billionaire space race, and, of course, free britney. >> as you'll see this hour, if you were looking for things to settle down a bit after 2020, it was 2021 that said hold my beer. ♪♪ >> five, four, three, two, one! >> in the closing moments of 2020 as the ball dropped above a sparsely populated times square, a weary nation cautiously hoped for better times. dreams that were quickly dampened. [ cheers ] 2021 was just six days old when a mob of trump supporters stormed the u.s. capitol hoping to overturn the presidential election. the images from that day, captured in the capitol rotunda. reports of a deadly uprise that go stunned the world yet failed to stop lawmakers from certifying the election results. >> joseph r. biden jr. of the state of delaware has received 306 votes. >> reporter: in the days that followed, the streets of washington looked more like a war zone as the nation's focus shifted from insurrection to inauguration. at the scaled-down ceremony, president biden was sworn in as america's 46th president. >> i, joseph biden do let mely swear. >> kamala harris became the country's first female vp, while in the audience, senator bernie sanders made a memeworthy fashion statement. the outgoing president refused to stick around but couldn't escape another impeachment. >> the president of the united states incited this insurrection. >> reporter: accused of inciting the riots, donald trump became the first american president to be impeached twice. he was later acquitted by the senate. >> donald john trump, former president of the united states is not guilty. >> reporter: it was a dramatic start to a year still dominated by covid. >> we learned this morning that the pandemic has now taken 400,000 lives in the u.s. >> reporter: as the country emerged from a deadly winter, vaccines became more available, first in the most vulnerable, then to all adults, and eventually to most kids. >> how bad was it? >> not bad at all. >> reporter: more americans died from covid this year than last as the more contagious delta variant surged and hospitals filled again, treating mostly unvaccinated patients. >> now we are treating patients in the hallways. >> reporter: mask mandates sparked rage. >> unmask our children! >> reporter: at school board meetings. >> let the parents make the decisions. let the kids breathe. >> reporter: as classrooms cautiously returned to in-person learning. >> i'd rather wear it because i don't want to get covid. >> reporter: and our vocabularies expanded to include new terms, breakthrough cases, boosters, and by year's end, omicron. as the pandemic raged, so did nature's fury. >> we're huddled under the blankets we had. >> reporter: in february a deadly ice storm paralyzed texas, leaving millions without power. wildfires continued to ravage the west while hurricane ida carved a path of destruction that stretched from louisiana to new york. and this month, more than 100 were killed by a series of rare december tornadoes in kentucky and surrounding states. one twister cutting a path more than 200 miles long. it was a year of fatal tragedies. the as strow world concert in houston, a christmas parade in waukesha, wisconsin, the condo building in surfside, florida. >> it felt like an earthquake. whoever thinks a building's going to collapse on you? you just never -- >> reporter: without notice, the 12-story tower partially collapsed, killing nearly 100 people while many slept. tragedy also reached a movie set in new mexico where actor alec baldwin was handed a gun take advantage a real round, killing the film's cinematographer. some of last year's biggest stories led to this year's biggest trials. >> we the jury in the above entitled manner as to count one, unintentional second-degree murder while committing a felony find the defendant guilty. >> reporter: a jury found former police officer derek chauvin guilty of murdering george floyd, the verdict celebrated outside the courthouse and beyond. in georgia, three white men were convicted of murdering ahmaud arbery. >> we the jury find the defendant, kyle rittenhouse, not guilty. >> reporter: a wisconsin teenager kyle rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges after shooting three men during protests last year. exacerbating the growing political chasm in america in a year filled with debates where controversial issues, including abortion and transgender rights. political harmony was not totally elusive. [ applause ] capitol hill lawmakers passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill and overwhelmingly voted to make juneteenth a federal holiday. >> warnock now 83.2%. >> reporter: if you thought our politics would settle down after the last election, think again. the year started with democrats flipping two senate seats in georgia and ended with republicans flipping the governor seat in virginia. overseas, america ended the 20-year war in afghanistan, pulling the last remaining u.s. troops out of the country. the world watched as the taliban rapidly regained control as desperate afghans tried to flee. >> kabul is falling now. >> reporter: the chaotic final days, a suicide bomber killed 13 service members, all of it sparking international criticism over how the withdrawal was handled. president biden stood by his decision. >> after 20 years of war in afghanistan, i refuse to send another generation of american sons and daughters to fight a war that should have ended long ago. >> reporter: in october, world leaders gathered once again in person in rome for the g20 conference and in glasgow for the u.n. climate conference. it was a challenging year for the royal family, starting in march when prince harry and meghan markle sat down for an interview with oprah winfrey. >> there's a conversation with you? >> with harry. >> about how dark your baby is going to be? >> potentially and what that would mean or look like. >> that conversation i'm never going to share. >> reporter: the royals also said goodbye to the queen's husband of more than 70 years, prince philip, who died at the age of 99. his, one of many notable deaths this year, former secretary of state colin powell, senator bob dole, actress cicely tyson, broadway legend stephen sondheim, christopher plummer -- >> ♪ edelweiss ♪ >> reporter: and so many more. >> this is "jeopardy!" >> it was the year that "jeopardy!" struggled to find a permanent host. >> welcome to the second of our three semifinal matches. >> reporter: that britney was finally freed from her conservatorship. >> and our friends reunited in that movie block busters made their loaning-awaited return along with broadway, and adele. ♪ go easy on me baby ♪ >> reporter: the olympic flame belatedly burned one year later than planned, as tokyo hosted the 2020 games in 2021. superstar gymnast simone biles traded high scores for high praise when she grew several events to focus on her mental health. >> i have to focus on my mental well-being and that's what i did. >> reporter: tiger woods started swinging again following a serious car crash in california. and billionaires raced to space, even captain kirk took a trip to the final frontier. >> i'm so filled with emotion about what just happened. i just -- it's extraordinary. >> reporter: an inspiring reminder of what the future holds. >> i did it, america! >> reporter: we reflect on a year dominated by vaccines and hope 2022 offers a shot at something even better. ♪♪ wow. what a year. and you can't talk about 2021 without mentioning the global fight against covid and the huge medical breakthrough that was the distribution of covid vaccines, the shots created, evaluated, and authorized in just months was a first for vaccine development. millions around the world lined up to get their shots and then months later lined up again for a booster. but it wasn't without controversy. let's take a look back. >> reporter: this morning, a graim grim new national record, more than 4,000 covid deaths reported in a single day. hospitals facing a crisis of epic proportions. >> 100 million shots in our first 100 days in office. we're on day one. >> with full fda approval, johnson & johnson's vaccine will go into americans's arms. the third vaccine in the pandemic arsenal. >> get vaccinated. the vaccine that's available to you, get that vaccine. >> all adult americans will be eligible to get a vaccine no later than may 1. >> in new york city where people getting vaccinated are able to enjoy some live music in the same space that served as a field hospital just a few short months ago. >> a tragically milestone in the battle against the coronavirus. actually, this is globally. the death toll has topped 3 million people. more than 570,000 americans have lost their lives to the coronavirus, that's nearly 20% of the worldwide total. >> reporter: with less than a third of the country fully vaccinated, right now some states are starting to turn down government shipments due to lack of demand. new cdc data shows 8% of people have missed their second shot of the moderna or pfizer vaccines. >> our goal by july 4th is to have 70% of adult americans with at least one shot. >> reporter: pfizer's emergency use authorization now clears the way for 17 million children to immediately get vaccinated. kids 12 to 15 years old, mostly middle and high school students, now qualify. >> if you get the shot, you basically can ditch the mask. nearly everywhere the cdc says. >> america is already on the pandemic rebound. new covid cases at their lowest levels since last june. >> last year we lost a summer because of covid, so this year it's going to be a big summer. >> the delta variant, first discovered in india, could soon become the dominant covid strain in the u.s. >> so far only about 53% of the country is partially vaccinated. but some states are barely hitting a third of their population. >> 67% of u.s. adults have received at least one dose. that's short of the president's goal of 70%. >> we'll give you the best chance zblobl a year ago the icu at lexington medical center was pushed to the break. doctors say it's feeling like deja vu. >> the u.s. seeing more daily covid cases than last summer's peak. >> the plan is for every adult to get a booster shot eight months after you've got your second shot. >> a moving new memorial that provides a vivid reminder of the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic. more than 670,000 commit flags are planted across the national mall. >> reporter: authorized late today, booster shots for adults fully vaccinated with moderna and johnson & johnson could be days away. >> they all reached the same conclusion about vaccine mandates. >> i didn't have much of a choice in the matter that i was being forced to do something,ton something into my body. >> i felt that what they were doing -- what they have done is they basically held for ransom your health insurance, your benefits, your livelihood, your career in some cases. >> some promising news, of course, this afternoon, authorizing pfizer's vaccine for 5 to 11-year-olds. this is a huge step forward. >> the fda signed off on pfizer and moderna's vaccine booster for all adults 18 and older. >> president biden is set to speak to the nation next hour about the omicron variant as questions remain about the seriousness of the threat. >> what is it about this variant that worries you? >> what we've seen is this kind of very rapid rise in infections, and we've seen that in a part of the country, in a population where we thought that people had a lot of immunity. and the fact that this virus is now spreading so rapidly and so easily, it seems, it's a highly transmissible variant, but also that it may well be able to better get around some of the levels of our immune protection. >> reporter: the cdc says the first confirmed case in the u.s. of the omicron variant has appeared now in san francisco. >> another terrible milestone in the u.s., 800,000 deaths in this country. >> in 2021, some of the things we took for granted returned to some kind of normal, like going to a restaurant, commuting to the office, or spending time with loved ones over the holiday. but the delta and omicron variant served as reminders we're still living with the impact of the pandemic and will for a while this morning >> joining us with what to expect from covid in 2022 is nbc news senior medical corporate dr. john torres. why is it good to see you. >> this year like last year has been a roller coaster. we think it's better. we have events and concerts to say it's a return to normalcy and we have to pull back. now we know that delta spread and led to an increased amount of hospitalizations now we have omicron. what do you think we can expect in this upcoming year? >> you're right, exactly looks like a roller coaster. just when we think we're getting rid of the first wave, delta hits and we're going into a third wave. now we have omicron. it's one of those things, i think, we're going to continue to see this roller coaster ride for a little bit. i do think in 2022 we're going to see things calm down and get to more of a near normal. i talked about that last year as well , that we'll be near normal by now but where is two variants, delta and omicron, took us by storm and put us on our back feet. now we're back on our front feet, we have tools to fight these variants off. we just need to use those tools. >> looking ahead, questios people have, are we going to need another round of booster and are we ever going to get rid of the masks? >> i think the masks are going to be with us in certain contexts. if you look at asian countries they use masks all the time and they use them if someone is feeling sick so they don't spread it to other people. you're going to see that person is feeling well, thankfully they're wearing a mask. but we're not going to wear it essentially all the time. however, if there are outbreaks and there will continue to be outbreaks in 2022, i think you'll see some of these recommendations come back, at least temporarily. >> in 2022 we're not going to have a booster shot. i talked to a lot of experts who said we don't want to chase variants. anytime a new variant comes out, they're looking at these shots and saying these slots holding up fairly well against the omicron and delta variant. from the point of view of hospitalizations and dying, which is the important part. >> dr. john torres, thank you so much, and happy new year. >> happy new year. the trauma is going to impact people who live there, their family members, the first responders, those that have been down there trying to help. it is very, very, very real. >> those devastating scenes from the recent tornado destruction in kentucky, they're one more example of weather extremes this past year, many of those deadly systems are connected to climate change. in june the u.n. wrote 2021 is a make-or-break year for climate action. here in the u.s., it sometimes felt more broken than not as we saw unprecedented weather across the nation. nbc's al roker takes a closer look. >> reporter: 2021, another blistering year of climate and weather extremes from wildfires and drought to catastrophic flooding and hurricanes. almost no state escaping unscathed. this year seemed to pick up where 2020 left off with one major exception. four years after withdrawing from the paris climate agreement, newly elected president joe biden bringing the u.s. back into the fold. >> we can no longer delay or do the bare minimum to address climate change. >> reporter: the deal bringing together world leaders, pledging to do their part to stop the earth from warming past 1.5 degrees celsius. scientists say any warming beyond 2 degrees would be catastrophic. as winter carried on, texas endured a cataclysmic event when extreme arctic cold, caused by a breakdown in the polar vortex sent icy air south, incriminating the state's power grid, leaving residents freezing without water and in the dark for days. >> we haven't had water for ten days. for the first days we were collecting snow and melting the snow. >> reporter: with the climate changing faster than ever before, what unfolded in texas may no longer be a one-in-a-lifetime event. this tragedy exposing one of the most fragile parts of our country, its crumbling and ill-fitting infrastructure. in the northwest it was sporadic weather patterns that created a once in a millennia heat wave, resulting in the highest temperatures recorded in the region. seattle and parts of canada soaring above 100 degrees. at least 228 people dying in washington state and oregon soon. >> the electricity went off, and so it's quickly getting warmer and warmer. >> reporter: taking off an unprecedented summer of heat, 2021 will go down in history as the hottest summer on record for the united states. mega fires in the west burning for months. the bootleg fire in oregon becoming the state's biggest this year burning more than 413,000 acres. the dixie fire becoming the second largest to ever scorch parts of california. >> i didn't know where i was, whose house is what. it was just a wasteland. >> we're just grateful to be alive. we got each other. >> reporter: the 2021 hurricane season, while not as prolific as the record-shattering 2020, was still an overachiever. there were 21 named storms, including seven hurricanes, four of which were category 3 or higher. category 4 hurricane ida lashing louisiana, still recovering from last year's four landfalls. >> we are looking at imminent landfall of this storm. >> reporter: the deadly hurricane flattening entire communities, leaving millions of people in louisiana without power. some outages lasting for months. ida then slashed a path of destruction into the northeast, dumping up to 10 inches of rain in some parts of the region. several areas seeing one night all-time record high totals for the month of september. new york city taking a direct hit from the tropical storm, with subways turning into walls of water and floods pushing cars down streets. the storm once again turning deadly when basement apartments were submerged, trapping residents. the bone-dry west in its second decade of extreme drought finally hit a tipping point. lake meade dropping to its lowest level on record, triggering unprecedented restrictions over how much water states could use from the connecting colorado river system, hitting arizona agriculture the hardest. >> the pie is shrinking and there's going to be less water for everyone in the 21st century. >> reporter: to help address the mounting issues, the bipartisan infrastructure bill was signed into law in november. included are historic levels of funding for climate resilience and weatherization, clean energy investments, and capping orphaned oil wells. >> democrats and republicans can come together and deliver results. >> reporter: this should be where the story ends, and once did, until a wild and rare week of extreme weather struck in december. tornadoes tearing through kentucky and neighborhoods states, killing scores and leveling multiple towns. entire communities left in ruins. >> mayfield will be okay. it's just going to be a long time. >> reporter: just five days later, an historic storm leaving a trail of destruction, stretching from the west coast to the great lakes, minnesota recording its first ever tornado in the month of december. as 2021 comes to a close, a country weary from a long pandemic braces for what is certain to be another year of extremes. i'm al roker, nbc news. al, thank you. now, we're just starting to look back at 2021, including what happened a mere six days in. the capitol riot rocked d.c. and the country and its reverberations continue lot of people a year later. plus, blastoff. the new frontiers in space that will have historians talking for years to come. and doug.♪ and it's easy to customize your insurance at libertymutual.com so you only pay for what you need. isn't that right limu? limu? limu? sorry, one sec. doug blows several different whistles. doug blows several different whistles. 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[ screams ] >> reporter: lawmakers narrowly escaping, officer eugene goodman, seen here drawing rioters away from senators huddled close by. shots fired right outside the house chamber. a rioter killed by police. a confederate flag in the capitol. bipartisan pleas for mr. trump to sell his supporters to stand down. hours later, this video. >> so go home. we love you. you're very special. >> reporter: by 8:00 p.m. that night, the building had been cleared. lawmakers returning to finish the job. >> for what purpose -- >> reporter: then vice president pence rejected his boss' demands and declared victory for president biden. >> joseph r. biden jr. of the state of delaware has received 306 votes. >> reporter: the riot left rooms ransacked, glass shattered and lawmakers reeling. democrats voting to impeach president trump for inciting an insurrection, making him the first president in american history to be impeached twice. the capitol was fortified with thousands of federal troops lining the halls for the first time since the civil war. and on january 20th, as president trump refused to attend, joe biden became the 46th president of the united states. >> we need all our strength to persevere through this dark winter. >> reporter: as mr. biden went to work, congress turned to accountability. but in the senate's impeachment trial, mr. trump was acquitted with 43 republicans, including minority leader mitch mcconnell choosing not to convict a former president. >> we have no power to convict and disqualify a former office-holder who is now a private citizen. >> reporter: the rioters themselves facing justice almost immediately. federal prosecutors scrubbing social media for evidence, alleged rioters found in all 50 states. the investigation so far resulting in 700 arrests over, over 150 guilty pleas and dozens of convictions. by the summer, even as fences came down and physical damage was repaired, invisible scars remained. >> i got to sit down and really reflect on what happened. i think that sticks with me most. i felt sad, anger, just -- there were a lot of emotions going through my mind. i'm still trying to process it. >> if you were fighting that day, this will never feel normal. every time i look in here, i think that's where this happened, and i can't get -- it was such a traumatic experience for a lot of people. >> reporter: some democrats finding it harder and harder to work across the aisle. >> before deciding where to co-sponsor legislation with a republican , we check whether they voted to certify the results or not. >> reporter: some republicans rewriting history. >> you know, if you didn't know the footage was a video from january 6th, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit. >> reporter: with republicans stopping a bipartisan 9/11-style commission from forming, a bipartisan senate probe found that capitol police lacked the resources and training needed to respond. federal agencies failed to warn law enforcement officials of key intelligence, and miscommunication led to a delay in the national guard being deployed. >> we all remember the haunting words of an officer on the radio that day asking, does anyone have a plan? the answer, sadly, was no. >> reporter: in the house, the creation of a select committee, with just two republicans placed on the committee by speaker pelosi. >> the american people deserve to know what happened. the people who did this must be held accountable. >> it's an egregious abuse of power. pelosi has broken this institution. >> reporter: the committee issuing over 50 subpoenas and voting to ask the justice department to charge former trump staff with kentucky congress. the committee's work expected to last months into the new year, hoping to find answers to how a day no one thought could happen brought american democracy to the brink. frank thorp, nbc news, the capitol. turning now to the new president, ever since joe biden took the oath of office in january, he's had to face challenges known and unknown. covid, afghanistan, the economy, and climate change. >> but with all that on the agenda, was he able to deep promises that got him elected in the first place? >> reporter: every president's first year in office tests the power of promise. marked with campaign pledges kept and those still unfulfilled. >> we're going to keep up the fight until we get it done. >> reporter: before joe biden was even sworn in, he knew the coronavirus pandemic would largely define the beginning of his term. >> to heal, we must remember. >> reporter: honoring the hundreds of thousands dead on the eve of his inauguration. >> this is democracy's day, a day of history and hope. >> reporter: the biden-harris administration launching a massive effort to get americans vaccinated. >> it's time to act. we can reduce suffering in this country. >> reporter: leading to the president's first legislative victory in march. in the form of a $1.9 trillion covid relief bill. as 100 days in office marked more than 100 million covid vaccine shots administered. >> go get vaccinated, america. >> reporter: still, many refused to roll up their sleeves. even as new variants brought spikes and surges. >> it's become a political issue, which is a sad sad commentary. >> reporter: the biden administration vaccine mandates for federal workers, contractors, and private businesses challenged in courts. >> it's not about just go and get the vaccine, it's about having the choice to get it. >> reporter: rules and enforcement across the country, a tangled web, as u.s. covid deaths topped 800,000 and normal never quite returned. >> do not wait. go get your booster if it's time for you to do so. >> reporter: overseas, high-stakes challenges on the world stage. as the u.s. rejoined the paris agreement, the international treaty on climate change. >> the united states is determined, determined to re-engage with europe. >> reporter: while also placing sanctions on russia ahead of a critical face-to-face summit with vladimir putin in switzerland. yet it was afghanistan that would move front and center. after the president announced his decision to withdraw all troops from the country, by the 20th anniversary of september 11th. >> we'll do it safely. >> reporter: underestimating how quickly the taliban would take control, resulting in a chaotic and deadly evacuation. >> i am president of the united states of america and the buck stops with me but i do not regret the decision. >> reporter: the president fold up on his pledge to combat global warming at a u.n. summit . roevgds a permit for the keystone pipeline and halting new energy leasing in alaska's arctic national wildlife refuge. also keeping his word when appointing a diverse cabinet and appealing the ban on transgender personnel in the armed forces. >> transgender personnel, if qualified in every other way, can serve their government and the united states military. >> reporter: on capitol hill, after months of negotiations and democratic infighting, a scaled-back $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill is signed into law. >> america's moving again, and your life is going to change for the better. >> reporter: while the second half of the president's economic agenda, a massive social spending and climate plan, is now in limbo, with no clear path forward. along with other major priorities, still stalled in congress. like voting rights. >> the people need the for the people act! >> reporter: police reform. >> ain't no justice in this town! >> reporter: creating a pathway to citizenship -- >> the promise of protections for immigrant families, nothing has changed. >> reporter: and making roe v. wade the law of the land. >> abortion still needs to be legal. >> reporter: with much still unfinished, the president will now take the country into a new year of change and challenges ahead of the critical 2022 midterm elections. monica alba, nbc news, the white house. coming up, how britney, adele, and taylor got their groove back in 2021. a look at the pop culture moments that we can't stop talking about. but first, billionaires in space. the next frontier in the final frontier. ntier in the final frontier one of the most memorable stories i covered this year was about nfts. nfts, you say? non-fungible tokens, what is a non-fungible token? what we've discovered is this is going maijs, like when katie cure rick asked, what's internet? nfts are here and they're here to stay , with great value. but, when used at the first sign, to stay , with great value. lf \ to stay , with great value be kid tougher on your cold sores. ♪ ♪ 'tis the season to break tradition in a cadillac. don't just put on a light show—be the light show. make your nights anything but silent. and ride in a sleigh that really slays. because in a cadillac, tradition is yours to define. so visit a cadillac showroom, and start celebrating today. ♪ ♪ now special as we look back at 2021. a year to remember and forget. >> it was the landmark time for space exploration with giant leaps on many fronts. put the 2020 down as the year the private space race came roaring off the pad. >> for the next generation of dreamers, if we can do this, just imagine what you can do. >> reporter: billionaires richard branson, jeff bezos, bringing space travel back to us on earth. on his first trirngs bezos brought along 82-year-old wally funk, one of the original female mercury astronauts who never flew. and then captain kirk himself, 90-year-old william shatner choked up with emotion after landing back on earth. >> what you have given me is the most profound experience i can imagine. and then a spacex rocket made history on a three-day orbit around the world. >> we can see the entire parameter of the earth, which is so beautiful. >> reporter: the trip, part of a fundraiser for st. jude hospital where a crew member was treated for cancer as a child. but with prices starting at $250 million per seat, it's out of reach for earthlings. >> it's important for this to become accessible to everybody? >> that's why we started it. ultimately the price will come down to a level where an awful lot of people will be able to do it. >> reporter: but bezos and musk aren't content with joyrides around the earth. musk's spacex won a nasa contract for its star ship to carry astronauts to the surface of the moon. that same system could eventually fly onto mars. and jeff bezos planning to build a commercial space station called orbital wreath a floating business park. the u.s. is not alone. china is putting astronauts in space, already building its own space station with plans to put humans on the moon as soon as 2030. and then there's mars, the ultimate goal. this year nasa pulled off yet another first. after landing a recovery on the surface, it flew a helicopter, a drone, really, over the martian surface. here's nasa's animation. and here's the actual chopper flight, so far from earth, it had to fly itself, making 500 calculations per second. >> we have done it. this is the first time i've been able to zoo say we've done it. >> reporter: it's a vast universe holding billions of galaxies, and hundreds of billions of planets. so what are the chances that we're not alone, that life exists on at least one of those planets? >> the problem? we humans love sci-fi and we tend to think of aliens as the characters we see on tv and in the movies. >> e.t. phone home. >> our understanding of life doesn't mean that we understand all the options or all the possibilities of the various life forms that may be out there. >> absolutely true. yes, just because we understand our own life doesn't mean that we know what to predict of how life might form in another, different environment. >> reporter: have aliens already visited us? >> there's a whole fleet of them. >> reporter: what about the ufo sightings from navy pilots? adam frank is a sympathetic skeptic. >> why do ufos always look like exactly what we would expect them to look like from all the movies? as i like to say, if it sounds like a science fiction story, it is. >> reporter: he believes life probably does exit beyond earth, but he hasn't seen compelling evidence that they visited earth yet. >> if there's intelligent life out there, experts say it is probably many light years away, and each light year is at least a 37,000-year journey. so we're talking about 100,000 years to get there or maybe even further. so you better pack an overnight bag. tom costello, nbc news in washington, d.c. coming up, pop goes the year. from britney to simone, "squid game" to the royals, the moments that stunned, shocked, and captivated us in 2021. speaking of the royals -- >> one of the most memorable stories for me over the past year was really the death of prince philip. this was a huge, historical figure, a man who stood alongside the queen for more than 70 years, who had a front row seat to so many historic events. i remember his grandchildren paying tribute to him. prince harry calling him the master of the barbecue, and prince william saying he was really the heart of this royal family. this was a covid funeral, and for a man -- for a family, really, that is so tied to ceremony and pageantry, it was so simple, behind palace walls, staying true to the essence of a man, a man who said he didn't want to fuss. age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. boost® high protein also has kaleve-x.ents it's fast, powerful long-lasting relief with a revolutionary, rollerball design. because with the right pain reliever... life opens up. aleve it... and see what's possible. one of the most important stories i covered this year was the movement to free britney spears. my coverage began in june at the courthouse. we all heard as britney described for the very first time in stunning detail what she endured under that 13-year conservatorship. ultimately culminated in a celebration outside that same courthouse in december, celebrating a free britney, but key questions remain, how did this happen to one of the biggest superstars in the world? we witnessed in 2008 our very public breakdown which resulted in the conservatorship. we knew she was under the control of her father but as she back to work, and it was really only a small group of her most ardent supporters asking the question, what is going on here? what does that say about pop culture and what does that say about the media? 2021 was a big year in pop culture from the breakout shows and music to the moments that captured us all and of course we can't forget about britney. >> joining us now to recap 2021's major entertainment headlines is brian baltazar, and we have with us brianne heldman, a senior editor at "people," good to have you both with us. >> thank you. >> the breakouts in tv and music, i want to start with tv and two of the shows that come to mind. ted lasso and the squid game, two shows not at all alike at all. what was the appeal? squid game, why was it so appealing? >> it came out of nowhere for most of us. this is a concept that's really dark. you would fall in love with the show and then have to explain to someone it's like the systematic execution of contestants trying to win money. it's so out of nowhere, you would never think i'm going to watch this dubbed over show and be completely drawn in. great performances and a plot like you've never seen before. reflective of a weird time we're living in. >> says something about our minds right now. >> it really does. >> on the flipside, you've got "ted lasso". >> the two shows couldn't be more opposite. ted lasso is the nice guy show. people live and they win sports ball games. >> technical term, right? >> yeah, you know, this is had a huge year, second season, won a bunch of emmys. jason sudeikis is on a roll with this series. >> the 2022 option. >> let's talk about music and you've got two of the biggest names, adele and taylor swift, both putting out albums about love and heartbreak and crying and all those things. they just can't do anything wrong, can they? >> can we talk about adele? this is not a person who releases an album every year or every other year. her last one was five years ago. so when she drops something she's n n a lot of time on it and you know you're going to love it. the ramp up, the emotional preparation we all have to do, buying tissues and things but then she's got this amazing audience on tv, and she's the first artist this year to have sold a million albums, the first one of this year, remarkable since it just came out in november and now she has a vegas residency, making as much money as she's going to make from the album itself this year. >> crazy. >> absolutely. >> you're the biggest taylor fan. >> i was thinking this year, what is amazing is to get a ten-minute version of a song she wrote years ago and to get that -- something we'd all been waiting for, if you're a swifty like i admittedly am. >> taylor put out so much music this year, capping the year with the rerelease of taylor's version of "all too well," the ten-minute version, taylor is known for throwing easter eggs all over her lyrics, who the song is about and how they did her dirty, and, you know, i'm like dionne warwick, i want to know when that is going to return. >> exactly, that's a good one. now let's talk about moments that really did just shock us, move us, first one, simone biles pulling out of competition at the olympics. just walk us through kind of what kind of effect that had. >> well, this is a first, really, i mean, i think the world, the u.s. in particular, had hugely high expectations for simone biles and no one felt those expectations more than her. and this was the first time we really saw someone poised to win it all, step back and say, i need to do something for myself, despite all that you want from me right now i can't live up to that. i'm going to do what's right for me. she's the most decorated olympic female medalist there is, so she -- winning athlete of the year from "time" magazine is really a credit to being the best at what you do, but also knowing when you need to be the best at taking care of yourself. >> absolutely, and such an important moment to discuss the importance of mental health, which also comes into the next question i have for you, brianne, this interview with harry and meghan and oprah, and just what it exposed they had been going through. really, i think the ripple effects of that and the conversation around it cannot be overstated. tell me about what you thought about that. >> really, they opened up about their mental health, meghan spoke about even contemplating suicide at one point. while she was still living in london. they opened up about having babies, and dropped some real bombs about the royal family and how the royal family had treated them. >> and people -- it shows that they were still very fascinated by the royals because 17 million people watched that oprah interview showing so whether you love them, hate them or are fascinated by them, people are really into that story and want to know more. this is the first time we really got a look kind of behind the curtain of what's going on there. >> not polished. >> wild. >> another story that got so much attention is britney spears, she was in that conservatorship for more than ten years, finally freed from it, starts with the "new york times" documentary, step by step, it gets to where she is now. this is a huge moment, isn't it? >> 13 years in the making. can you imagine? she spent her entire 30s kind of being ruled by these adults who may or may not have been taking advantage of her, taking her money, it's all still coming out. and now we get to see what being an adult looks like for britney spears. she has said she has no intention of touring again, but will she put out music? she is engaged so maybe 2022 will bring us a wedding for britney spears and hopefully it will all just be happy, good, smooth sailing for her. >> there's also one we've gotten to now see behind the curtain, posts what she wants on social media. >> and the power of the fans, the fans really drove this movement. >> oh, yeah. >> they refused to believe that it was all that we saw on instagram and facebook, and they were very vocal about it and then the power of a documentary to show, and get people to pay attention. we've seen that before. how documentaries and the power of television, like we're watching right now streaming, is really -- it can drive people to act. in a really spectacular way, and britney has said what a credit it is to the fans that fought for her. >> brian and brianne, thank you so much for joining us, it's a fun segment to close out the year. before we go, here's a look back at some of the most powerful pictures of the past 12 months. >> photo editors at nbc news.com curated a gallery of images capturing the most significant moments of 2021. >> that does it for our nbc news now special. good-bye, 2021, a year to remember, and forget, thanks for watching. >> let's hope 2022 is full of things that are unforgettable in a good way. we hope you and your family and loved ones had a wonderful holiday. happy new year. aleve-x. it's fast, powerful long-lasting relief with a revolutionary, rollerball design. because with the right pain reliever... life opens up. aleve it... and see what's possible. we hit the bike trails every weekend shinges doesn't care. i grow all my own vegetables shingles doesn't care. we've still got the best moves you've ever seen good for you, but shingles doesn't care. because 1 in 3 people will get shingles, you need protection. but, no matter how healthy you feel, your immune system declines as you age increasing your risk for getting shingles. so, what can protect you? 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