Memories are monumental in shaping history. And, just as a journal holds your thoughts, memories and interests from years past, online searches can mark the people, places and events that mattered most in a given year. So, what mattered most in 2011?
The top Bing searches of 2011 offer a walk down memory lane, reflecting the people, news stories, events and more that captured the attention of Americans this year. From celebrity relationships and royal weddings, to controversial trials and devastating losses, online searches reflect the year’s most important people, places and moments in time.
Most-searched people
Justin Bieber had a lot of “firsts” in 2011 — first celebrity girlfriend, first big screen movie, first holiday album and first scandalous rumor. The Biebs just couldn’t be hotter this year as he moved from the number six slot in 2010 to the No. 1 most searched person on Bing in 2011.
Last year’s winner, Kim Kardashian, takes the crown for the most searched woman of the year on Bing and second most searched person overall. Rounding out the top five people searched were Jennifer Aniston, Lindsay Lohan and, after not even cracking the top 50 in 2010, Jennifer Lopez rocketed into the number five slot for most searched people on Bing this year.
While Prince William didn’t even make the top 100 most searched people list, America fell in love with the Middleton sisters in 2011, with Kate coming in at No. 12 and Pippa at No. 21.
She may be small, but Suri Cruise certainly raked in a large number of searches this year, coming in as the most searched celebrity child of 2011. The runner ups, Malia and Sasha Obama, are twice Suri’s size, but only garnered one-third as many searches.
Most-searched musician and sports star
While Bieber was the most searched musician on Bing in 2011, Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears are showing that old school can sometimes beat new school, bringing in more searches than Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. Superstar Katy Perry came in as No. 2 overall and ranks as the top searched female musician.
Girl power! The boys got served by Maria Sharapova in sports-related searches, beating out Tiger Woods and Brett Favre, who ranked second and third most searched, respectively. Women tennis stars dominated this year with Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki rounding out the top-five most searched for athletes.
Most-searched story and celebrity event
The Casey Anthony trial came in as the top searched for news story, followed by Osama Bin Laden’s death, Hurricane Irene and Japan’s earthquake and tsunami.
Remembrances were also top-of-mind this year, including the 9/11 10-Year Anniversary, No. 8, and the one-year anniversary of the Haiti earthquake, No. 10.
The royal wedding was the celebrity event of the year, coming in way ahead of the competition as the most searched.
Most-searched television and consumer electronics
Not only is “American Idol” the most searched TV show, but it ranks as the most searched reality show in 2011, as well. Heading into its 11th season, “American Idol” had a strong hold on searches in 2011, outpacing second-place finisher, ”Dancing with the Stars.”
Chelsea Handler is too hot to handle when it comes to Bing searches for late night television shows, beating out all her male competitors. David Letterman came in as the most searched network late night show host and Team Coco can celebrate with Conan O’Brien’s third place finish.
The consumer electronics buzz this year was all about playing games — video games, that is! Xbox, PlayStation and Wii all made the top 10 most searched consumer electronic list, with Xbox topping the list at No. 1. Interestingly enough, one of the most searched consumer electronics this year doesn’t even exist yet; speculations about the iPhone 5 came in as the fourth most searched consumer electronic of the year. : :
— For more of this year’s online search trends, please visit bingtrends.com.