Yahoo has released its Year in Review 2020, which takes a look at the top happenings, people, products and trends in 2020 extracted from anonymised interest patterns:
The overall top 10: COVID-19 rules.
Unsurprisingly, 'Singapore COVID-19' was the most searched news term in 2020 as users remain fixated on the pandemic; related searches such as 'Singapore Budget 2020' (3rd) and 'Malaysia Lockdown' (7th) also appeared on the list.
‘Singapore Covid 19’, ‘Coronavirus updates/news’ and ‘Coronavirus worldometer’ were the top three pandemic search terms. ‘Circuit breaker’ (lockdown), ‘coronavirus symptoms’, ‘TraceTogether (a Singapore government-issued app to track people exposed to infected individuals)’, and ‘coronavirus vaccine’ also emerged among the top search terms, coming in at fourth to eighth place respectively.
World politics and politicians featured prominently in the overall top 10, with Donald Trump (2nd) and rival Joe Biden (10th) appearing on the list. Closer to home, Mahathir Mohamad (5th) dominated the political drama in neighbouring Malaysia, as did Kim Jong-Un (8th), the leader of North Korea.
The tragic deaths of Kobe Bryant (4th) and George Floyd (9th), and the ongoing protests in Hong Kong (6th) underscored 2020 as a tumultuous year.
Most-searched politicians
In 2020, Singapore held an election dominated by online campaigning as opposed to physical rallies due to safe-distancing restrictions. Political parties mostly engaged voters online. The leading party candidates from various political parties made it to the top searches.
Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong was the most-searched politician this year as he sought to calm the nation in his addresses about the pandemic, testified in court over the libel suits that he filed, and remained in the news managing the dispute with his siblings over the 38 Oxley Road saga.
First-time Workers’ Party (WP) election candidate Associate Professor Dr Jamus Lim (2nd) drew considerable attention for his eloquent speeches. Ivan Lim (3rd), the People’s Action Party’s (PAP's) prospective candidate, made the news over allegations about his character. The other candidates who made the list were the founder of Peoples Voice Lim Tean (8th), and Dr Chee Soon Juan (10th), the leader of the Singapore Democratic Party.
Most-searched local celebrities
Local celebrities such as JJ Lin, Lawrence Wong, Desmond Tan, Benjamin Kheng, Fann Wong, Jamie Yeo, Zoe Tay, and Joanne Peh continued to be popular for the second year running.
JJ Lin, arguably Singapore’s most famous export in the Mandopop world, topped the list of most-searched local male celebrities. Actor Lawrence Wong (2nd), who has been making waves since his role in Chinese serial Yanxi Palace, tantalised fans with his comment about his yearning for a girlfriend in his announcement on his partnership with Guerlain. Mark Lee (7th) secured his spot on the list with his nomination for Best Actor at the prestigious Golden Horse Awards for his role in the local film, Number 1.
When it came to most-searched local female celebrities, Fann Wong came in tops as she endeared herself with her fans, sharing personal letters and recipes from her baking adventures. TV and radio presenter Jamie Yeo (2nd) rose in the list after she launched her jewellery label and entertained users with posts of her family. Jamie Chua (3rd) continued to awe readers as the socialite shared her luxe life and collection of branded goods. However, Chua drew brickbats on her comments about migrant workers.
Most-searched international celebrities
Asian celebrities were amongst the most-searched male and female international celebrities this year. Stars of popular K-drama Crash Landing on You Hyun Bin and Son Ye-Jin came in first amongst the males and fourth amongst the females respectively. Other Asian celebrities included Lee Min-ho (3rd) and Aaron Kwok (4th) for male international celebrities, and Kim Chiu (6th) in the female category. Grief over young icons gone too soon, such as the deaths of Taiwanese celebrity Alien Huang (2nd) and Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput (7th) also triggered significant online interest.
The British royal family kept users in Singapore intrigued. Meghan Markle was the most-searched female international celebrity while her husband Prince Harry came in fifth amongst the male international celebrities. Their sister-in-law the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, came in second through wooing users with her daily life.
Most-searched movies and TV shows
South Korean movies and series accounted for nine out of 10 of the most-searched movies and TV shows in Singapore, with the Hollywood remake of Mulan (5th) making an appearance. Popular South Korean series Crash Landing on You and The World of the Married clinched the top two spots, with Oscar-winning film Parasite rounding up the top three. South Korean variety show Running Man (4th) continues to be among the top searches, beating newer television series such as The King: Eternal Monarch, Itaewon Class, Kingdom, Ever Night, and Dr. Romantic 2, with the latter four ranking from sixth to 10th place respectively.
Top 10 beauty brands
Despite spending more time at home this year, people in Singapore remained eager to invest in their appearance. Sephora topped the list for most searched beauty brands in 2020. Reflecting an emerging trend amongst Singapore online shoppers for clean beauty and ethically-sourced products, The Body Shop made the list at No. 2, while brow-and-lash grooming salon Browhaus ranked eighth as people adopted mask-friendly beauty trends that accentuate the eyes. Fascination with all things Korean transcended off-screen as Singapore netizens went in search of K-beauty brands Innisfree (3rd), Sulwhasoo (7th), and Etude House (9th).
Top 10 food and drink-related searches
Eating is Singapore's national pastime. As Singaporeans could not travel, local delicacies took over top searches, taking seven spots out of the Top 10 list. 'Nasi lemak' emerged as the most-searched, followed by 'dim sum'. There seems to be no end to the bubble tea craze, coming in third, as evident during the mad rush for bubble tea before and after the circuit breaker. Dalgona coffee has been trending across the world and was ranked fourth in Singapore. Notably, aglio olio (10th) was the only non-local food item that made the list this year.
Most-searched events
As events were cancelled and postponed due to the pandemic, sporting events that continued to be staged were top-of-mind for users in Singapore. Football, basketball, and tennis dominating the most-searched events list. Popular searches include the English Premier League (1st), NBA (3rd), UEFA Champions League (5th), FA Cup (8th), and the Australian Open (6th), French Open (9th) and US Open (10th).
Election fever gripped readers with the United States Presidential Elections (2nd) and the 2020 Singapore General Elections (4th) making it to the Top 10 list. Despite a much scaled down National Day Parade (7th), the annual event to rally the nation remained a subject of great interest among users.
