Remember when super-rich Kim Kardashian featured on the cover of PAPER magazine with the sole intention of breaking the internet with her butt? Everyone went crazy, she went viral and the internet exploded out of shock, awe, and amazement. She was not the last celebrity to push the internet's limits, however, as more and more people make the same type of claim to fame, either by complete accident or on purpose.
It takes a stylish trendsetter, a mind-blowingly sexy individual flaunting their stuff, or a level of drama found nowhere else in order to go viral to the point of crashing sites or sparking global debates. Here is the list of unique trendsetters who were able to do it better than the powerful Kim K could, so keep reading to learn more.
15 Donald Glover
Also known by his stage name, Childish Gambino, this multi-talented singer/actor/producer/comedian shot to viral success with the release of his 'This Is America' music video. Known for his comedy and his role on the TV show, Community, his notoriety soared when his music video challenged American society about important issues, including racial identity, gun violence, and spirituality.
His exposition of serious issues was juxtaposed with uplifting, energetic dancing. Glover hasn’t given an explanation for the video’s meaning, leaving everyone to find their own.
14 Lady Gaga And Bradley Cooper
The film, A Star Is Born (2018), was enough to bring tears to the eyes of even the most stoic movie-goers. Followed by the live performance these two songbirds gave at the 2019 Oscars, performing the song 'Shallow' from their movie, we can see how the internet broke.
The performance made hardcore and brand-new fans go crazy, and the best part is that it's Bradley Cooper's actual voice in the movie and on the stage. He went through intensive vocal training for the role.
13 Jennifer Aniston
The way our favorite friend from the Friends TV show, Jennifer Aniston, broke the internet came as a bit of a surprise. Our previous two internet breakers pulled it off with stand-out performances, but Aniston had a different card up her sleeve.
In 2019, Aniston opened her own Instagram account, uploading a selfie featuring herself and her co-stars from Friends. This simple act caused a stampede. Everyone rushed to follow her account, momentarily crashing Instagram.
12 Keanu Reeves
At the XBOX E3 2019 showcase, Reeves presented his cameo role in the 'Cyberpunk 2077' video game. During his presentation, Keanu Reeves heard a fan in the crowd shout out to him, "You're breathtaking". This caused the actor to reply back to the fan, "You're breathtaking!" He then pointed to the whole audience and yelled, "You're all breathtaking!"
The wholesome moment went viral, turned into a meme, and made us fall in deeper in love with Keanu Reeves.
11 Beyoncé
Generating 2 million likes on Instagram in an hour, the picture you see here was the first image released by Beyoncé of her twins, Rumi and Sir Carter, when they were 1 month of age. The rest of the world was guessing at the names of the second and third children of Beyoncé and Jay-Z. These ultra-famous parents have since trademarked the twins' names.
The floral background and color palette in this image is reminiscent of the image Beyoncé used to announce her pregnancy with her twins.
10 Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus has broken the internet more than once. Many of her viral performances turned into memes that continued circulating online - they just kept gaining momentum. The most notable of these moments was her Wrecking Ball music video. That video took the song from number 50 on the US Billboard Hot 100 to number 1.
Then, there was her pole dancing at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, twerking on Robin Thicke at the 2013 VMAs, and her relationship with Liam Hemsworth.
9 Melania Trump
Although the First Lady of the United States has had many memorable moments, there are two, in particular, which really stand out.
The first comes from Mrs. Trump's "Be Best" anti-cyber-bullying campaign, which experienced surges in popularity as President Trump attacked his political opponents online, and later started bullying environmental activist, Greta Thunberg.
Her other viral moment came from a perfect photo where Melania appeared to be diving in for a public kiss with Canada's Prime Minister, Justin, Trudeau - this generated endless internet memes.
8 Barack Obama
Barrack Obama combined this picture of himself with the Nelson Mandela quote "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion..." after the racially charged violence in Charlottesville, 2017. Twitter later stated that this image has received the most likes of any post on the social media app (3.3 million in August 2017).
7 Caitlyn Jenner
In 2015, it was Caitlyn Jenner's first tweet that drew everybody's attention. Within 4 hours and 3 minutes, she had already set a new record (that's a Guinness World Record by the way) for the fastest post to reach 1 million likes, beating one of Barack Obama's posts for the spot. The image that she chose to tweet for her grand public reveal was a portrait of her, which was taken for Vanity Fair magazine.
6 Kylie Jenner's Daughter, Stormi Webster
Another multi-viral hit, it seems like Kylie Jenner's daughter, Stormi Webster, just keeps getting cuter. The first picture posted of young Stormi appeared on February 18, 2018, when she was just 17 days old and clutching mom's thumb.
More recently, the little star has gone viral again, for successfully getting through the fruit snack challenge. Instead of fruit, the temptation was chocolate. The excitement and giggles resulted in cuteness overload.
5 Meghan Markle And Prince Harry
The royal couple has spent a lot of time in the headlines; however, certain times that they broke the internet do stand out. The first was the announcement of their engagement in 2017. This caused a frenzy because it meant an American was one step closer to marrying into this prestigious family.
The next was their glamorous wedding, followed by the birth of their son, Archie. Finally, the announcement that they were stepping down from their Royal Family positions blew everybody's minds.
4 The "Hot Felon"
Jeremy Meeks, the 'hot felon', is the only person on this list who didn't already have celebrity status. In 2014, an American police department posted his mugshot on Facebook, regarding spates of shootings and gang violence.
Meeks, who was in prison at the time, became a social media god, but it wasn't for his criminal history. Worshipers commented on his chiseled jawline, tattoos, and abs, and shortly after his release, Meeks was modeling high fashion and living the good life,. He became a legitimate celeb.
3 Mark Zuckerberg
The Congressional Testimony from Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook's privacy breaches alone was a popular topic. However, what went viral was the memes that were generated from the hearing. In reference to the number of cameras and people in the above image, one meme said "gonna have to untag a lot of photos", poking fun at Facebook's facial recognition algorithms and privacy settings.
2 Jason Momoa And Henry Cavill's Bromance
Both of these actors had superhero roles in the DC movie, Justice League, as well as their character's standalone movies. Their time together on-set must have led to an enduring bromance - just look at this shot of Momoa sneaking up on Cavill with a childish grin! The pic went viral (along with the rest of their antics). This photo was taken on the London red carpet, for the Suicide Squad movie premiere.
1 Madonna
Madonna's return to the spotlight left a lot of people confused and/or unhappy. The 2018 MTV Video Music Awards were jamming, and it was soon time for Madonna to get onstage to pay tribute to Aretha Franklin, who had passed away just four days prior. Her speech enraged fans and critics, as Madonna quickly shifted the focus onto herself and her career, barely keeping Aretha Franklin in mind. The event went viral, and it wasn't Madonna's proudest moment.
Sources: bbc.com, usatoday.com, npr.org, washingtonpost.com, eonline.com, telegraph.co.uk.