Canadians were curious about a handful of music stars this year, according to Google’s annual “Year in Search” lists.
Not surprisingly, COVID-19 and the U.S. election dominated queries on the search engine north of the border.
Shakira, who performed with Jennifer Lopez at the Super Bowl halftime show in February, was the seventh-most-searched person this year in both the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S., she also tops the “Musicians and Bands” category, which includes Canada’s Grimes (No. 5) and Tory Lanez (No. 10).
Kanye West was the eighth-most-searched person in Canada and the ninth in the U.S. Globally, the controversial rapper was 7th.
In the famous deaths category, Google said Canadians searched for rock star Eddie Van Halen (No. 7) and country icon Kenny Rogers (No. 10). South of the border, Van Halen’s death was No. 6 and Pop Smoke was No. 9.
One of the most popular “Why” questions Canadians asked the search engine in 2020 was “Why did 69 go to jail?” (No. 7) – a query about rapper 6ix9ine, who got an early release from prison in April due to COVID-19.
In the U.S., “WAP” was the No. 1 search on the “Definitions” and “Lyrics” lists. The track by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion was also the top search on the global “Lyrics” list.