Tag Archives: Entertainment

Through the Google lens: Search Trends August 28–September 3

With the long Labor Day weekend beckoning, we’ll spare you the introduction and dive right into the past week of search trends.

Party at the VMAs

It’s been nearly a week since it all went down, but given the number of trending topics related to the Sunday evening spectacle known as the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, we feel almost obligated to recap how it played out on Search. So, here are the highlights: bizarre but wonderful host Miley Cyrus pulled in a cool 5 million searches, while her onstage confrontation with Nicki Minaj (which may or may not have been planned) got another 500,000+. Kanye West accepted the show’s highest honor—the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award—in a rambling 13-minute speech (during which he may or may not have committed to running for president in 2020), racking up more than 200,000 searches.

kanye-west.width-1024.png

Justin Bieber cried while performing his new single, “What Do You Mean,” inspiring 500,000+ searches for the performance and another 500,000+ for the song; and finally, Taylor Swift—no stranger to VMA drama featuring Kanye West and acceptance speeches, as well as public spats with Nicki Minaj—premiered her video for “Wildest Dreams,” (100,000+ searchers wanted to know more). For more trends from the show (and to find out which of these artists claimed the “Most Searched” title), check out the trends page.

vmas

Kentucky courthouse drama

A Kentucky county clerk found new notoriety this week, appearing in Hot Trends not just once but three times. Kim Davis has repeatedly refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, claiming it would infringe on her religious beliefs. Multiple couples sued her, and Judge David L. Bunning ordered her to issue the licenses. Finally, after her request for a stay from the Supreme Court was denied, yesterday Davis was held in contempt of court. With Davis in jail, her deputies began issuing licenses to couples today. As the saga played out in Rowan County, people turned to the web with inquiries ranging from “What religion is Kim Davis?” and “What law did Kim Davis break?” to more broad questions like “Why do we need marriage licenses?” and “How long have there been marriage licenses in the U.S.?”

Fall fun

The days are getting shorter (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least) and the long Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer. In the U.S., people have turned to the web to learn more about the origins of Labor Day and to ask an important fashion question: “Why can’t you wear white after Labor Day?” Our advice: don’t let anyone tell you you can’t.)

labor-day-trends.width-1024.png

Autumn may make some melancholy, but for football fans it’s a time to rejoice. Tomorrow marks the first college football Saturday of the season, and searchers are gearing up in anticipation. Yesterday’s Michigan game against Utah drew 500,000+ searches as people looked to find more about the game. As the debut game for new Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, expectations were high, but deflated (see below) when Utah won 24-17. But it’s Michigan rival—and defending national champs—Ohio State that lit up the scoreboard as the most searched team over the past month:

college-football-teams-trends.width-1024.png

Finally, though the NFL season doesn’t officially start until next Thursday, the league is in the news after Patriots QB Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for “Deflategate” was overturned. Brady was the top trend Thursday, with 1 million searches, as people asked questions like “Is Tom Brady suspended?” and “What does ‘nullified’ mean?”

Through the Google lens: Search Trends August 28–September 3

With the long Labor Day weekend beckoning, we’ll spare you the introduction and dive right into the past week of search trends.

Party at the VMAs

It’s been nearly a week since it all went down, but given the number of trending topics related to the Sunday evening spectacle known as the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, we feel almost obligated to recap how it played out on Search. So, here are the highlights: bizarre but wonderful host Miley Cyrus pulled in a cool 5 million searches, while her onstage confrontation with Nicki Minaj (which may or may not have been planned) got another 500,000+. Kanye West accepted the show’s highest honor—the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award—in a rambling 13-minute speech (during which he may or may not have committed to running for president in 2020), racking up more than 200,000 searches.

Justin Bieber cried while performing his new single, “What Do You Mean,” inspiring 500,000+ searches for the performance and another 500,000+ for the song; and finally, Taylor Swift—no stranger to VMA drama featuring Kanye West and acceptance speeches, as well as public spats with Nicki Minaj—premiered her video for “Wildest Dreams,” (100,000+ searchers wanted to know more). For more trends from the show (and to find out which of these artists claimed the “Most Searched” title), check out the trends page.

Kentucky courthouse drama

A Kentucky county clerk found new notoriety this week, appearing in Hot Trends not just once but three times. Kim Davis has repeatedly refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, claiming it would infringe on her religious beliefs. Multiple couples sued her, and Judge David L. Bunning ordered her to issue the licenses. Finally, after her request for a stay from the Supreme Court was denied, yesterday Davis was held in contempt of court. With Davis in jail, her deputies began issuing licenses to couples today. As the saga played out in Rowan County, people turned to the web with inquiries ranging from “What religion is Kim Davis?” and “What law did Kim Davis break?” to more broad questions like “Why do we need marriage licenses?” and “How long have there been marriage licenses in the U.S.?”

Fall fun

The days are getting shorter (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least) and the long Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer. In the U.S., people have turned to the web to learn more about the origins of Labor Day and to ask an important fashion question: “Why can’t you wear white after Labor Day?” Our advice: don’t let anyone tell you you can’t.)

Autumn may make some melancholy, but for football fans it’s a time to rejoice. Tomorrow marks the first college football Saturday of the season, and searchers are gearing up in anticipation. Yesterday’s Michigan game against Utah drew 500,000+ searches as people looked to find more about the game. As the debut game for new Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, expectations were high, but deflated (see below) when Utah won 24-17. But it’s Michigan rival—and defending national champs—Ohio State that lit up the scoreboard as the most searched team over the past month:

Finally, though the NFL season doesn’t officially start until next Thursday, the league is in the news after Patriots QB Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for “Deflategate” was overturned. Brady was the top trend Thursday, with 1 million searches, as people asked questions like “Is Tom Brady suspended?” and “What does ‘nullified’ mean?”

Through the Google lens: Search Trends August 28–September 3

With the long Labor Day weekend beckoning, we’ll spare you the introduction and dive right into the past week of search trends.

Party at the VMAs

It’s been nearly a week since it all went down, but given the number of trending topics related to the Sunday evening spectacle known as the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, we feel almost obligated to recap how it played out on Search. So, here are the highlights: bizarre but wonderful host Miley Cyrus pulled in a cool 5 million searches, while her onstage confrontation with Nicki Minaj (which may or may not have been planned) got another 500,000+. Kanye West accepted the show’s highest honor—the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award—in a rambling 13-minute speech (during which he may or may not have committed to running for president in 2020), racking up more than 200,000 searches.

kanye-west.width-1024.png

Justin Bieber cried while performing his new single, “What Do You Mean,” inspiring 500,000+ searches for the performance and another 500,000+ for the song; and finally, Taylor Swift—no stranger to VMA drama featuring Kanye West and acceptance speeches, as well as public spats with Nicki Minaj—premiered her video for “Wildest Dreams,” (100,000+ searchers wanted to know more). For more trends from the show (and to find out which of these artists claimed the “Most Searched” title), check out the trends page.

vmas

Kentucky courthouse drama

A Kentucky county clerk found new notoriety this week, appearing in Hot Trends not just once but three times. Kim Davis has repeatedly refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, claiming it would infringe on her religious beliefs. Multiple couples sued her, and Judge David L. Bunning ordered her to issue the licenses. Finally, after her request for a stay from the Supreme Court was denied, yesterday Davis was held in contempt of court. With Davis in jail, her deputies began issuing licenses to couples today. As the saga played out in Rowan County, people turned to the web with inquiries ranging from “What religion is Kim Davis?” and “What law did Kim Davis break?” to more broad questions like “Why do we need marriage licenses?” and “How long have there been marriage licenses in the U.S.?”

Fall fun

The days are getting shorter (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least) and the long Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer. In the U.S., people have turned to the web to learn more about the origins of Labor Day and to ask an important fashion question: “Why can’t you wear white after Labor Day?” Our advice: don’t let anyone tell you you can’t.)

labor-day-trends.width-1024.png

Autumn may make some melancholy, but for football fans it’s a time to rejoice. Tomorrow marks the first college football Saturday of the season, and searchers are gearing up in anticipation. Yesterday’s Michigan game against Utah drew 500,000+ searches as people looked to find more about the game. As the debut game for new Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, expectations were high, but deflated (see below) when Utah won 24-17. But it’s Michigan rival—and defending national champs—Ohio State that lit up the scoreboard as the most searched team over the past month:

college-football-teams-trends.width-1024.png

Finally, though the NFL season doesn’t officially start until next Thursday, the league is in the news after Patriots QB Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for “Deflategate” was overturned. Brady was the top trend Thursday, with 1 million searches, as people asked questions like “Is Tom Brady suspended?” and “What does ‘nullified’ mean?”

Through the Google lens: Search Trends August 28–September 3

With the long Labor Day weekend beckoning, we’ll spare you the introduction and dive right into the past week of search trends.

Party at the VMAs

It’s been nearly a week since it all went down, but given the number of trending topics related to the Sunday evening spectacle known as the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, we feel almost obligated to recap how it played out on Search. So, here are the highlights: bizarre but wonderful host Miley Cyrus pulled in a cool 5 million searches, while her onstage confrontation with Nicki Minaj (which may or may not have been planned) got another 500,000+. Kanye West accepted the show’s highest honor—the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award—in a rambling 13-minute speech (during which he may or may not have committed to running for president in 2020), racking up more than 200,000 searches.

kanye-west.width-1024.png

Justin Bieber cried while performing his new single, “What Do You Mean,” inspiring 500,000+ searches for the performance and another 500,000+ for the song; and finally, Taylor Swift—no stranger to VMA drama featuring Kanye West and acceptance speeches, as well as public spats with Nicki Minaj—premiered her video for “Wildest Dreams,” (100,000+ searchers wanted to know more). For more trends from the show (and to find out which of these artists claimed the “Most Searched” title), check out the trends page.

vmas

Kentucky courthouse drama

A Kentucky county clerk found new notoriety this week, appearing in Hot Trends not just once but three times. Kim Davis has repeatedly refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, claiming it would infringe on her religious beliefs. Multiple couples sued her, and Judge David L. Bunning ordered her to issue the licenses. Finally, after her request for a stay from the Supreme Court was denied, yesterday Davis was held in contempt of court. With Davis in jail, her deputies began issuing licenses to couples today. As the saga played out in Rowan County, people turned to the web with inquiries ranging from “What religion is Kim Davis?” and “What law did Kim Davis break?” to more broad questions like “Why do we need marriage licenses?” and “How long have there been marriage licenses in the U.S.?”

Fall fun

The days are getting shorter (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least) and the long Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer. In the U.S., people have turned to the web to learn more about the origins of Labor Day and to ask an important fashion question: “Why can’t you wear white after Labor Day?” Our advice: don’t let anyone tell you you can’t.)

labor-day-trends.width-1024.png

Autumn may make some melancholy, but for football fans it’s a time to rejoice. Tomorrow marks the first college football Saturday of the season, and searchers are gearing up in anticipation. Yesterday’s Michigan game against Utah drew 500,000+ searches as people looked to find more about the game. As the debut game for new Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, expectations were high, but deflated (see below) when Utah won 24-17. But it’s Michigan rival—and defending national champs—Ohio State that lit up the scoreboard as the most searched team over the past month:

college-football-teams-trends.width-1024.png

Finally, though the NFL season doesn’t officially start until next Thursday, the league is in the news after Patriots QB Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for “Deflategate” was overturned. Brady was the top trend Thursday, with 1 million searches, as people asked questions like “Is Tom Brady suspended?” and “What does ‘nullified’ mean?”

Through the Google Lens: Search Trends July 31 – August 7

Has it been a week or what? It most definitely has, which means it’s time to kick back, relax and read on as we dig into Google’s trending searches list to find out what the world wanted to learn more about this week.

The Grand Old Party

With 10 candidates on stage for the prime-time event, Thursday night’s Republican presidential debate debate did seem quite a bit like a party. An estimated 24 million people tuned in to watch the broadcast on the Fox News Channel (a record for the network, and cable TV, it turns out), and searches for “Republican debate” topped 5 million.

GOP

Not surprisingly, the candidates themselves generated some serious search action. Donald Trump claimed the “most searched” position in the days before and hours after the event, and held on to the spot for nearly all of the debate itself, save a few appearances from Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina and Lindsey Graham.

See a full-size version of this incredible data viz here. You can also explore the most searched issues during the debate as well -- education, taxes and abortion all took turns in the top spot.

Jon-Voyage

All good things come to an end, and this week the world said goodbye to Jon Stewart -- at least as host of The Daily Show. Airing just moments after a debate that was ripe for Stewart’s particular brand of editorializing, Thursday night’s show was his last. Searches for the (now former) host topped 500,000 this week.

Jon_Stewart.width-1024.png

Check out another cool data viz -- this one on search interest in Jon Stewart across the United States -- right here.

The Doctor is in

Artist turned producer turned mogul Dr. Dre gave us all a gift this week -- his first new album in 16 years. Compton -- which Dre is calling his grand finale -- is self-reflective and grand in all the best ways, and dripping with appearances and collaborations from generations of other artists. It also brought in an impressive 200,000 searches.

Makeups and breakups

Continuing what seems like a very common theme this summer, the week’s trending searches had no shortage of celebrity couple gossip. Jennifer Aniston, who pulled off a surprise backyard wedding to Justin Theroux, made the list with 200,000+ searches. The world panicked (and searched 100,000+ times) following news that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith were divorcing -- news that turned out not to be true at all, according to the couple. Reba McEntire, however, is definitely separating from her husband (100,000+ searches for that news), as are Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale (200,000+ searches) -- and there’s no doubt about that one, either.

Through the Google lens: Search trends June 12-18

The shooting in Charleston, S.C., was the top topic in search this week. Here’s a look at what people were searching for after the tragedy, plus a glimpse into what else was on searchers’ minds this week.

Tragedy in the south

On Wednesday night, a gunman shot and killed nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historic black church in Charleston, S.C. The suspect, Dylann Roof, was arrested Thursday morning, and charged today with nine counts of murder. As people tried to make sense of the story, many turned to the web, leading searches for “Charleston shooting” to climb to more than 5 million. Top questions in the early morning after the shooting include “What was the motive of the hate crime shooting in Charleston?” Many were also interested in the Confederate flag, which still flies above the S.C. Capitol building; interest in the flag spiked 20X in the past week in the U.S. as people asked questions like “What does the Confederate flag stand for?”

Presidential politics

We’re still well more than a year away from the 2016 election but the presidential race is already crowded, and getting more so. This week two new candidates joined the fray: Jeb Bush and Donald Trump both announced they plan to run, bringing the total number of Republican candidates to a cool dozen. Though Bush was the most searched candidate in more than 25 states after his announcement, it didn’t last long. Following Trump’s announcement Tuesday, he became the most searched Republican Presidential candidate in every state in the U.S. Top questions on the newest candidates include “Is Jeb Bush related to George Bush?” (that would be a “yes”) and “What is Donald Trump’s net worth?” (he says more than $8 billion; the numbers are disputed).

Donald-Trump-questions.width-1024.png

Must-see TV

This week was big for sports, with Google’s own hometown team Golden State Warriors beating the Cleveland Cavaliers to win their first NBA Championship title since 1975. The Warriors were at the top of the search charts on Tuesday with more than 2 million searches. Meanwhile, in hockey, the Chicago Blackhawks edged out the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the Stanley Cup for the second time in three seasons. Winning never gets old, though: interest in Blackhawks apparel spiked 8X in Chicago between June 9-16, and there were more than 20,000+ searches for the Blackhawks parade route, which took place Thursday with more than 2 million attendees.

Hockey and basketball not your game? Then perhaps you were one of the 8 million people watching the fifth-season finale of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” (Spoilers for the show follow.) The show was the subject of 2 million searches on Sunday night, as people watched with baited breath to find out what gruesome ends the show had in store for their favorite characters this season. One of the top questions about the show was simply “Who died on ‘Game of Thrones’?”, while others expressed their disbelief by asking “Is Jon Snow dead?” and “Is Stannis dead?” There were also more than 200K searches for Lena Headley, who plays Cersei Lannister, and another 20K later in the week for Rebecca Van Cleave, Headley’s body double for a scene where Cersei is forced to walk naked through the streets. Finally, there was a lot of interest in Arya Stark, one of few surviving Stark children, whose path on the show has also been one of the strangest.

Tip of the week

This weekend marks the first official day of summer, and that means BBQ season. If you’re watching what you eat, Google can help you figure out what to choose at the picnic table. Just ask Google to “compare coleslaw and potato salad” or “compare burgers and pulled pork.”