Virat Kohli’s Instagram disappearance to Arijit Singh’s retirement: Top social media buzz makers of January 2026

It’s still January, but so far, one could say that 2026 hasn’t held back on drama, especially if you spend any time on Instagram, X, and other social media platforms. The year kicked off with everything from sudden celebrity vanishing acts to emotional farewells, and honestly, it’s been tough to keep up with so much happening so fast. On one hand, Virat Kohli freaked out fans by briefly dropping off Instagram with zero warning. On the other hand, not long after, Arijit Singh stunned everyone by announcing he’s done with playback singing. Then there’s Palash Muchhal, who deleted nearly every trace of his relationship with Indian cricket star Smriti Mandhana and is now taking his fight to court. Even Brooklyn Beckham, the eldest child of the Beckham family, got in on the action with a family dispute that played out—where else?—on Instagram.

So much buzz on social media already, and we’re not yet into February, the second month of the year. So, let’s break down the stories everyone’s buzzing about.

It was one of the short-lived wildfires people couldn’t stop talking about. Recently, Virat Kohli just disappeared from Instagram. Gone. Vanished. Fans searched for his handle, and all they got was, “Profile isn’t available.” Considering he has one of the biggest followings on the planet, this sent fans into a one-of-a-kind frenzy. People started joking about meme trends, others guessed he was taking a digital detox, or maybe Instagram just glitched. Several fans even flooded Anushka Sharma’s profile, asking in the comment section, what happened to her cricketer husband! Nobody really knew, and Kohli’s team stayed silent. A few hours later, his account popped back up as if nothing happened. Still, those few hours were enough to set the internet on fire.

Arijit Singh, the guy who basically soundtracks everyone’s heartbreak and love stories—from dard to disco—announced his retirement from playback singing. He dropped the news on social media, and fans just couldn’t believe it. The reaction? Huge. People posted tributes, begged him to change his mind. Some, like director Vishal Bhardwaj, even publicly called his decision “unfair.” A lot of folks started talking about burnout and the pressure artists face. Some even pointed fingers at how Bollywood ends up exhausting artists, making them succumb to back-to-back run-of-the-mill tracks to keep the business afloat. There’s no mention of something like a farewell tour, but the conversation isn’t dying down anytime soon. In fact, fans are hopeful that Arijit eventually will come back with new music — just not from film albums.

Brooklyn Peltz Beckham started this year with a bang—and quite literally so. The eldest child of the Beckhams has been away from his family for quite some time, and the rumors of a family feud have been brewing as well. But this year, Brooklyn didn’t hold back—he aired out his family issues in a series of Instagram Stories, calling out his parents, David and Victoria Beckham, for, in his words, “trying to control” the story and meddle in his marriage to Nicola Peltz Beckham. He flat-out said he’s not interested in reconciling with them anyway, and claimed previous attempts at patching things up went nowhere. Of course, the dirty laundry of one of the most high-profile families across the globe blew up. So much so that Brooklyn’s follower count jumped by nearly a million in this month alone. Whenever something’s messy with such heavyweight stars, people just can’t stop talking about it.

Palash Muchhal, the music composer, made headlines last year in December when his wedding to Indian cricketer Smriti Mandhana was called off. There were rumors of infidelity and Palash being caught red-handed with another woman amidst wedding festivities. A month later, Palash is once again in the news for deleting almost every Instagram post that included his ex-fiancée, Smriti Mandhana, after those cheating rumors gained momentum once again. But this time, he hasn’t stayed quiet about it—he slapped a ₹10 crore defamation suit on Marathi actor-producer Vidnyan Mane (who spilled the beans in a recent interview), denying all the accusations and calling them lies.