S Weekly looks back at 2017
January
FROZEN DELIGHTS
Since hitting Thailand last year, the Korean frozen ice dessert Bingsu has proved a major hit. The Slurpee-like treat comes in a variety of flavours such as Matcha Tea, melon, Ovaltine and the much-loved Japanese sweet potato. Bingsu can now be found in many fine restaurants across the kingdom, including Jood 3 Jood in Ladprao, Seobinggo and Sulbing at Siam Square, Elmar Offwhite in Ekamai and Okbingsul at CentralWorld. According to Google Thailand, Bingsu was one of the top search items this year.
February
ADELE’S 25 WINS ALBUM OF THE YEAR AT THE GRAMMYS.
The British diva once again takes home the biggest award in pop music for her album 25. To date, 25 is the second-biggest selling album this century. However, the singer herself believes that she is undeserving of the award. She shouts out to her favourite singer Beyoncé that her album Lemonade should have won Album of the Year instead.
MOONLIGHT WINS THE BEST PICTURE AT THE 2017 OSCARS
On Hollywood’s biggest night of the year, Moonlight, a coming-of-age drama about a gay black man, claims the Best Picture award. But the event will be remembered for a terrible mix-up by presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, who mistakenly tell the audience that the winner is La La Land. Despite that disappointment, the makers of La La Land still have much to celebrate. They end up taking home six awards, including Best Director for Damien Chazelle and Best Actress for Emma Stone.
March
BANGKOK GRIDLOCK
According to GPS manufacturer TomTom, Bangkok has the worst rush hour traffic in the world for a second consecutive year. The results are compiled after TomTom track a years-worth of traffic in 390 cities across 48 countries. Following Bangkok are Mexico City, Mexico, Bucharest, Romania and Jakarta, Indonesia.
April
F8 TOPS GLOBAL BOX OFFICE RECORDS
Universal’s action film The Fate of the Furious, the eighth instalment in the hugely successful Fast and the Furious series, smashes global box office records. The film earns an estimated $532.5 million worldwide and sets a new record for an opening weekend. Including The Fate of the Furious, the Fast and the Furious films have earned a combined $4.4 billion worldwide, making it the most successful franchise in Universal’s history and the eighth highest-grossing film series in history.
A LADY’S FLAMES
The remake of the well-known period drama Plerng Phra Nang (A Lady’s Flames) becomes the highest-rated prime-time soap opera. The updated version stars Yui Jeeranan and Aum Patcharapa. Aired between February 17 and April 15, the story is loosely-based on Burmese history and takes an unflattering look at the 19th-century Konbaung dynasty.
May
BAD GENIUS AT NYAFF 2017
Thai high-school thriller Bad Genius opens the New York Asian Film Festival 2017 (NYAFF). It’s the first time that a Southeast Asian film has opened the festival.
Directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya, the film stars Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying as a straight-A student who makes money by helping her classmates cheat on their exams. The film later wins Best Feature at the festival. The four other films competing in the main competition are Mikhail Red’s Birdshot from the Philippines, Chen Mei-juin’s The Gangster’s Daughter from Taiwan, Cho Hyun-hoon’s Jane from South Korea and Andrew Wong Kwok-kuen’s With Prisoners from Hong Kong.
#NUGGSFORCARTER IS THE MOST RETWEETED TWEET OF ALL TIME
On May 9, Carter Wilkerson, a 16-year-old high-school student from Reno, Nevada, becomes the author of history’s most-retweeted tweet. When Carter sends his historic tweet on April 5, calling for a year’s supply of free nuggets from American fast food restaurant Wendy’s, he thinks it’s a fun joke. But his request becomes heard around the world, with 3.42 million retweets, knocking Ellen DeGeneres and her famous Oscars selfie off the top spot.
June
PRO MAY AT THE TOP
Ariya Jutanugarn, aka Pro May, is officially ranked the world’s top woman golfer after winning the Manulife LPGA Classic in Ontario, Canada. Pro May, 21, makes it to the No. 1 spot after beating American golfer Lexi Thompson and Chun In-gee of South Korea in a playoff round.
THE OYSTER MASK
The top trending Thai Youtube video of the year belongs to “Trab Tulee Din (Until We Become Dust),” the performance clip by the Oyster Mask or Panthapol Prasarnrajkit (Ohm) of the band Cocktail on The Mask Singer Season 2. The video has so far attracted over 193 million views.
July
STARS BURN OUT
On July 20, music fans are devastated by the sad news that Chester Bennington, 41-year-old frontman of Linkin Park, has committed suicide. His death comes just two months after the suicide of 52-year-old former-Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell. At the end of the year, K-pop fans too are heartbroken over the loss of Kim Jong-hyun, 27, from top K-pop band Shinee. He is found dead in Seoul on December 18, also from an apparent suicide.
JAY LEAGUE
Top Thai footballer Chanathip Songkrasin (Jay) impresses Japanese football fans after his July move to J League club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo in the J League. The 24-year-old footballer is praised for his speed and movement by fans and the media. Jay’s contract with the club will expire next year.
August
SONG SPOT
Thai music fans welcome American music application Spotify. The application is popular because it is user-friendly and has an extensive library. When it’s first introduced in August, it doesn’t feature any music from the music label RS, putting some people off using the app. RS songs are soon made available.
BEHIND THE MASK
The Mask Singer, the hugely popular singing competition in which professional entertainers wear masks, moves into its third season. However, the show’s most popular singers remain Room39’s Tom (Durian Mask) and Peck Palitchok (Kangaroo Mask) from the first season. The two stars sell out every venue in which they play.
September
BOXING CLEVER
Srisake Sor Rungvisai, better known as Chao Laem, is voted the best professional athlete of 2017 by the Sports Authority of Thailand. Chao Laem earns the award after knocking out Nicaraguan champion Román González or Chocolatito in the fourth round. Chocolatito is a former world champion in four weight divisions. Before becoming a boxer, Chao Laem worked as a security guard.
HIGH-END FLIP-FLOPS
Thais are surprised to see expensive brand-name sandals which look similar to the cheap ones commonly available at local markets. While the rubber thong Chang Dow starts from 99 baht, the Molitor Thong collection designed by Louis Vuitton is available for $450 or 14,751 baht. Nike also release their own collection of rubber thongs, Nike Solarsoft Thong II, costing between $29.95 and $39.99 or 981.76 and 1,310.87 baht.
October
TOP THAI TAEKWONDO
On October 23, Panipak Wongpattanakit (Tennis) wins the gold medal in the female 49-kilogramme category at the 2017 World Taekwondo Grand Prix in London. The 20-year-old Thai had also won at the Grand Prix in Moscow in August.
FLOWER TRIBUTE
The price of marigolds have risen since September, due to high demand from people wanting to grow them in order to pay tribute to His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Marigolds are used in the royal cremation ceremony for the late King, held between October 25 and 29.
November
GIRL POWER
Three female badminton players enjoy success at the Grand Prix Gold tournament held by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). Nichaon Jindapon (Nat) is women’s singles champion, while Jongkolphan Kititharakul (Gift) and Rawinda Prajongjai (View) team up to win the women’s doubles. Nat’s victory is her second in the competition.
K-POP DON’T STOP
After winning Top Social Artist at the Billboard Music Awards in May, BTS make more K-pop history by performing their song “DNA” at the American Music Awards on November 19. Their performance gets an overwhelming reception. Their next single, “MIC Drop,” helps them win over even more US fans. The song enters the Billboard digital song sales chart at No. 4 upon its release on November 24.
December
FUND RUN
Bodyslam vocalist, Artiwara Kongmalai (Toon) meets the prime minister at Government House after running for 27 days from Betong, Yala. Toon and his team, Kao Kon La Kao (Everybody Takes a Step), receive enthusiastic support from the Thai people and media for the hospital charity run. His final destination is Mae Sai, Chiang Rai.
TASTE SENSATION
Thai foodies are delighted to discover that the street food establishment Jay Fai has made the cut of 14 Thai eateries to be awarded a Michelin star. Jay Fai is famous for its crab omelette and seafood noodles. Three restaurants earn two Michelin stars - Gaggan, Le Normandie and Mezzaluna.
