MANILA – Vhong Navarro was the most trending search term in the Philippines overall, with Flappy Bird, Robin Williams, Rude (Magic!), and Frozen rounding out the top five.
In its annual ‘Year in Search event’ held December 16, Google revealed its annual lists of trending searches in the country.
Controversial celebrity Navarro led the list, after a beating incident and several rape allegations that made the news at the start of the year. Navarro’s legal battle with businessman Cedric Lee and his accomplice Deniece Cornejo were widely followed such that both names also made it to the top of the newsmakers list.
Viral game app Flappy Bird took the second spot of the most trending list, from its sudden rise in popularity, to its maker’s quick withdrawal of the game from the app stores soon after, leading to vocal outrage from fans.
The sudden death in August of Academy Award-winning comedian Robin Williams drove netizens to search for news of what happened, as well as revisit the iconic actor’s work, raising his search ranking to third in the overall list. Seven more names in the newsmaker and celebrity lists were widely searched after news of their deaths sent shockwaves online.
Filipinos hooked on the reggae fusion song ‘Rude’ by Magic!, making it this year’s search anthem. The band visited the country for their first concert tour in October and made a guest appearance in a noontime variety show. The only movie in the overall top ten is Frozen, with its theme song ‘Let It Go’ also appearing high on the list of music searches and its singer, Idina Menzel at the ninth spot for female celebrities.
Malaysia Airlines lands ninth in the overall list as it made headlines with the disappearance of flight MH370, as well as the reported shooting down of flight MH17, which killed three Filipinos on board. Both flights are in the news list, which is saturated with international issues that Pinoys and the world have been updating themselves on through online news.
Wrapping up the top ten overall trending searches is Taiwanese TV series Meteor Garden. Eleven years following its initial fame in the Philippines, the show’s re-airing in MArch reawakened and widened its fanbase.
In local destinations, Philippine Arena bags the title for top trending search locally after opening in July as the “world’s largest indoor stadium.” Completing the list are parks and malls located within Metro Manila and surrounding provinces.
Filipinos also displayed a deep regard for sports with 70 percent of the top ten events searches mainly revolving around boxing, basketball, football, and tennis. Unsurprisingly, Filipinos love for Manny Pacquiao has not waned, with the top boxer’s two fights making it on the list. Basketball heroes Gilas Pilipinas also made the list, which also showed how Filipinos harbor an enthusiasm for the FIFA World Cup, which placed second on the list.
“Through Year in Search, we take a step back and remember the most important moments that have caught our curiousity and attention as a nation in 2014. We’ve seen an immense interest for global happenings, and at the same time, we’ve not fallen short of national concern in our country’s own affairs,” said Gail Tan, Google Philippines Head of Communications and Public Affairs.
Overall Top Trending Searches for the Philippines
1. Vhong Navarro
2. Flappy Bird
3. Robin Williams
4. Rude (Magic!)
5. Frozen
6. Cedric Lee
7. Paolo Bediones
8. Jennifer Lawrence
9. Malaysia Airlines
10. Meteor Garden
Look back at the year in search at google.com/2014.
