Okay, Google, what became of us in 2020?
January, February and March. Those three months are what 2020 was all about. On March 11 everything changed for the Spanish. An infinite downhill. Another way of life. A new normality that seeks to recover the old normality and return everything to the way it was before. Uncertainties in which human beings do not know how to live. We need to know and "everything is in Google", as many of the elderly define that search engine that brings us back to reality when we are lost.
The most sought-after word in 2020 has been the word coronavirus. We were not looking for the same thing in January, when China's chronicles predicted the Apocalypse, as we were in April, when we were in the eye of the hurricane of a historic pandemic. But the word election has also been much sought after, because the United States has decided that Donald Trump must make way for Joe Biden. The future US president was precisely the most sought-after name in order to know in whose hands the civilised world was going to place itself. We asked Google about Kim Jong Un and his possible death; Boris Johnson when he became ill with covid; and Kamala Harris, as Biden's political partner.
After the coronavirus and the elections, we have been concerned about some curious issues. We are usually concerned about Iran, but in recent months it has been increasingly affected by the peace agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which have left the Persians in the lurch. Beirut pulled us out of the pandemic spiral when its port was blown up in August. And Google also told us about the Hantavirus, because it is a virus that mutates from animals to people and... Who can say?
The most sought-after actor on Google in 2020 was Tom Hanks. While filming a movie about Elvis Presley in Australia in March, he and his wife became infected with the coronavirus. They apparently contracted the disease in the United States. He was one of the first public figures to suffer and overcome the disease. The 'Indian factor' also influenced Google when that country started asking how their favourite actor, Amitabh Bachchan, was sick and recovered from the coronavirus. In January, the most sought-after figure on Google was Joaquin Phoenix, who won an Oscar in the film Joker.
Ryan Newman doesn't tell us much on this side of the Atlantic. A NASCAR driver who suffered a horrific accident in April while racing in Daytona. He recovered in two days and got back into his Ford. But he has earned the title of being the first in Google searches in 2020 in the sports category.
Some believe that Raphael's concerts at the Palacio de los Deportes in Madrid are the most sought-after musical event of 2020. Not really. In fact, it was a concert that will go down in history for being broadcast online all over the world (except in China) and featuring world-class singers for six hours. Together At Home concert was an initiative of Lady Gaga to support the World Health Organization (WHO) and raised 128 million euros. A Live Aid from 1985, but in April 2020.
Among Us was the most interesting thing about 2020 in the world of video games. The classic multiplayer game for the mobile phone that the youtubers of the moment started to go viral. It has been downloaded 85 million times and will reach the Xbox series and PlayStation 5 in 2021.
The most shocking loss for Google has been Kobe Bryant, in February 2020. A helicopter crash took away the symbol of modern basketball and his daughter. Maradona is eighth on the list, because his death in November 2020 has not allowed so many searches to be added up. Yet this was preceded by other previous searches due to his surgery weeks before his death. Other notable deaths for the searcher were those of the actors Sean Connery, Chadwick Boseman and the Indian actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who took his own life at the age of 34. The same fate befell 三浦春馬 (Haruma Miura), the Japanese actor who committed suicide at the age of 30.
The world of music is present in Google. Why do you think that YouTube belongs to Google and every time we open the mobile video player it offers us a three month free trial of YouTube music? Cardi B's WAP theme; Jason Derulo's Savage Love; 6ix9ine's GOOBA and Drip Report's Skechers are the most sought after in 2020. Even though most of them don't sound like anything. Generation Z is transforming the world.
In the world of cinema, the Oscar-winning Parasites and 1917 have stood out. We don't know how, but a Polish film entitled 365 Years is the third most popular film on Google. Well, if we look for some information, we have an easy answer. Netflix added the film to its catalogue in June and it rose to the top 10 because confinement was tough and the erotic content did the rest.
In the category of recipes we have Cafe Dalgona leading the ranking. An instant coffee drink that triumphed on Instagram. Secondly, the Ekmek, a typical Turkish street food consisting of a fried fish fillet on a sandwich. And thirdly, the sourdough bread that became so fashionable during confinement for home entertainment.
These have been the global trends in 2020. The coronavirus has even altered our way of dealing with the favourite search engine of 95% of users. We need answers. And we need them now.