NHL Is Canada's Most Searched Online Term in 2009; Michael Jackson Is Most
Searched Person

Canada's Biggest Clicks: Yahoo! Canada 2009 Buzz Index Ranks Canada's Favourite Online Topics - From Rising Stars and Celebrity Farewells to the Economy, H1N1, Balloon Boy and Twilight

This Year's List Also Includes the Most Notable Searches of the Decade

TORONTO , Dec. 1 /CNW/ - Even the King of Pop is no match for Canada's hockey obsession as NHL takes the top spot on the Yahoo! Canada 2009 Buzz Index as the most searched term in 2009. Michael Jackson's death rocketed him back into the global spotlight and the number five spot overall.

RuneScape, a free MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) and last year's number one, took the number two spot ahead of UFC and WWE.

Now in its fifth year, Yahoo! Canada's annual compilation of results explores the search habits of millions of Yahoo! Canada users, and provides unique insights into consumers' interests and emerging trends. In a year that saw persistent fears about the economy, and the rollout of H1N1 vaccination clinics across the country, Canadians still managed to have a little fun as sports and entertainment topics dominated the top 10 most searched terms of 2009.

"Although sports and pop culture-related search terms always do well on the list, you could argue that interest in these topics is even higher during tougher economic times," says Derek Chezzi, Managing Editor, Yahoo! Canada . "Michael Jackson's memorial, although sad, also reminded us of a lot of positive and hopeful times, and united us in a shared experience, while the current frenzy around the Twilight series (this year's most searched movie) is a great example of how we love to escape into other worlds where almost anything seems possible."

Bye Bye Britney - After years of placing in the top 10, Britney Spears seems to have sorted out her life, but doesn't make this year's list. Instead, two female stars who couldn't be more opposite, Megan Fox and Susan Boyle , replace Britney and Miley Cyrus on this year's top 10. The raw singing talent and rumours swirling around about American Idol's runner-up, Adam Lambert , no doubt kept the show in the search spotlight as it grabbed seventh spot this year, up from tenth in 2008.

Sports Rule - We'll take our sports any way - on ice, in a ring, on the court or on the track. No longer on the fringes, UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) moves from ninth spot in 2008 to third on the list of most searched terms in 2009. Keeping it in the ring, WWE takes fourth spot, a move up from sixth last year. NASCAR repeats its 2008 performance by again taking eighth spot, while the NBA bounces onto the list in ninth spot overall.

    
    Top 10 Canadian Searches in 2009:

    1.  NHL                           6.  Megan Fox
    2.  RuneScape                     7.  American Idol
    3.  UFC                           8.  NASCAR
    4.  WWE                           9.  NBA
    5.  Michael Jackson              10.  Susan Boyle
    

And then there's RuneScape - Topping the list in 2008, but falling to the number two spot this year, RuneScape has more than 10 million registered users, and is recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's most popular free MMORPG. Players create avatar adventurers who embark on quests in fantasy worlds ranging from dangerous castle dungeons to rugged mountains filled with monsters.

Michael Jackson Tops U.S. Searches - Millions watched his memorial online, and millions more have already watched his movie This is It. There's no doubt Michael Jackson will continue to inspire people around the globe. As one of their own, Americans catapulted the King of Pop into the top spot this year, while Britney fell from the number one spot in 2008 to fifth this year, and Kim Kardashian and Megan Fox bump Lindsay Lohan , Miley Cyrus and Angelina Jolie off this year's U.S. top 10. Teenage vampire movie phenomenon Twilight takes second place this year.

    
    Top 10 U.S. Searches in 2009:

    1.  Michael Jackson               6.  Naruto
    2.  Twilight                      7.  Kim Kardashian
    3.  WWE                           8.  American Idol
    4.  Megan Fox                     9.  NASCAR
    5.  Britney Spears               10.  Runescape
    

OTHER CANADIAN TOP FIVES and TENS:

In addition to the overall top 10 search results, the Yahoo! Canada 2009 Buzz Index also compiled the following top fives and tens for 2009.

Top 10 Movies:

It was a good year for vampires, witchcraft, robots, trekkies and superheroes. Whether they're referred to as Fanpires, Twihards, Twilighters, or anything else, the fans of Twilight and sequel New Moon are setting records at the box office and taking super fandom to a whole new level, earning the number one and two spots on this year's top 10 most searched movies list.

If the box office success and top 10 placement of Transformers and G.I. Joe are any indication, then the movie to watch in 2010 will surely be the remake of another 80's classic, The A-Team, with The Hangover's Bradley Cooper as Face, and Liam Neeson as Hannibal. Can we also expect a cameo by Mr. T as B.A. Baracus' father?

    
    1.  Twilight                      6.  Star Trek
    2.  New Moon                      7.  Slumdog Millionaire
    3.  Transformers 2                8.  X-Men Origins: Wolverine
    4.  Harry Potter 6                9.  Watchmen
    5.  2012                         10.  G.I. Joe
    

Top 10 TV Shows:

Oprah's flagship show is scheduled to end in 2011, while the world has already said goodbye to Jon and Kate Plus 8 (now Kate Plus Eight), as the couple officially ends their marriage. More than half of this year's top 10 most searched TV Shows are from the reality TV genre that's still going strong, with American Idol taking the top spot again this year. The Young and the Restless comes in second (it came third last year), bumping Hannah Montana into third place (it came second last year).

    
    1.  American Idol                 6.  Jon and Kate Plus 8
    2.  The Young and the Restless    7.  Dora the Explorer
    3.  Hannah Montana                8.  The Bachelorette
    4.  Dancing with the Stars        9.  Grey's Anatomy
    5.  Oprah                        10.  Big Brother
    

Top 10 Celebrity Searches:

With Michael Jackson topping the list, success and scandal meant a wide variety of celebrity names rounded out this year's top 10 most searched list. 19-year-old Taylor Swift takes the music industry by storm and recovers from Kanye West's crashing of her acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards to take ninth spot on this year's list, while Lady Gaga's eye-popping outfits and number one hits Just Dance and Poker Face propel her into the number five spot.

While the Rihanna-Chris Brown abuse scandal made headlines around the world, the relatively scandal-free Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears fall to fourth and seventh places this year after placing first and second respectively on 2008's top 10 Entertainment list.

    
    1.  Michael Jackson               6.  Rihanna
    2.  Megan Fox                     7.  Miley Cyrus
    3.  Susan Boyle                   8.  Robert Pattinson
    4.  Britney Spears                9.  Taylor Swift
    5.  Lady Gaga                    10.  Jessica Simpson
    

Top Ten News and Finance Searches:

With talk of an H1N1 pandemic, long lines for immunization shots, and a hunger for more information, Canadians went online, pushing H1N1 to the number one position on this year's list of top news searches. International politics and conflict also drove the news searches of 2009. Finance-related searches for 2009 reveal interest in the strong Loonie with terms like currency converter, exchange rates and the Canadian dollar making the top searches.

    
    News                              Finance

    1.  H1N1                          1.  MLS
    2.  Iran Election                 2.  Currency converter
    3.  Victoria Stafford murder      3.  TSX
    4.  Barack Obama                  4.  Exchange rates
    5.  Sri Lanka Conflict            5.  Mortgage calculator
    6.  Sarah Palin                   6.  Bank of Canada
    7.  Michelle Obama                7.  GM Canada
    8.  Hurricane Bill                8.  Canadian dollar
    9.  Afghanistan War               9.  Chrysler Canada
    10. North Korea                  10.  Gold price
    

Top 10 Athletes:

Hockey tightens its grip on top searches as Sidney Crosby leads this year's line-up of top athletes, a promotion for him from third spot last year. Tiger Woods also moves up, from seventh spot last year to take second place this year. Soccer takes a dip in popularity as both Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham still make the list but come in seventh and ninth respectively.

    
    1.  Sidney Crosby                 6.  Maria Sharapova
    2.  Tiger Woods                   7.  Cristiano Ronaldo
    3.  Manny Pacquiao                8.  Maria Verchenova
    4.  Gina Carano                   9.  David Beckham
    5.  Rafael Nadal                 10.  Roger Federer
    

Top Five Farewells:

Hollywood said goodbye to some singing and acting legends in 2009. The world was shocked by the departure of Michael Jackson and Natasha Richardson , and saddened by the illness and deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Patrick Swayze .

    
    1.  Michael Jackson
    2.  Farrah Fawcett
    3.  Natasha Richardson
    4.  Patrick Swayze
    5.  Andy Hallett

    Top 10 Odds and Ends:

    1.  Giant Stingray (huge freshwater stingray found in Thailand)
    2.  Derecho Weather (bizarre series of straight-line storms hit the
        Southern U.S.)
    3.  LFL (Lingerie Football League kicks off)
    4.  Montauk Monster (finder of 2008 beast claims to have found another)
    5.  Kanye West (spoils Taylor Swift's MVAs with mic-hogging rant)
    6.  Stiff Person Syndrome (condition causes spasms when exposed to
        surprises)
    7.  Shiloh Pepin (girl with rare "mermaid" condition dies)
    8.  Joaquin Pheonix (bizarre behavior on David Letterman, rapping, giant
        beard)
    9.  Nadya Suleman ("Octomom" gives birth to eight babies)
    10. Balloon Boy (parents claim six-year-old Falcon Heene floated away in
        home-made balloon. Turns out to be a hoax).

    Top 10 Yahoo! Mobile Searches:

    1.  NHL
    2.  Michael Jackson
    3.  Megan Fox
    4.  Swine Flu
    5.  NFL
    6.  UFC
    7.  American Idol
    8.  Jessica Biel
    9.  Rihanna
    10. Madonna

    Notable Searches of the Decade:

    2000:  Pierre Trudeau (Associated Searches: Funeral, Margaret, Justin,
           Alexandre)
    2001:  September 11th (Associated Searches: Pentagon, Flight Numbers, Bin
           Laden)
    2002:  American Idol - Season One (Associated Search: Kelly Clarkson)
    2003:  Canadian Idol - Season One (Associated Searches: Ryan Malcolm,
           Gary Beals, Audrey de Montigny)
    2004:  NHL Lockout (Associated Searches: NHL, NHLPA, Gary Bettman)
    2005 : Hurricanes (Associated Searches: Katrina, Rita, and Wilma)
    2006 : FIFA World Cup (Associated Searches: Zidane's headbutt, Cristiano
           Ronaldo)
    2007 : Britney Spears (Associated Searches: MTV Awards, DUI arrest, Gimme
           More)
    2008 : Miley Cyrus (Associated Searches: Hannah Montana, Annie Leibovitz
           photos)
    

For More Buzz!

To see all of this year's top search lists, please visit: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/indepth/

About Yahoo! Canada

Yahoo! Canada Co. is a leading Internet destination that provides online products and services to meet the needs of Canadians and offers a range of tools and marketing solutions for businesses to connect with Internet users. Yahoo! Canada services Canadians in both English and in French through its sites, www.yahoo.ca and http://qc.yahoo.ca. In Canada , Yahoo! sites were visited by more than 17 million Canadians in October, 2009 (comScore Media Metrix). Yahoo! Canada is headquartered in Toronto , Ontario.

For further information: For interviews and more information: Jessica Davidson, Gema Rayo, Environics Communications, Inc., [phone], [phone], [email protected], [email protected]