Chris Skidmore resigned in protest over the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill. Because MP's aren't able to resign, he is appointed by the Chancellor as The Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds (a position that disqualifies him from being an MP) the other position used for this purpose is Manor of Northstead. The resignation will trigger a by-election despite the seat being abolished at the next general election (at some point in 2024).
USA
- Ron DeSantis dropped out of the US Presidential race ahead of the New Hampshire primary, leaving Nikki Haley (full name: Nimarata Nikki Haley) and Donald Trump in the race for the Republican Presidential candidate.
- US and UK launch airstrikes (with the support of Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands) against Houthi rebels in Yemen after Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
- Donald Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million dollars in a defamation case against American journalist E Jean Carroll.
Sport
American Football
- The Kansas City Chiefs beat The Baltimore Ravens to win the AFC championship and advance to Super bowl LVIII (58).
- The San Fransisco 49ers beat The Detroit Lions to win the NFC championship and advance to Super bowl LVIII (58).
- Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce passed Jerry Rice's record for most receptions in the post season (playoffs) with 156. Jerry Rice now goes in to second with 151.
Darts
- Luke "Cool Hand Luke" Humphries beat 16 year old sensation Luke "The Nuke" Littler in the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship.
Football
- Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp announced he would be leaving his role at the end of the 2024 season after 9 years in charge (he started in 2015).
- Barcelona manager Xavi Hernández (known simply Xavi) announced he would be leaving his role at the end of the 2024 season.
- National League South (6th tier) team Maidstone beat EFL Championship (2nd tier) side Ipswich 2-1 in the FA Cup 5th found in shock win. Maidstone are 98 places below Ipswich.
Rugby
- 22 year-old Welsh winger Louis Rees-Zammit announced he was leaving Rugby Union to join the NFL player pathway.
- England fly half Owen Farrell announced he will leave Saracens at the end of the season and go to French team Racing 92. He will no longer be eligible to play for England due a long-standing ban on selecting overseas players.
Snooker
- Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Ali Carter in the 2024 Masters Snooker tournament to complete his 2nd Triple Crown.
- Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Judd Trump in the 2024 World Grand Prix Snooker tournament.
Tennis
- Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka beat China's Qinwen Zheng in the Australian Open Women's Singles final in straight sets.
- Italian Jannick Sinner beat Russia's Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open Men's singles final in 5 sets.
- Novak Djokovic lost his first Australian open match since 2018; losing to Jannick Sinner in the semi final.
Literature
New York Times Bestsellers (Fiction)
- "Fourth Wing" by Rebecca Yarros
- "Fourth Wing" is the first book in Empyrean series released in May 2023
- Second book is in Empyrean series is "Iron Flame" released in November 2023
- 5 Books planned
- "Fourth Wing" acheived viral success on BookTok (TikTok's reader community)
New York Times Bestsellers (Non-Fiction)
- "The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder" by David Grann
- About the 1741 mutiny after the 1741 Shipwreck of HMS Wager
- "The Boys in the Boat" by Daniel James Brown
- About The University of Washington rowing team trying to reach the 1936 Berlin Olympics
- "Oath and Honor" by Liz Cheney
- A Memoir
- "Killers of The Flower Moon" by David Grann
- True story about the murders in the Osage nation in Oklahoma in the early 20th century.
- Made in to a film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNero and Lilly Gladstone.
New York Times Bestsellers (Children's Series)
- "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
- "Percy Jackson and The Olympians" series by Rick Riordan (6 books listed below)
- The Lightning Thief
- The Sea of Monsters
- The Titan's Curse
- The Battle of the Labyrinth
- The Last Olympian
- The Chalice of the Gods
- Wrath of the Triple Goddess (to be released in September 2024)
Notable Book Releases
- "Faebound" by Saara el-arifi
- "Charles III" by Robert Hardman
- "The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World" by Bettany Hughes
- "Voyage of the Damned" by Francis White
- "The Principle of Moments" by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson
- "House of Flame and Shadow" by Sarah J. Maas (third book in the Crescent City Series)
Culture
Scotland
- Up Helly Aa festival (the biggest fire festival in Europe) was held. The festival marks the end of the Yule season and has been held on the last Tuesday in January in Lerwick, Scotland (Shetland's only town) since 1881. The festival celebrates Norse heritage. A torch lit procession is held which culminates in the burning of a replica Viking longship.
Notable Birthdays
- Mel Gibson (actor) - January 3rd, 1965 (68 years old)
- Bradley Cooper (actor) - January 5th, 1975 (49 years old)
- Eddie Redmayne (actor) - January 6th, 1982 (42 years old)
- Nicholas Cage (actor) - January 7th, 1964 (60 years old)
- Jeremy Renner (actor) - January 7th, 1971 (53 years old)
- Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin guitarist) - January 9th, 1944 (80 years old)
- Jeff Bezos (Amazon founder) - January 12th, 1964 (60 years old)
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus (actress) - January 12th, 1961 (63 years old)
- Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters frontman) - January 14th ,1969 (55 years old)
- Regina King - January 15th, 1971 (53 years old)
- Sade (singer) - January 15th, 1959 (65 years old)
- James Earl Jones (actor) - January 17th ,1931 (93 years old)
- Kevin Costner (actor) - January 18th, 1955 (69 years old)
- Dolly Parton (singer songwriter) - January 19th, 1946 (78 years old)
- Alicia Keys (singer songwriter) - January 25th, 1981 (43 years old)
- Ellen Degeneres (actor) - January 26th, 1958 (66 years old)
- Oprah Winfrey - January 29th, 1954 (70 years old)
- Elijah Wood (actor) - January 29th, 1981 (43 years old)
- Gene Hackman (actor) - January 30th, 1930 (94 years old)
- Justin Timberlake (singer) - January 31st, 1981 (43 years old)