No. 7: American Idol
“American Idol” re-established itself as the water-cooler show this year with a finale upset: Nonthreatening all-American guy Kris Allen took the title over flamboyant vocal powerhouse Adam Lambert, a favorite of judges and critics alike. Of course, “Glambert’s” star kept rising, as he outed himself in Rolling Stone magazine and…
No. 8: Kim Kardashian
Two years ago, you might have said “Kim who?” But in 2009, the celebutante Kim Kardashian swiped the famous-for-being-famous crown from Paris Hilton and placed it squarely on her own long-locked head. Fans love the curvy socialite for keeping it real on “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” (E!) which portrays…
No. 6: Naruto
To the uninitiated, “Naruto” makes about as much sense as Ozzy Osbourne or the United States tax code. But to followers of the manga series, “Naruto” offers drama, action, and about a zillion products to search for online. So what the heck is it all about? Naruto is a young…
No. 5: Britney Spears
2005. 2006. 2007. 2008. After a four-year Britney Spears reign, the King of Pop knocked the pop princess off her Search perch—down into the fifth slot for 2009. The lower ranking reflects her lower (but calmer) profile. In the last couple of years, the singing sensation has been known as…
No. 4: Megan Fox
Like her or not, Megan Fox was one of the biggest stories of 2009. Best known for looking sultry on the red carpet and acting offended when compared to Angelina Jolie, Ms. Fox also made (more) headlines by bashing “Transformers,” the film franchise that made her famous. But then “Jennifer’s…
No. 3: WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment fights may be staged, but there’s nothing fake about its No. 3 search position. WWE fighters love the drama, and fans love to search for the faceoffs, players, and divas, plus all those auxiliary games. The older generation also mourned the passing of Captain Lou Albano, dubbed…
The Twilight Saga
With every “Twilight” book, DVD, and soundtrack release, and every cast appearance at malls across America, mass swooning from “Twilighters” erupted online. The brainchild of a Mormon housewife, the series centers on high schooler Bella Swan, whose romance with vampire Edward unfolds over four books, each patterned after a literary…
No. 1: Michael Jackson
News that Michael Jackson had been rushed to UCLA Medical Center had just broken when doctors called the King of Pop’s death at 2:26 p.m. Within hours, searches on Yahoo! transitioned from “breaking news Michael Jackson” and “is Michael Jackson dead” to “r.i.p. Michael Jackson.” The telling query “Elvis died”…
Top 10 Searches
Yahoo!’s Top 10 Searches often tell us more about our guilty pleasures, distractions, and obsessions than news headlines do, like this year’s continued pursuit of online gaming, reality TV, sports, and starlets. The unexpected death of a troubled legend also drew record Web traffic and tributes. It’s also worth noting…
Cheats, Retreats, and Other Celebrity Tweets
2009, the year of Twitter? Thank Ashton Kutcher. Before nearly 40 million jumped on the Twitter bandwagon this year, Kutcher was already using the microblogging site as a tool for self-promotion and as a way to reach his fans (and complain about the neighbors). Back in April, hunky actor/goof Kutcher…