Every year leaves behind it a legacy of crazes and must-haves that Americans briefly felt they could not live without. Now that 2010 is officially behind us, its time to reflect on some of the top fads that took the nation by storm. The most talked about, controversial and unexpected trends were the five that you didn’t have a chance of escaping (whether you were a willing participant or critical spectator).

BETTY WHITE:

After gaining attention for her hilarious part as Grandma Annie in The Proposal, Betty White was once again a household name. Betty then starred in a Snicker’s Super Bowl commercial that went viral, and was officially back.

2010 was a busy year for the 89-year-old actress. She became the oldest person to ever host Saturday Night Live, guest starred on the hit television series Community, made appearances at every award show from the Emmy’s to the Teen Choice Awards and earned the 46th Annual Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Betty is still relevant and very witty,” said hospitality business sophomore, Patty Anton. “Her age only adds to the hilarity. Most of what comes out of her mouth is so ridiculous for someone who is 89 years old that it is totally unexpected. I think that is what makes her so appealing.”

Best known for her roles in Golden Girls, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Love Boat, the surprisingly funny actress does not seem to be going away any time soon, having recently signed for another season of TV Land’s Hot in Cleveland.

Television series, Glee, was one of the most-watched series in 2010. (Photo credit: Jenna Chabot)

GLEE:

Although the show Glee may be about a group of misfit teens struggling for popularity, the pop culture sensation and hit television series has proven itself to be anything but.

Shortly after its premiere in 2009, Glee had already become more popular than even its own producers had predicted. In 2010, the show only continued its success, earning a loyal following of “gleeks”, topping charts and receiving raving reviews from critics.

According to sophomore, Katelin David, it may be the originality of the show that makes it so popular. “With reality shows and train wreck television becoming increasingly common, Glee’s consistently hilarious and interesting plot is refreshing,” said David. “When you combine that with the fact that Glee gives new life to old hits, you’re bound to have a really popular show.”

Although a trend, Glee’s popularity might be more than temporary.  Its recent episode that aired after the Superbowl broke records, bringing in an astounding 26.8 million viewers.

SILLY BANDZ:

Despite what the name might suggests, there is nothing silly about the tremendous amount of money made by the shaped rubber bands that took America by storm last year.

Silly Bandz come in nearly every shape and color imaginable. Although the bands were originally marketed by a Japanese company as an office product, it was not until the bands were thickened and sold as a children’s accessory that the trend took off.

According to chemical engineering major, Dexter Gregg, “The Silly Bandz fad was really short lived, but I think they were popular because of the fun shapes and bright colors that they came in.”

Not surprisingly, Silly Bandz are most popular among elementary and middle school children, commonly used as a both a fashion statement and a source of entertainment.

“Trading them gave kids something to do in school and another way for them to compete with each other,” said Gregg.

Perhaps this magical combination of fashion and fun is responsible for the mass success of a product that costs up to 5 dollars for a pack of 24.

JEGGINGS:

They look like jeans, but they feel like leggings. (Photo credit: Jenna Chabot)

When looking back at fashion trends for 2010, jeggings (leggings that look like jeans) topped the list. Half legging, half jean, the pants are commonly made of a denim and spandex blend, making them slightly more flexible and comfortable than jeans without losing the denim look.

In early Feb. 2010, Jessica Alba took to the streets wearing a pair of denim leggings by Black Orchid, causing an explosion of inquiries as to where the starlet had purchased her pants. Soon more A-list celebrities were donning the recent trend and every store from Pacsun to Nordstroms was carrying the new fad.

Jessica McGregor, communications major, said, “I think they were popular because they were comfortable. When I roll out of my bed and attempt to go to class, I always think, ‘How can I look cute and feel comfortable?’ Pulling on tight skinny jeans to go to my 8 am is not comfortable; but I still want to look cute so I reach for my leggings.”

McGregor said she thinks the same idea applies to jeggings.

“We want to feel comfortable but give off the impression that we made an effort to get ready in the morning,” said McGregor. “Jeggings are perfect for that.”

FOUR LOKO:

The widely controversial and popular alcoholic beverage, Four Loko, first made a name for itself on college campuses for its low price and high alcohol content.  The brand was created by three friends and an Ohio State University alum in Aug. 2008. The 23.5 oz. “blackout in a can” made national news in late 2010 after being blamed for a series of hospitalizations.

Claudine Van Duinen, a therapist with her M.A. in social work, has spent years working with teens with substance abuse and dependency problems.

“The popularity of a drink like Four Loko most likely comes from the fact that it gets you drunk quickly, is cheap and comes with an added element of danger and excitement due to the fact that it has been banned,” said Van Duinen.

The drink itself was originally named Four Loko because of the four following main ingredients: alcohol, caffeine, guarana, and taurine. Due to the recent health concerns that the product brought to surface, each can came with seven different warning labels that reminded consumers to drink responsibly.

Regardless of such warnings, Van Duinen said the product’s popularity amongst students to be neither coincidental or undesired.

“These kinds of products have a targeted age they are marketing to. When you consume Four Loko, you feel like you’re getting ‘more bang for your buck’- a quality that the money challenged student is bound to find very appealing,” said Van Duinen.

Each year brings around new trends ridiculous enough to prove that America’s fast-moving and demanding consumer culture is a hard force to fight against.  With most of 2010′s trends already considered “old news”, those who are constantly on the lookout for the “next big thing” are guaranteed to find products to top them, and leave behind an even more interesting legacy for 2011.

When I heard that all the a cappella groups on campus were performing a concert at the Auditorium this past October, I recruited my roommate and told her we were going; I wanted to experience a different music style.  I’d never been to an a cappella show on campus, and I’m a junior – shameful, I know.

A cappella, a vocal musical performance without any instrumental accompaniment, isn’t exactly topping the charts, according to Ph.D candidate in American studies Mike Spencer. He said a cappella music “represents about 1% of record sales each year.” Not record breaking, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t awesome. The concert, Acappalooza, featured Capital Green, State of Fifths, Spartan Dischords, Ladies First, and RCHApella. I became an instant fan because these groups were making music with their voices, and just their voices; it was amazing to see the the groups’ twists on popular music and their enthusiastic performances.

Journalism junior Anthony Sabella, a member of State of Fifths, provided insider info on performing a cappella and what his group is all about. According to Sabella, his group is different from the others.

“We are the newest group on campus. We’re only a year old. We’re different because we have all different majors. There are even four Spartan Marching Band students, myself included. Most of us didn’t have experience,” he said.

Well, it didn’t show. Even though State of Fifths is the newest group on campus, the group’s performance was not lacking, and was comparable to bigger and older groups. The group practices twice a week, for two hours at a time, and gives free sample performances on each floor of the dorms each month. Practice involves a lot of song choosing and harmonizing.

“I like doing top 40 songs, but that’s a matter of opinion,” Sabella said. “We are working on a Jason DeRulo song that’s popular on the radio, and we’re also doing Ingrid Michaelson.”

Popular songs are more likely to be crowd-pleasers with college students, but some slick moves can impress too. “We’re starting to incorporate choreography in our routines,” said Sabella, “We’d really like to start doing more.”

State of Fifths is really starting to make a name for itself on campus, and Accapalooza was a great opportunity for them to perform. “There is so much camaraderie,” he said, “I’m in a group with people that love music. We get to arrange the music ourselves. It’s great meeting new people and seeing our music get better and better.”

If you’re an a cappella fan, don’t limit yourself to the MSU scene. Patrick Monks, human resource management senior and President of Fish n’ Chips A Cappella group at Central Michigan University (CMU), said they does things similarly to MSU’s groups.

“As a group, we try and do a lot of newer songs, stuff that is on the radio or pretty recognizable,” he said, “The newer music is usually what we get the best crowd reactions out of.  We do throw in a couple of older tunes, anything from boy band music to older rock and roll.  As long as we think it’s a crowd pleaser, we’ll sing it.” When asked what Fish n’ Chips performances were like Monks said, “We try to put on a show for our audience, not just sing.  We try and incorporate a little bit of choreography, a little bit of humor. Whatever we think will help the audience enjoy their time.”

A lot like MSU, CMU has other a cappella groups as well. But Monks says, “we are all similar groups; we like to do similar music and are in it for the same reasons, but we are all original in the way that we perform and interact with our audience differently.” So has Fish n’ Chips visited East Lansing? “Yes,” Monks said, “we have gone to many other schools, both to see other groups and to perform with them.  We’ve been to U of M, Western, and MSU.” I think it’s safe to say that no matter what school you visit, these groups love performing and have fun putting their own spin on popular music.

It seems as though group performances involving popular music, a cappella, co-ed choirs and glee clubs are getting more attention these days due to the popular television show “Glee” on FOX. Although the show isn’t based solely on a capella performances, Spencer said that “Glee has helped popular culture dig down and bring a cappella out and create more interest in it.” When talking with Monks and Sabella they both said that their groups enjoy singing more popular songs and these get positive reactions from the college crowd. Spencer said this is largely due to the fact that the groups “rearrange the songs. They are all songs we know and love. We want that familiarity. We accept it easier because there’s no change, just a new twist on our classic favorites.” Spencer also said the appeal of many a cappella groups is that, although it’s a different genre, it’s still what we like.  If the groups were singing lesser-known music, it wouldn’t be as popular. Popular music has a positive effect on us, no matter how it’s presented.

After I left the Accapalooza concert, my roommate and I made a vow to never miss another concert. We had so much fun singing along to some of our favorite tunes and watching our peers amaze us with their talents. I also have to admit that boys who can sing aren’t half bad to watch either. All ogling aside, I definitely realized how diverse our campus is. All the performers got up on that stage to have fun and put on a show, not because they are music majors, but to make music with their friends because they love it. When the show ended with the crowd swaying to MSU’s alma mater, and a group sing-along to the MSU fight song, I left with a smile on my face, and many songs stuck in my head.

Editor’s Note: This piece is a creative non-fiction, and is meant to represent the views and experiences of its author- not TBG or our sponsoring organizations.