Google has released its annual list of the year’s top trending searches, and if you’re thinking Taylor Swift tops yet another chart, think again.
The person who prompted the most trending queries – i.e., had the highest spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2023 as compared to 2022 – was… Damar Hamlin.
No doubt some Googlers might have to re-Google that name: Hamlin is the Buffalo Bills safety who made international headlines nearly a year ago when he suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on-field during a January 2, 2023, Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals. (He recovered and returned to NFL play in August.)
Coming in second in the “People” category is Jeremy Renner, who had a serious health incident of his own just the day before Hamlin when he was run over by a snowplow.
And at #3? Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end who encountered an unstoppable force of an entirely different sort when he started dating the massively popular Swift.
See the complete lists below.
Surprisingly, Swift didn’t even make the Top 10 Musicians – perhaps because no one on earth really needs Google to tell them who she is. (Google doesn’t speculate on users’ motivations.) Jason Aldean, on the other hand, was long a country music favorite but broke through to a much wider public when his controversial single “Try That in a Small Town” made headlines last May and was denounced by many as racist and reactionary. He topped Google’s “Musician” category. (Ice Spice, who appeared in a video with Swift last May, came in at #2.)
Swift did have the most-searched tour, though, with her Eras Tour beating out other much-searched tours by Matt Rife, Beyonce and Olivia Rodrigo, among others.
Renner topped the “Actors” category, followed by Jamie Fox (who was hospitalized for a mystery illness last April), with Danny Masterson, the former That ’70s Show actor sentenced in September to more than 30 years in prison on two rape charges.
In the “Movies” category, Barbie beat out Oppenheimer for the #1 spot, and The Last of Us was tops in the “TV Shows” category.
In the “Passings” category, Matthew Perry saw the highest spike in traffic after his tragic death at 54 in October. Tina Turner was second on the list, with Jerry Springer at #3. Other deaths that prompted searches were Jimmy Buffett, Sinéad O’Connor and Lisa Marie Presley.
Some other interesting tidbits: Succession was tops-in-trending-searches for recaps and finale info, and Google’s “Hum to Search” feature was used most often for The White Stripes’ 2003 song “Seven Nation Army,” perhaps in part because the song’s incredible riff was adopted by protesters in Israel and set to the new lyrics “Demokratia o mered” (Democracy or rebellion).
Here are the “Google Year In Search” lists wit the top trending data of 2024.:
Damar Hamlin at Chicago’s Soldier Field on August 26, 2023
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
People
Damar Hamlin
Jeremy Renner
Travis Kelce
Tucker Carlson
Lil Tay
Andrew Tate
Carlee Russell
Jamie Foxx
Danny Masterson
Matt Rife
Passings
Matthew Perry
Tina Turner
Jerry Springer
Jimmy Buffett
Sinéad O’Connor
Ken Block
Tyre Nicholas
Lisa Marie Presley
Suzanne Somers
Bob Barker
Actors
Jeremy Renner
Jamie Foxx
Danny Masterson
Matt Rife
Pedro Pascal
Jonathan Majors
Sophie Turner
Russell Brand
Ke Huy Quan
Josh Hutcherson
Movies
Barbie
Oppenhiemer
Sound of Freedom
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Creed III
John Wick: Chapter 4
Five Nights at Freddy’s
Cocaine Bear
Jason Aldean
Joshua Applegate/Getty Images
Musicians
Jason Aldean
Ice Spice
Oliver Anthony
Peso Pluma
Joe Jonas
Sam Smith
Matt Healy
Kellie Pickler
Kim Petras
Sexyy Red
Songs
Try That In A Small Town – Jason Aldean
Rich Men North of Richmond – Oliver Anthony
Unholy – Sam Smith and Kim Petras
Ella Baila Sola – Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma
Boy’s a liar Pt. 2 – Ice Spice and PinkPantheress
Kill Bill – SZA
Cruel Summer – Taylor Swift
Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffett
Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53 – Shakira
vampire – Olivia Rodrigo
TV Shows
The Last of Us
Ginny & Georgia
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
Daisy Jones & The Six
Wednesday
That ’90s Show
Kaleidoscope
Beef
The Idol
The Fall of the House of Usher
Jack White of the White Stripes (2007)
Stephen Lovekin/WireImage
Hum to Search: Top Songs
Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes
Kill Bill – SZA
Ballin’ – Mustard
Tom’s Diner – AnnenMayKantereit
Until I Found You – Stephen Sanchez
Flowers – Miley Cyrus
Barbie Girl – Aqua
Shinunoga E-Wa – Fujii Kaze
Believer – Imagine Dragons
Wellerman – Nathan Evans
Celebrity Outfits
Kim Mulkey
Margot Robbie’s Barbie outfits
Taylor Swift
Joe Burrow
Keke Palmer
Travis Kelce
Sam Smith
Ice Spice
Zion Williamson
Karol G
Recap
Succession
Ginny & Georgia season 1
Outer Banks season 2
Ted Lasso
You season 3
The Bear season 1
The Witcher season 2
The Last of Us
Shadow and Bone season 1
Sweet Magnolias season 2
Tour
Taylor Swift Eras tour
Matt Rife
Beyonce Renaissance
Olivia Rodrigo
Drake
Aerosmith
NSYNC reunion
Creed
Bryson Tiller
Lana Del Rey
Cast
Ginny & Georgia
Suits
Wednesday
Oppenheimer
The Last of Us
Barbie
1923
Glass Onion
Ashoka
The Night Agent
Finale
Succession
Ted Lasso
The Last of Us
Loki
The Voice
Golden Bachelor
Bachelorette
Mandalorian
Vanderpump Rules
Blacklist
Horror Movies
Five Nights At Freddy’s
Cocaine Bear
The Menu
Scream VI
M3GAN
Evil Dead Rise
Knock At The Cabin
Insidious: The Red Door
Talk To Me
The Nun II
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’
Marvel / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Action Movies
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Creed III
John Wick: Chapter
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Blue Beetle
Fast X
The Marvels
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Romance Movies
You People
Asteroid City
No Hard Feelings
Priscilla
Your Place or Mine
Drama/Thriller Movies
Oppenheimer
Sound Of Freedom
The Whale
Glass Onion
The Equalizer 3
Jesus Revolution
Reptile
Air
Heart Of Stone
Secret Invasion
Fantasy Movies
Everything Everywhere All At Once
The Little Mermaid
Elemental
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Comedy Movies
Barbie
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
A Man Called Otto
80 For Brady
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Beau Is Afraid
Haunted Mansion
Banshees Of Inisherin
Totally Killer
Renfield