Kim Kardashian topped the 2012 list of the most-searched person on Bing while Canadian teen pop star Justin Bieber coming in second.
Kim Kardashian, 32, grabbed the No. 1 spot back from Justin Bieber after she topped Bing’s annual list in 2010 and Bieber came in first last year.
The reality star first found fame in 2007 due to an Internet sex tape and this year she has led a top-ten most searched for, that Justin Bieber aside, is entirely made up of women.
Justin Bieber, 18, came in second after a successful year capped off by sweeping the American Music Awards with his third studio album, Believe, which was released in June.
Others who made it in top 10 for the first time included singers Rihanna, Selena Gomez, Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift, while Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Megan Fox and Lady Gaga dropped out of the top 10.
Pop culture figures easily trumped politics, even in an election year, with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney coming in 43rd and President Barack Obama landing at 46th on the list.
Among the most popular news stories, the release of Apple’s iPhone 5 came in at No. 1, followed by the U.S. election, the Olympics and Superstorm Sandy.
The Here Comes Honey Boo Boo reality TV show landed at No. 5, followed by the Gangnam Style Dance popularized by South Korean rap star Psy’s music video.
The birth of singer Beyonce and Jay Z’s baby topped the most searched celebrity events, followed by Jessica Simpson’s baby and then Whitney Houston’s death.
Looking at the top ten most searched people it seems that girls rule the search engine roost, or at least the top ten, as Justin Bieber is the only male in the run down, with his on-off girlfriend Selena Gomez taking fourth spot.
In the world of reality television, Honey Boo Boo and her special juice caused seven-year-old Alana Thompson to capture the hearts of the globe and race to the sixth most-searched person in that genre and the seventh most-searched television show overall.
And in the world of sports, Peyton Manning and his comeback season at the Denver Bronco’s made him the number one most-searched for athlete of 2012 with perennial favorite Tiger Woods coming in at number two.
The release of the iPhone 5 and the fevered speculation surrounding it ensured that Apple’s flagship device hit the top spot for the most-searched for new story of 2012, beating out the American presidential election and the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
Indeed technology saw a high water mark this year with the launch of the Kindle Fire HD and the mammoth but ultimately disastrous Facebook IPO coming in at numbers nine and ten respectively on the news story list.
And in this an election year, the likes of Big Bird, binders full of women and Mitt Romney’s first debate showing all caused the choice between President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger to rank the second most-searched news story of 2012.
This year also saw the 2012 summer Olympics in London and the likes of swimming sensation Ryan Lochte, gymnast McKayla Maroney and gold medal veterans Michael Phelps all push the quadrennial sporting event to the third most searched event of 2012.
Other notable number ones saw American Idol retain its title as the most searched reality TV show search while Dancing with the Stars pushed its way into the number two spot.
Facebook was the top searched social media on Bing while Twitter and its 140 character’s snapped right on its heels in second place.
Robert Downey Jr. and his super hero buddies in The Avengers made sure that the summer’s big blockbuster was the most searched movie of 2012 while Psy and his ubiquitous and record breaking Gangnam Style K-Pop song accounted for the most-searched song of the year.
Bing Top Ten People Searches for 2012
- 1 Kim Kardashian
- 2 Justin Bieber
- 3 Miley Cyrus
- 4 Rihanna
- 5 Lindsay Lohan
- 6 Katy Perry
- 7 Selena Gomez
- 8 Jennifer Aniston
- 9 Nicki Minaj
- 10 Taylor Swift
Bing Top Ten People Searches for 2011
- 1 Justin Bieber
- 2 Kim Kardashian
- 3 Jennifer Aniston
- 4 Lindsay Lohan
- 5 Jennifer Lopez
- 6 Britney Spears
- 7 Katy Perry
- 8 Megan Fox
- 9 Lady Gaga
- 10 Miley Cyrus
Bing Top Ten News Searches of 2012
- 1 iPhone 5
- 2 2012 Elections
- 3 2012 Olympics
- 4 Hurricane Sandy
- 5 Honey Boo Boo Reality Show
- 6 Gangnam Style Dance
- 7 KONY 2012
- 8 Academy Awards
- 9 Kindle Fire HD
- 10 Facebook IPO
Bing Top Ten Movie Searches for 2012
- 1 The Avengers
- 2 Dark Knight Rises
- 3 Titanic
- 4 Magic Mike
- 5 Prometheus
- 6 Breaking Dawn Part 2
- 7 Flight
- 8 Bachelorette
- 9 Snow White and the Huntsman
- 10 Dark Shadows
