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Google has released its annual list of the year's hottest searches, and if you think Taylor Swift is topping the charts again, think again.
The person who drove the top searches – that is, saw the highest increase in traffic over a longer period in 2023 compared to 2022 – was… Damar Hamlin.
No doubt some Googlers may need to Google this name again: Hamlin is the Buffalo Bills safety who made international headlines nearly a year ago when he suffered cardiac arrest during a Monday Night Football game against the Buffalo Bills on January 2, 2023 and the Cincinnati Bengals collapsed on the field. (He recovered and returned to NFL play in August.)
Second place in the People category goes to Jeremy Renner, who himself had a serious health incident the day before Hamlin when he was run over by a snowplow.
And in third place? Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end who met an unstoppable force of a different kind when he started dating the wildly popular Swift.
The full lists can be found below.
Surprisingly, Swift didn't even make it into the top 10 musicians – perhaps because no one in the world really relies on Google to tell them who she is. (Google doesn't speculate on users' motivations.) Jason Aldean, meanwhile, has long been a country music favorite, but broke through to a much larger audience when his controversial single “Try That in a Small Town” broke out last May It made headlines and was denounced by many as racist and reactionary. He ranked first in Google's Musician category. (Ice Spice, who appeared in a video with Swift last May, came in at No. 2.)
However, Swift had the most searched tour, with her Eras Tour surpassing other highly searched tours by Matt Rife, Beyoncé and Olivia Rodrigo, among others.
In the acting category, Renner was at the top, followed by Jamie Fox (who was hospitalized last April with a mysterious illness) and Danny Masterson, the former “That '70s Show” actor who was convicted in September of two rape allegations was sentenced to more than 30 years in prison.
In the Movies category, Barbie beat out Oppenheimer for first place and The Last of Us took first place in the TV Shows category.
In the Passings category, Matthew Perry recorded the highest increase in traffic following his tragic death at the age of 54 in October. Tina Turner was second on the list, with Jerry Springer coming in at number 3. Other deaths that led to searches included Jimmy Buffett, Sinéad O'Connor and Lisa Marie Presley.
Some other interesting tidbits: Succession was one of the top searches for finale recaps and information, and Google's Hum to Search feature was used most often for The White Stripes' 2003 song “Seven Nation Army,” perhaps partly because of the song's incredible riff was adopted by protesters in Israel and given the new lyrics “Demokratia o mered” (democracy or rebellion).
Here are the Google Year In Search lists with the top trending dates of 2024:
Damar Hamlin at Soldier Field in Chicago 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
Transitions
Matthew Perry
Tina Turner
Jerry Springer
Jimmy Buffett
Sinead O'Connor
Ken Block
Tire Santa
Lisa Marie Presley
Suzanne Somers
Bob Barker
Actor
Jeremy Renner
Jamie Foxx
Danny Masterson
Matt Rife
Pedro Pascal
Jonathan Majors
Sophie Turner
Russell Brand
Ke Huy Quan
Josh Hutcherson
Films
Barbie
Oppenheimer
Sound of freedom
Everything everywhere 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
Musician
Jason Aldean
Ice seasoning
Oliver Anthony
Peso Pluma
Joe Jonas
Sam Smith
Matt Healy
Kellie Pickler
Kim Petras
Sexy 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 is 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 and Georgia
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
Daisy Jones and 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 Nations 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
Believers – 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 seasoning
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
trip
Taylor Swift Eras Tour
Matt Rife
Beyonce Renaissance
Olivia Rodrigo
drake
Aerosmith
NSYNC reunion
Believe
Bryson Tiller
Lana Del Rey
Pour
Ginny and Georgia
Suits
Wednesday
Oppenheimer
The last of us
Barbie
1923
Glass onion
Ashoka
The night agent
final
Succession
Ted Lasso
The last of us
Loki
The voice
Golden Bachelor
Bachelorette
Mandalorian
Vanderpump Rules
Blacklist
horror films
Five nights at Freddy's
Cocaine bear
The menu
Scream VI
M3GAN
Evil Dead Rise
Knock on the hut
Insidious: The Red Door
Talk to me
The Nun II
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” Marvel / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Courtesy of the Everett Collection
Action films
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Creed III
John Wick: Chapter
Flower Moon Killer
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Blue beetle
Fast X
The wonders
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Romantic movies
You guys
Asteroid city
No hard feelings
Priscilla
Your place or mine
Drama/thriller films
Oppenheimer
Sound of freedom
The whale
Glass onion
The equalizer 3
Jesus Revolution
reptile
Air
heart of stone
Secret invasion
fantasy films
Everything everywhere at once
The little mermaid
Elementary
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Comedies
Barbie
The Super Mario Bros. movie
A man named Otto
80 for Brady
Shazam! Rage of the gods
Beau is scared
Haunted house
Banshees from Inisherin
Absolutely stunning
Renfield