Short time passage phrases like this circulate on soundboards and social video because they fill a gap editors constantly face: showing that a long wait has passed without explaining it. The it's been a year line became a reusable shorthand for anniversaries, delayed releases, reunions and transformations, often paired with a date stamp or calendar page. Its appeal is its neutrality, as the same delivery can sound relieved, exhausted or sarcastic depending on the images around it, which keeps it useful long after a single trend fades.