11 Most Memorable Pop Culture Moments of 2016

— -- intro: What a year, huh?

Aside from the 2016 presidential election -- pop culture also provided tons to tweet and Facebook about.

From the Academy Awards to the World Series, it seemed that 2016 offered something that all kinds of entertainment-lovers couldn't have predicted.

Before celebrating the new year, take a walk down memory lane by remembering 2016's top pop culture moments.

quicklist: 1title: Leo Gets His Oscartext: It happened. It finally happened. Leonardo DiCaprio -- who was pretty much the Susan Lucci of the Academy Awards -- finally took home the coveted trophy.

Well, DiCaprio didn't wait quite as long as Lucci, who finally won an Emmy Award for her role in "All My Children" in 1999 after 19 nominations. "The Revenant" star waited patiently through decades and five Oscar nods to finally take home the coveted trophy in February.

Accepting his award on Hollywood's biggest stage, DiCaprio, 42, told the crowd, "I do not take this night for granted."

All wasn't well with the Academy Awards this year, however. After the nominations were released, #OscarsSoWhite trended for the second year in a row as no person of color was nominated in the top acting categories.

It caused the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to overhaul its membership policy and create a goal to double the number of women and diverse members by 2020.media: 44354576

quicklist: 2title: "American Idol" Stops Its Searchtext: In a two-hour series finale, "American Idol" ended its run sending the nation's most talented singers to Hollywood.

Paying tribute to the hit series' 15 seasons, many past winners and finalists returned for surprise performance and appearances. Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Phillip Phillips and Jordin Sparks were among them.

Even William Hung returned to sing his rendition of his audition song, "She Bangs," by Ricky Martin.

And of course there was a winner that night in April: Trent Harmon was crowned the last winner of the series.

Still, fans thought that more "American Idol" could be coming after host Ryan Seacrest signed off in the most unusual way. He uttered his famous phrase, "And one more time -- this is so tough -- we say to you from Hollywood, goodnight America." Then he added mysteriously "for now."

Seacrest, 41, later clarified on Twitter that he simply "didn't want to say goodbye last night."

media: 44354645

quicklist: 3title: "Lemonade" Breaks the Internettext: The Beyhive -- die-hard Beyonce fans -- had been buzzing about her sixth studio album since March. And a month later, they finally got the honey they had been craving in the form of "Lemonade."

Bey's second visual album, which premiered in a much-hyped HBO special, featured 12 tracks telling the painful story of the "baddest woman in the game" who gets cheated on. The emotional journey, from the first signs of infidelity in the relationship to, ultimately, forgiveness, is detailed throughout the album.

The album also features guest appearances from Jack White, The Weeknd, James Blake and Kendrick Lamar. Serena Williams also pops up in one music video as a very apt background dancer.

"Lemonade" -- which was nominated for nine Grammy Awards this year, including Album of the Year -- also features Beyonce's first country track, "Daddy Lessons," which led to the singer performing at this year's County Music Awards.

And what's even juicier is that Beyonce had been hinting at the album for month's prior to it's release. She shared many photos on Instagram of her smelling lemons and drinking lemonade. Sip on that!

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quicklist: 4title: So Long, Princetext: Fans of The Purple One still can't believe it, but it's true. Prince died in April at the age of 57.

The Carver County Sheriff's Department told ABC News in a statement that sheriff's deputies found the singer unresponsive in an elevator inside his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Months later, the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office in Minnesota said that the singer died from an accidental opioid overdose, which he "self-administered."

After Prince's death, Paisley Park was turned into a museum and event space. It officially opened to visitors in October.

In fact, Prince's life and music will be celebrated on the anniversary of his death with a special four-day event at Paisley Park on April 20 to 23, 2017. Prince's former backup band, The Revolution, as well as Morris Day and the Time and members of other Prince bands -- The New Power Generation and 3rdeyegirl -- are set to perform.media: 44354681

quicklist: 5title: Harry Potter Fans Got Moretext: Harry Potter fans could finally stop hoping and wishing and praying because they finally found out how the fictional character's life panned out as an adult.

No, it didn't come in the form of a book. Instead, author J.K. Rowling recreated her world of magic and muggles in a stage play, called "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two," which opened in London back in July.

Fans were able to purchase the script in the form of a book the same month. Although it's been months, no spoilers here.

For those who haven't read "The Cursed Child" just yet, it picks up 19 years after the battle at Hogwarts and fans are introduced to a 30-something Harry Potter. He now has three kids and is having a hard time with his job at the Ministry of Magic.media: 44354682

quicklist: 6title: Olympicstext: The 2016 Olympics, held in Rio, brought a lot of red, white and blue pride for the U.S.

The stand outs? The "Final Five," the nickname given to the U.S. women’s gymnastics team, made patriots proud as they pretty much dominated much of the Olympics coverage.

Even when President Obama congratulated Team USA when the Olympics ended at the end of August, he called out one particular member of the "Final Five" -- Simone Biles.

The 19-year-old gymnast earned a total of four gold medals, becoming the first American gymnast to accomplish that feat and one of only four women to do so in Olympic history.

She was also the flag bearer during the closing ceremony.

Still, many eyes were also on Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, who became the most decorated Olympian during the 2016 games. He now has a record 28 medals under his belt.media: 44355042

quicklist: 7title: Brangelina Splittext: It was a pop-culture bombshell that no one saw coming when Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from her long-time partner and husband of two years, Brad Pitt, in September.

The fractured Hollywood power couple tied the knot in August 2014 in France at a ceremony featuring their children: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh and twins Vivienne and Knox. Pitt, 53, and Jolie Pitt, 41, started dating in the mid-2000s after meeting on the set of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

It didn't help that the split immediately became messy with Pitt saying in a statement to People magazine that he was "very saddened" about his estranged wife's filing.

Not to mention, Jolie filed for sole physical custody of their six children while Pitt filed for joint custody two months later.

And in the most recent court filings, obtained by ABC News Dec. 22, Pitt's lawyer Lance Spiegel accused Jolie of needlessly releasing the names of the children's therapists -- information that she had previously agreed to keep confidential.

The two have a chance at getting on the same page in the New Year as they have a hearing in the custody case set for Jan. 17.

Representatives for Pitt and Jolie had no comment.media: 44354685

quicklist: 8title: Kim K Gets Robbedtext: 2016 came with a lot of triumphs and even some tragedies.

Reality star Kim Kardashian was held up at gunpoint in Paris this October and reportedly robbed of approximately $10 million worth of jewelry.

The mother of two was in the City of Lights for Paris Fashion Week.

Immediately the "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star received an outpouring of support from celebrities and friends, including model Chrissy Teigen, singer Leona Lewis and fellow reality star, Teresa Giudice.

Meanwhile, her sister Khloe called the incident a "wake-up call." It also made the Kardashian clan reevaluate their public lives.

In fact, Kardashian, 36, hasn't been active on social media since.media: 44354827

quicklist: 9title: Chicago Cubs Shock Everyone text: After more than 100 years, the Chicaco Cubs won the World Series, ending one of the longest droughts in sports history.

The team defeated the Cleveland Indians 8-7 on a chilly November night to complete the feat.

Lifelong fan Bill Murray demanded that schools be closed for the win, while other celebrities celebrated on social media.

The city is still relishing in that victory.media: 44354916

quicklist: 10title: "Gilmore Girls" Makes Triumphant Returntext: Sure, 2016 brought other television reboots such as "Fuller House" and "The $100,000 Pyramid." But, "Gilmore Girls" fans were just more excited than the others.

The Netflix reboot, "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," which premiered on Netflix, came with massive buzz from loyal fans of the show.

The show, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, gave fans every bit of Stars Hollow nostalgia they could want. (For those not familiar, Stars Hollow is the fictional Connecticut town in which the series is set.)

It even offered a major cliffhanger with the show's main character, Rory Gilmore, played by actress Alexis Bledel. No spoilers here, but pay attention to the show's last four words.media: 44355005

quicklist: 11title: December's Deathstext: It seemed 2016 didn't want to take a bow without taking with it some of Hollywood's most beloved stars.

December was an especially rough month with a total of 9 celebrities saying goodbye to this world.

The month started off with the world saying goodbye to "Growing Pains" star Alan Thicke, who passed away on Dec. 13 at 69. That was followed by the deaths of "Bewitched" actor Bernard Fox, and colorful sports broadcaster Craig Sager.

Still, the world seemed to stand still with the announcement of Zsa Zsa Gabor's death. The Hungarian-born darling of Hollywood in the 1950s and '60s died Dec. 18. She was 99.

And it wasn't just Hollywood that was hit hard with losses. Music lovers also mourned the loss of singer George Michael. The former Wham! member was found dead at his home on Christmas, according to his publicist. He was 53.

The dreadful month ended with two untimely deaths: "Star Wars" star Carrie Fisher, known for portraying Princess Leia Organa in the original trilogy, died on Dec. 27 after going into into cardiac arrest while aboard a flight from London to Los Angeles, according to a family spokesman. She was 60.

And no one could anticipate the death of her mother, Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds, who passed away just one day later. She was 84. "The only good thing about this is that my mom wanted to be with my sister," Todd Fisher told ABC News, referring to Carrie Fisher's death a day earlier.media: 44451746