Every year Google publishes some of the most popular searches of the year and 2023 was no exception. Called “Year in Search”, the 2023 dashboard shows not only the most searched news, but also categories such as news, people, actors, movies, deaths, songs, TV shows and so on. Besides showing the global trends, those interested can also filter the searches by country to see what their close peers were more interested in over the course of 2023.
This being said, below is everything music related people were most interested in last year.
1. Songs
アイドル or “Idol” by Japanese duo Yoasobi was the most googled song last year. Released on 12 April, the song served as the theme song of the Japanese anime series Oshi no Ko (推しの子 – “My Favorite Idol” or “Their Idol’s Children”) written by Aka Akasaka. Written by Ayase and based on Akasaka’s short story “45510”, Idol is a pop track with hip-hop elements, depicting the two-faced nature of a star in the Japanese idol industry, as well as perspectives on the anime’s character Ai Hoshino from her fans, her B-Komachi’s bandmates and herself.
- アイドル – Yoasobi
- Try That In A Small Town – Jason Aldean
- Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53 – Shakira and Bizarrap
- Unholy – Sam Smith and Kim Petras
- Cupid – FIFTY FIFTY
- ERE – Juan Karlos
- Kill Bill – SZA
- Rich Men North of Richmond – Oliver Anthony
- Pasilyo – SunKissed Lola
- Seven – Jungkook
2. Hum to search
Only introduced in 2020 and first trialled on its own, Pixel, phones before deploying it to other Android users, the Hum to search feature allows people to sing or hum to their phones through the google search engine so they can find that song that’s been stuck in their heads all day.
Released on 11 March 2022, Imagine Dragon’s Bones was the most hummed song in 2023. Believer, released by the American pop rock band on 1 February 2017, made it as number 5 on the list. Yasaobi’s “Idol”, the most regularly googled song, came in third for humming.
- Bones – Imagine Dragons
- Kesariya – Arijit Singh
- アイドル – Yoasobi
- Maan Meri Jaan – King
- Believer – Imagine Dragons
- Mockingbird – Eminem
- Until I Found You – Stephen Sanchez
- Pasoori – Ali Sethi
- Shinunoga E-Wa – Fujii Kaze
- Instasamka / Turn Off The Phone / Tik Tok Version – Pablix
3. Musicians
While none of Shakira’s songs made it among the most googled ones last year, the artist, who recently got a 6.5-metre tall bronze statue in her hometown, appeared in the news several times for matters related to her personal life. She started 2023 on a strong foot, releasing a record-breaking song at the beginning of the year in which she disses her ex-partner and former footballer Gerard Piqué. Among others, the unnamed song, which was recorded with Argentinian DJ Bizarrap in ”BZRP Music Sessions #53″, tells Piqué to train his brain too, not just his body. “A she-wolf like me ain’t for dudes like you. I’ve outgrown you and that’s why you’re with a girl just like you”, says the chorus.
In another verse, the singer says Piqué left her “as a neighbour to the mother-in-law; With the press at the door and the debt at the IRS”, referring to a tax fraud case she’s been involved in in Spain over where her actual residence was between 2012 and 2014. Shakira made the news again last year by choosing to settle the case and pay a €7.5 million fine, as well as an additional fine of €438,000 to avoid a three-year prison sentence.
“This decision to reach a deal responds to personal, emotional and sentimental reasons that have nothing to do with legal [reasons]”, Shakira said in a statement at the time, adding she was ready to defend her innocence but decided to prioritize her career and children. “I have reached the conclusion that winning is not a victory if the price is that they rob you of so many years of your life.”
- Shakira
- Jason Aldean
- Joe Jonas
- Smash Mouth
- Peppino di Capri
- Gino Paoli
- Tom Kaulitz
- Kellie Pickler
- José Luis Perales
- Anna Oxa
