Google’s Top Trending Searches of 2022 Revealed: See Which Pop Culture Moments Made the List

Google's Year in Search 2022 reveals which celebrities and news events—from the Oscars slap to unexpected romances—users were Googling this year. See what made the list below.

By Angie Orellana Hernandez Dec 08, 2022 4:34 AMTags
Watch: 2022 Pop Culture Moments We Can't Wait For!

In 2022, there was nothing short of Google-worthy moments.

From the infamous Oscars slap to the whirlwind romance between Julia Fox and Kanye West, Google's Year in Search 2022 reveals the top trending searches of the year. These searches refer to queries that had a high spike over a certain amount of time in 2022 compared to the previous year.

The data, released on Dec. 7, recaps what has been a year of rising stars and viral moments—such as a spike in people looking up "how to become a fighter pilot" after the release of Top Gun: Maverick in May. And that's not all: According to Google, the release of Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon inspired viewers to search how to learn High Valyrian, the series' fictional language. For music lovers, Harry Styles' "As It Was" landed amongst trending searches, as well as Indonesian musician Keisya Levronka's song "Tak Ingin Usai."

Keep reading to see what else landed in this year's top trending Google searches.

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2022 Pop Culture Moments to Look Forward to

What was searched for events?

Queen Elizabeth II's death was amongst the top trending searches this year, according to Google. The late monarch—and Britain's longest-reigning sovereign—died on Sept. 8 at age 96. Upon her death, her eldest child King Charles III ascended to the throne, becoming the oldest person to assume the British crown at age 73.

Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Another highly-searched event was the verdict in the defamation trial between exes Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, which ended in June when a jury found the Aquaman actress liable of defaming her former husband and awarded the actor $10.4 million in damages. As for Heard's countersuit against Depp, she was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages. Both parties have since filed appeals.

Also grabbing attention in search trends was the Oscars slap—the publicly televised moment when Will Smith walked onstage at the 2022 Academy Awards and struck Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. Smith, who won the award for best actor moments after, has since repeatedly apologized for the altercation though he was banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years as a result of the incident.

Netflix

What was searched for actors?

Asides from Depp, Smith, Heard, Rock and Pinkett Smith—who topped search trends—viewers were also curious to know more about other stars.

Joseph Quinn became a popular search following his breakout performance on Stranger Things season four. Joining him are Evan Peters, who recently played serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in Ryan Murphy's Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer story; Andrew Garfield, whose stellar year included an Emmy and Grammy nomination, as well as a highly-talked about Spider-Man: cameo; Julia Fox, the Uncut Gems actress and fashion icon whose relationship with Kanye West turned heads; and Ezra Miller, the Justice League actor troubled by multiple legal controversies this year.

Marvel Studios 2022

What was searched for movies?

2022 served up a lot of movie magic, with people searching Thor: Love and Thunder a lot this year.

Action blockbuster Black Adam starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was also widely popular, followed by Top Gun: Maverick featuring Tom Cruise and superhero flick The Batman, with Robert Pattinson playing the titular dark knight.

Encanto was also amongst the top trends—and the animated movie certainly has racked up a lot of love from celebrity families and Google searches alike.

Eddy Chen/HBO

What was searched for TV shows?

HBO's Euphoria was the amongst the top trending searches for TV shows of 2022—another honor the drama has gained after being nominated for multiple Emmys, including a second best actress award for Zendaya.

House of the Dragon was also popularly searched, followed by Moon Knight starring Oscar Isaac, Netflix's thriller series The Watcher and Inventing Anna, which follows the career of con artist Anna Delvey.

What was searched for celebrity breakups?

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson's August split was a top search trend this year, as was the breakup between Michael B. Jordan and Lori Harvey in June.

Users also searched for Shailene Woodley and Aaron Rodgers' fallout in February, which came one year after Rodgers announced their engagement in 2021.

Amy Sussman/WireImage

What was searched for celebrity babies?

Though Amber Heard welcomed daughter Oonagh Paige Heard last year, she still remained a popular search trend this year.

Additionally, users looked up Rihanna's baby, a son she welcomed in May. She first confirmed her pregnancy in January, which was announced with sweet photos taken in New York City.

In the KarJenner world, Kylie Jenner's second child with Travis Scott was also a search trend, as well as Khloe Kardashian's second child with Tristan Thompson.

What was searched for celebrity duos?

In terms of celebrity duos who were searched together, Will Smith and Chris Rock topped search trends. 

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen were also a search trend after the supermodel raised concerns over the NFL star's return to the field. The pair divorced in October after 13 years of marriage.

Another pair on the list of top trending searches were Shakira and Gerard Piqué. The two confirmed they were splitting ways in June after 11 years together, with the singer later publicly speaking out about how "tough" the separation had been on her and their two sons, Milan, 9, and Sasha, 7.

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