Yahoo! Search Announces Top Buzz Searches of 2004: American Idol Is the Number One Search Term; Search Queen Britney Spears Is Dethroned by Both Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson

Business Wire, Dec 27, 2004

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Yahoo! Inc., leading global Internet company, today revealed the most popular search terms of 2004. Based on results culled from millions of Yahoo! Search users, the top searches of 2004 give unique insight into this year's consumer interests and trends.

The Yahoo! Search 2004 Top 10 Searches:

    1. American Idol
    2. Paris Hilton
    3. Jessica Simpson
    4. Britney Spears
    5. Harry Potter
    6. WWE
    7. Usher
    8. NASCAR
    9. NBA
    10. NFL

Last year video games and wizards ruled, this year it's all about crooner wannabes and fair-haired beauties. The number one spot in 2004 goes to American Idol, the reality show that boosted winner Fantasia Barrino to stardom. Not surprisingly, a bevy of blondes round out the top four, but the order of appearance is somewhat surprising: heiress bad girl Paris Hilton and Newlywed Jessica Simpson both rank higher than the three-year reigning Top Searches Queen, Britney Spears. Usher is the only non-fictional male to make the top 10 this year, proving that catchy lyrics, smooth dance moves and great abs make him "the man" in 2004.

Nancy Evars, a Yahoo! Search Buzz Index guru, says the shift in America's interest this year from geek to chic is an excellent read on what fascinated consumers' interests in 2004.

"The 2004 results illustrate that while people follow scandals and heartbreaks, they also have other interests. Controversy rocked several of this year's top search queries, but sports searches also made the list thanks to the increase in popularity of fantasy sports and the surging demand for pro-sports statistics," said Evars.

"Movers" Rocket to the Top

Movers are Search topics that see the greatest percentage in increase from one day to the next. Often coming out of nowhere, movers momentarily spark public interest and often disappear just as quickly as they arrived. When viewed month by month, they highlight some of the year's hottest news headlines and events.

Yahoo! Search 2004 Top Movers of Each Month:

 MONTH        MOVER                      WHY
 ------------ -------------------------- -----------------------------
 January      Oscar Nominations          When the list of eligible
                                         winners becomes available,
                                         movie buffs and the general
                                         public alike want to know if
                                         their favorite actors and
                                         pictures are up for one of
                                         the prestigious awards.
 ------------ -------------------------- -----------------------------
 February     Janet Jackson Pictures     Super Bowl "wardrobe
                                         malfunction" rips people's
                                         attention away from the New
                                         England Patriots' second
                                         championship win in three
                                         years.
 ------------ -------------------------- -----------------------------
 March        ACC Tournament             With an overtime victory, the
                                         Maryland Terps beat Duke to
                                         capture their first ACC
                                         Championship in 20 years.
 ------------ -------------------------- -----------------------------
 April        Chiaki Kuriyama            Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill
                                         is released on DVD and
                                         searches for the actress who
                                         played the baddie-wielding
                                         villain swing upward.
 ------------ -------------------------- -----------------------------
 May          Muntada Al-Ansar           Terrorists in Iraq record the
                                         beheading of American hostage
                                         Nick Berg and post video
                                         footage of the act on this
                                         radical website.
 ------------ -------------------------- -----------------------------
 June         MTV Movie Awards           Teen hottie Lindsay Lohan
                                         hosts, Eminem's crowd-mooning
                                         antics are edited out, and
                                         Lord of the Rings: The
                                         Return of the King takes
                                         home Best Movie of the Year.
 ------------ -------------------------- -----------------------------
 July         Whoopi Goldberg            Slim Fast cuts the fat and
                                         fires the comedian for
                                         making lewd puns at a fund-
                                         raiser for the John Kerry-
                                         John Edwards presidential
                                         ticket.
 ------------ -------------------------- -----------------------------
 August       The Brown Bunny            After being panned in Cannes
                                         by audiences and critics,
                                         Vincent Galllo's racy film
                                         heats things up across the
                                         Atlantic with its limited
                                         release in American theaters.
 ------------ -------------------------- -----------------------------
 September    Britney Spears Wedding     Oops she did it again -- the
                                         pop star weds for the second
                                         time in 2004, this time to
                                         Kevin Federline.
 ------------ -------------------------- -----------------------------
 October      Christopher Reeve          People mourn the loss of the
                                         onscreen Superman and real
                                         world crusader for stem-cell
                                         research.
 ------------ -------------------------- -----------------------------
 November     Star Wars 3 Trailer        The galaxy may be far, far
                                         away, but a sneak peak at the
                                         much anticipated flick lets
                                         fans know that the next Star
                                         Wars installment is within
                                         reach.
 ------------ -------------------------- -----------------------------
 December     Julie Berry                Survivor host Jeff Probst
                                         wins the heart of the
                                         voted-off contestant and
                                         announces to the world that
                                         they are an item.
 ------------ -------------------------- -----------------------------