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New Year’s Eve Most Viral Moments: From Amazing Fireworks And Singing Dogs To Y2K And Idina Menzel Butchering ‘Let It Go’ [Videos, Photos]

By Charisse Van Horn
Published on: 02:24 PST, Dec 30, 2015

New Year’s Eve most viral moments are those special glimpses in time when something unexpected occurred on that date that brought either great humor, sadness, or a state of awe to the masses. While many worldwide prepare, plan, and put in order the things necessary to have a New Year’s Eve celebration that is carefully organized, not all things go according to our schedules. Some of the most notable events that transpired on New Year’s Eve include the widespread pandemonium of Y2K, a dog that sings to “Auld Lang Syne,” and Disney’s Frozen artist Idina Menzel butchering the hit song Let It Go live from Times Square, and amazing fireworks displays that put the rest of the world’s celebratory sparklers to shame. We’ve rounded up some of New Year’s Eve most viral moments and have them here in videos and photos so you, too, can relive these historic and earth-shattering events.

On New Year’s Eve, 2011, the world took notice when Dubai displayed an amazing fireworks display that caused many to wonder how a piece of desert could be transformed into one of the most amazing locations on Earth.

2011 was a great year for fireworks displays. Not only did the Dubai firework show go viral, but so too the London New Year’s Eve fireworks. Not only did the show consist of breathtaking, awesome fireworks, but the display lasted for 10 minutes! Check them out below and you’ll quickly understand how the display was one of the most viral New Year’s Eve moments. To date, the official BBC video has more than 6 million views.

New Girl’s Zooey Deschanel teamed with Joseph Gordon-Levitt for a classic remake of the 1947 Nancy Wilson song, “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” Joseph Gordon-Levitt seems to have a knack for getting things to go viral, and this classic video is no exception. To date, the video has more than 16 million views and, for some, has become a song played each New Year’s Eve.

You might not picture Weird Al, Aerosmith’s lead singer Steven Tyler, and Alice Cooper coming together for a New Year’s Eve performance, but they did just that in 2012. They performed The Beatles hit (and Aerosmith cover) Come Together, making it one of New Year’s Eve’s most viral moments captured on video. Weird Al shows he’s much more than a funny man, but a true rocker.

Singing dogs are sure to go viral, and if you have a dog that not only sings, but can sing along to the classic New Year’s Eve song, “Auld Lang Syne,” you’ll definitely have a hit on your hands. Well, that’s exactly what happened when it was discovered that Sierra the Singing Dog really liked the tune. Maybe Sierra knows what it means?

If you thought the Dubai fireworks display of 2011 was impressive, then wait until you see the 2014 show! Not only did Dubai reveal one of the most stunning fireworks displays in human history, they broke world records, according to Guinness.

https://youtu.be/IchJ_2paHNs

A New Year’s kiss is tradition for every end to the year, but one magician has put a twist on the classic gesture. Magician Stuart Edge mesmerized Time Square revelers when he used a magic card trick to land a kiss for the holiday. The video of Stuart Edge displaying his kissing card trick has been viewed more than 8 million times.

In 2014, Andre’s Sighvatsson released his drone into the Icelandic sky and captured what may be the most stunning view of New Year’s Eve and the fireworks display over the city. The viral video continues to draw views.

Of all the New Year’s Eve events that have transpired, none may be as humorous and unfortunately serious as the Y2K pandemonium. It was believed that once the clock struck midnight from 1999 to the year 2000, every computer that was on the face of the planet would cease to work. This computer glitch would result in absolutely everything that is remotely connected to a computer to cease to work. Imagine banks shutting down, you’re unable to pay for groceries or gas because automatic payment systems have crashed, every train would come to a halt (or crash), airplanes would drop from the sky because there would be no way to communicate with pilots or navigate airspace. The fear was great and the panic was real. Christians believed it was a prophetic sign of the end times and some people believed the best strategy to beat the coming doom and end of the age would be to pack a survival kit and move to an underground bunker.

So, what happened?

Nothing. Except a lot of people spent hundreds of dollars on Y2K survival kits.

Check out these Y2K videos including some sales for Y2K survival kits.

https://youtu.be/OvQ0g7rBijE

In 2014, Disney’s Frozen had taken over the world. Every little girl (and many boys) were singing the chart topping songs performed by Idina Menzel (Elsa) and Kristen Bell (Anna). Of all the songs that permeated the air waves, Let It Go was the No. 1 hit. On New Year’s Eve 2014, children and adults alike gathered in NYC and in their homes (some watched live streaming video) to see the Broadway star and actress Idina Menzel perform the song live.

While fans awaited with great anticipation, it was clear something was off. Maybe Idina couldn’t hear the music? Maybe she was cold? Were her vocal chords freezing up? Maybe she needed a scarf? Whatever the reason, the song that Idina Menzel performed live was not the song that the world had been jamming to for the past year. Undoubtedly, many kids smiled proudly as they realized their karaoke versions blew away Idina’s live performance.

People adjusted their headsets, turned up the volume on their mobile devices, removed their earmuffs and pawed at their ears. Nothing worked. There was no simple truth other than Idina Menzel had butchered her own song.

Watch and listen, people.

Let’s hear that note again!

News of Idina Menzel’s performance spread like wildfire. The video went viral and Idina was compelled to take to social media networks in order to defend herself and how she butchered the high note in Let It Go.

E! News reported on Idina’s response to the criticism.

“There are about 3 million notes in a two-and-a-half-hour musical; being a perfectionist, it took me a long time to realize that if I’m hitting 75 percent of them, I’m succeeding,” she said. “Performing isn’t only about the acrobatics and the high notes: It’s staying in the moment, connecting with the audience in an authentic way, and making yourself real to them through the music.”

“I am more than the notes I hit, and that’s how I try to approach my life.”

What did you think of this list of New Year’s Eve most viral moments?

[Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images]

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