© 2026 WRVO Public Media
NPR News for Central New York
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The Late Whitney Houston Was The Year's Hottest Search

Whitney Houston in 2004.
Kevin Winter
/
Getty Images
Whitney Houston in 2004.

The Feb. 11 death of singing superstar Whitney Houston sent her fans rushing to the Web, Google says in Year-End Zeitgeist Report about things that "piqued your curiosity" in 2012.

Her name is atop Google's most-searched lists in three categories — general searches, people and performing artists.

Houston got more attention than "Gangnam style," "Hurricane Sandy," the presidential election and even "Kate Middleton pictures released."

Google notes that:

"While it might not be surprising to see that tragic natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy ranked highly (#3 on the global trending list), it is reassuring to find searches like [donate to Sandy] spiking as well."

By the way, it appears many Two-Way readers enjoy year-end lists.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
Recent cuts to federal funding are challenging our mission to serve central and upstate New York with trusted journalism, vital local coverage, and the diverse programming that informs and connects our communities. This is the moment to join our community of supporters and help keep journalists on the ground, asking hard questions that matter to our region.

Stand with public media and make your gift today—not just for yourself, but for all who depend on WRVO as a trusted resource and civic cornerstone in central and upstate New York.