Monthly Trend Breakdown:

February

Welcome to our monthly trend breakdown, the home of the top trends from the previous month, and how they worked!

Award Season

February’s awards season has dominated social media. 

One standout was Olivia Dean, winning Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards. 

She carried this momentum into the Brit Awards, where she swept four major categories, including Artist of the Year, Pop Act, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year for her collaboration with Sam Fender on “Rein Me In”. On TikTok, Olivia’s “So Easy” has retained a top 5 spot on the trending sounds page for over 20 weeks consecutively. After her Brits performance, it is safe to say that Olivia Dean has officially cemented herself as a UK pop icon.

@thecircle.mag Olivia Dean's Performance bei den BRITs gerade ist the most wholesome thing you can watch on a Saturday night 💘 @oliviadeano_ #oliviadean #britawards #brits ♬ original sound - The Circle

The Brits saw further viral moments from the likes of Jack Whitehall and Angry Ginge throughout their unscripted broadcast moments and bloopers.

Retailers Skit Marketing

Retailers like Tesco and Currys continued their scrappy skits, witty replies and playful comment section humour. The idea that somebody is given complete control of some of the biggest retailers online appearance is both hilarious and cost efficient. No more expensive advertisements, just Gen Z internet humour. Even the Prime Minister seems to have a Gen Z admin, with captions only a younger crowd could understand being used across his TikTok.

The United Strand

“The United Strand”, famous for pledging not to cut his hair until United win five games in a row, got closer than ever for the first time since he started in 2024.. His streak reached four wins before a draw against West Ham ended the run just short. His hair lived to see another day, although United’s recent form suggests that the hype could be bringing him back to our feed again soon.

The Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics inspired skits and short clips, from quirky figure skating edits to humorous takes on unexpected highlights, with Olympic content shared widely even by users who don’t usually follow sport.

Pancake Day

Pancake Day brought its usual wave of content. Creators revived the trend of using a TikTok sound featuring Aaron Taylor‑Johnson’s explanation of Pancake Day to an American, pairing it with beautifully styled pancake shots. Some users also made some rather creative skits to mark the day.

Baby Japanese Macaque

Punch, a baby Japanese Macaque, went viral this month after footage of him carrying a stuffed orangutan toy spread across social platforms. Videos showed his emotional journey after being abandoned by his mother and his ongoing attachment to the plushie, capturing wide sympathy and millions of views around the world.

The February Takeaway

This month reinforced that audiences gravitate toward moments that feel widely relevant and human, whether that’s a major award winner like Olivia Dean, playful brand interactions, or even the emotional simplicity of a viral animal story.