Google’s flagship feature, its search engine, is an immensely useful tool and is used by pretty much every person in the world who is on the internet. That means there’s plenty of data for Google to explore, and now they’ve shared some of it via their year-end list of the most trending searches of 2018. While the lists include topics from many fields of endeavor, music-related searches were especially popular this year. For instance, Demi Lovato was the second most trending person in the world behind Meghan Markle. On the list of most trending people in just the United States, Lovato is first. Most notably this year, Lovato experienced a drug overdose in July.
As far as overall searches, the World Cup takes home that crown, but some deceased musicians are also on the list: Avicii is second, Mac Miller is third, and XXXTentacion is eighth. In just the US, Miller is third.
More specifically, on the list of most trending “Musicians and Bands,” Lovato is No. 1 on both the US and global chart. Other highlights from the global chart include Cardi B at No. 2, Travis Scott at 4, Tekashi 69 at 6, and Childish Gambino at 8. On the US chart, meanwhile, Eminem is second, Ariana Grande is third, Cardi B is fifth, Scott is sixth, Gambino is seventh, and Meek Mill is ninth.
It’s worth pointing out how these lists were compiled and where this data comes from: Google notes, “Lists are based on search terms that had the highest spike this year as compared to the previous year.” That means that Google’s lists don’t necessarily reflect who and what had the highest total number of searches. However, according to data provided to Uproxx by SEMrush (a competitive research service for online marketing), the list of top searched US artists in 2018 is as follows:
- Cardi B
- Mac Miller
- XXXTentacion
- Post Malone
- Selena Gomez
- Ariana Grande
- Nicki Minaj
- Drake
- Taylor Swift
- Eminem
- BTS
- Travis Scott
- Lady Gaga
- Tekashi 69
- Carrie Underwood
- Camila Cabello
- Michael Jackson
- Halsey
- Ed Sheeran
- Shawn Mendes
Find the full list of top Google searches for the world, the US, and many other countries here.