Ebola, Frozen and Ariana Grande Top Yahoo’s Most-Searched

Tumblr Releases Most Viral Blogs, Most Reblogged Viral Music Acts

Yahoo Top Searches of 2014 (Graphic: Business Wire)

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--()--Yahoo (YHOO) today announced the 2014 Year In Review, a look at the daily search habits of millions of Yahoo users. And for the second time, Yahoo Year In Review also gives a look into the top trends from Tumblr. This year’s top searches on Yahoo include a national obsession, an international crisis and some favorite female stars.

Since 2001, Yahoo’s top searches have reflected the year’s major stories: including the 2001 World Trade Center bombing, the 2008 election of Barack Obama, or the devastating 2010 Japan earthquake. This year, the Ebola scare swept the top 10 searches, unseating last year’s top two: Miley Cyrus (No. 8) and Kim Kardashian (No. 6). A regular since 2009, Kardashian’s wedding, baby, and a plan to “break the Internet”, kept her on the list, but she falls below the fast-rising young singer, Ariana Grande (No. 3) and new American sweetheart, Jennifer Lawrence (No. 4). Everyone is singing (“Let it go, let it go”); “Frozen” (No. 7) is a genuine obsession, making our top 10 list and topping our most-searched lyrics list. Minecraft (No. 2), continues to be the ultimate video game of choice, making the list for the second year in a row.

Top Searches on Yahoo in 2014

1. Ebola
2. Minecraft
3. Ariana Grande
4. Jennifer Lawrence
5. Kaley Cuoco
6. Kim Kardashian
7. “Frozen”
8. Miley Cyrus
9. iPhone 6
10. Jennifer Aniston

The ALS Ice Bucket challenge makes the top of the obsessions list as the viral campaign challenged the country to raise national attention and millions of dollars in donations for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Not surprisingly, “Frozen” (No.3), “Fifty Shades of Grey” (No. 4), and Katniss Everdeen (No. 8) crazes continue this year, but newcomer “American Ninja Warrior” (No. 5) joined in to feed America’s hunger for competition and entertainment. Meanwhile, Meghan Trainor’s popular and catchy single “All About That Bass” inspired a barrage of parodies (No. 7). With two weddings this year and a rash of interviews touting their conservative values, the ever-growing Duggar family came in at No. 6.

Top Obsessions on Yahoo in 2014 (top-searched + top gainers)

1. ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
2. Flappy Bird
3. Frozen
4. “50 Shades of Grey”
5. “American Ninja Warrior”
6. The Duggars
7. “All About That Bass”
8. Katniss Everdeen
9. Cleanses
10. Polar Vortex

For the second year in a row, Tumblr presents its own Year In Review with more than 100 categories of top blogs and posts from 2014. The compendium of content comes as a result of analyzing millions of blogs, billions of posts and notes according to a number of factors — total volume of posts and tags (original and reblogged), web traffic, follower growth over time, and more. For more on Tumblr’s Year In Review, visit: yearinreview.tumblr.com.

Top 10 Most Viral Blogs on Tumblr in 2014:

One of the most shocking reveals from the Tumblr community comes from its fervent music fans. The Australian pop rock band, 5 Seconds of Summer usurped 2013’s favorite, One Direction for most blogged about musical act on Tumblr.

Top 10 Most Reblogged Musical Acts on Tumblr in 2014

1. 5 Seconds of Summer
2. One Direction
3. Beyonce
4. Fall Out Boy
5. Lana del Rey
6. All Time Low
7. Justin Bieber
8. Taylor Swift
9. Kanye West
10. My Chemical Romance

Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric counts down the top ten news stories of 2014: http://yhoo.it/1yLN1ng

Top-Searched News Stories on Yahoo in 2014

1. Ebola epidemic
2. Death of Robin Williams
3. Elections 2014
4. Leaked photos 2014
5. Malaysia Airlines tragedies
6. Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Mo.
7. Jodi Arias sentencing
8. ISIS
9. Ray Rice domestic violence
10. Obamacare

This year, political snafus and movie star meltdowns took a backseat to sports scandals. Host city Sochi, Russia struggled with infrastructure demands for the Winter Olympics (No. 4), and former Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorious’ case and trial mesmerized the world. Domestic violence and child abuse charges brought against Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson began a swirling controversy in the NFL (No. 5), while Donald Sterling’s racist recordings brought the NBA under fire.

Top-Searched Sports Moments on Yahoo in 2014

1. World Cup: Home team favorite Brazil falls to Germany in the semi-finals
2. World Series: Giants win their third title in five years with Madison Bumgarner
3. Super Bowl: Seahawks strong defense triumphs over Peyton Manning and the Broncos in stunning fashion
4. Sochi Winter Olympics
5. NFL rocked by domestic violence issues: Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson
6. Oscar Pistorius trial
7. Tony Stewart car accident fatality
8. LeBron James returns to Cleveland
9. Donald Sterling: Racism scandal forces Sterling to sell his NBA team
10. Derek Jeter retires from baseball as a New York Yankee

Some edition of the iPhone has appeared among the most-searched terms in the last four out of five years on Yahoo. Instead of being old hat, the iPhone 6 (No. 1) — in its slim and plus form — still got the fanboys frenzied this year. Samsung gets double interest this year with the Galaxy s5 (No. 3) and Galaxy Note 4 (No. 4). Newcomer GoPro (No. 5) generated plenty of interest with its IPO.

Top-Searched Consumer Technology on Yahoo in 2014

1. Apple iPhone 6
2. Samsung Galaxy s5
3. Samsung Galaxy Note 4
4. GoPro
5. Apple iPad Mini
6. Microsoft XBOX One
7. Amazon Kindle
8. Sony Playstation 4
9. Apple iPad Air
10. Microsoft Surface Pro 3

#NoFilter, #IWokeUpThisWay: In 2014, more celebrities went bare, posting selfies and doing photoshoots without makeup. Fans were curious to learn what their favorite stars looked like without all the powder.

Top Stars You Want to See Without Makeup on Yahoo in 2014

1. Sofia Vergara
2. Mila Kunis
3. Jennifer Lawrence
4. Joan Rivers
5. Faith Hill
6. Marilyn Manson
7. Iggy Azalea
8. Kim Kardashian
9. Ariana Grande

America’s love of “Frozen” continues as Idina Menzel’s “Let It Go” tops this year’s lyrics list. Ariana Grande comes in at No. 3 for the top searched list and for her hit song, “Problem.” Top-searched female celebrity Iggy Azalea (No. 10) proves her lyrics are extra catchy with two spots on the list for “Fancy” (No. 8) and “Black Widow” (No. 9). The top three most-searched concert tours on Yahoo this year were Katy Perry, Beyonce and Jay Z, and One Direction.

Top-Searched Lyrics on Yahoo in 2014

1. "Let It Go" from "Frozen"
2. "All of Me" by John Legend
3. "Problem" by Ariana Grande
4. "Say Something" by A Great Big World
5. "Stay With Me" by Sam Smith
6. "Counting Stars" by OneRepublic
7. "Drunk in Love" by Beyonce
8. "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea
9. "Black Widow" by Iggy Azalea
10. "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen

With cleanses making No. 9 on this year’s obsessions list, its no surprise the Internet is turning eagerly to top health gurus for which nutrition/fitness plan to choose.

Top-Searched Health Gurus on Yahoo in 2014

1. Jillian Michaels
2. Dr. Oz
3. Sanjay Gupta
4. Deepak Chopra
5. Jamie Oliver
6. Andrew Weil
7. Bethenny Frankel
8. Mark Bittman
9. Tim Ferriss
10. Michael Pollan

For more of Yahoo’s 2014 Year In Review, visit yearinreview.yahoo.com.

Additional Yahoo Top-Searched Lists Available to Media:

Female Celebrities
Male Celebrities
Athletes
Political Figures
Sports Teams
Superheroes
Concert Tours
Celebrity Hairstyles
Celebrity Weddings
“How Old Is” Celebrity Searches
“Who is [Celeb]” Dating Searches
TV Shows
Diets on Yahoo
Cleanses
Recipes
Salad Recipes
Dessert Recipes
DIY “Recipes”
U.S. Travel Destinations
Handbags
Denim Brands
Drugstore Beauty Brands
Luxury Beauty Brands
Fortune 500 Stocks
Finance Questions
Car Makes and Models

To see additional lists, please contact Lauren Whitehouse at lcw@yahoo-inc.com

About the Yahoo Year In Review Methodology

To develop the Yahoo Year In Review, our editors analyze Yahoo Search queries based on a number of factors, including volume and growth from previous periods, to see which themes and trends bubble to the surface. Individuals and their search queries always remain anonymous.

About Yahoo

Yahoo is focused on making the world's daily habits inspiring and entertaining. By creating highly personalized experiences for our users, we keep people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the world. In turn, we create value for advertisers by connecting them with the audiences that build their businesses. Yahoo is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has offices located throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC) and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net) or the Company's blog (yahoo.tumblr.com).

Contacts

Yahoo
Lauren Whitehouse, 408-349-7481
lcw@yahoo-inc.com
or
Tumblr
Leah Linder, 727-643-1134
LeahLinder@tumblr.com

Release Summary

Yahoo (YHOO) today announced the 2014 Year In Review, a look at the daily search habits of millions of Yahoo users.

Contacts

Yahoo
Lauren Whitehouse, 408-349-7481
lcw@yahoo-inc.com
or
Tumblr
Leah Linder, 727-643-1134
LeahLinder@tumblr.com