The Top 2011 Searches from Bing Show a Year of Breakthroughs and Heartbreaks

REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Bing searches, 2011 was the year of musical superstars, continued celebrity fascination, concern for human tragedy and new royalty. From rising stars and weddings to intense trials and natural disasters, Bing has captured history through the searches that mark the year's most important people, places and moments in time.

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Based on the aggregation of billions of search queries conducted on Bing this year, here are the much-anticipated top 10 lists for the most searched people, news stories, sports stars, musicians, celebrity events, consumer electronics and TV shows. The complete report is available at http://www.BingTrends.com.

Most-Searched Person of the Year

Bieber fever was contagious this year, making Justin Bieber the most-searched person on Bing in 2011, compared with his No. 6 ranking in 2010. Sandra Bullock, Jesse James, Michael Jackson, Tiger Woods, Barack Obama and Kate Gosselin fell off the list this year, while Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez, Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Megan Fox and Miley Cyrus were newcomers to the top 10. Biggest gains year-over-year belonged to Jennifer Lopez, who didn't crack the top 50 last year and rocketed to No. 5 in 2011; Katy Perry, who went from No. 26 in 2010 to No. 7 in 2011; and Selena Gomez, who jumped from No. 50 in 2010 to No. 11 this year.

Other Top Search Results

Top News Stories

1. Casey Anthony trial
2. Osama Bin Laden death
3. Hurricane Irene
4. Japan earthquake and tsunami
5. Amy Winehouse death
6. Joplin Tornado
7. Michael Jackson–Conrad Murray trial
8. 9/11 10th anniversary
9. Republican primaries–Herman Cain, Rick Perry
10. Haiti anniversary

Top Sports Stars

1. Maria Sharapova
2. Tiger Woods
3. Serena Williams
4. Brett Favre
5. Caroline Wozniacki
6.  Kobe Bryant
7. LeBron James
8. Lamar Odom
9. Hope Solo
10. Carmelo Anthony

Top Musicians

1. Justin Bieber
2. Katy Perry
3. Jennifer Lopez
4. Britney Spears
5. Lady Gaga
6. Selena Gomez
7. Nicki Minaj
8. Rihanna
9. Beyonce
10. Taylor Swift

Top Celebrity Events

1. Royal wedding
2. Final "Harry Potter"
3. Kim Kardashian wedding
4. Beyonce baby bump
5. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson dating
6. Demi Moore–Ashton Kutcher scandal
7. Kate Hudson baby bump
8. Lady Gaga coming out in the egg
9. Lindsay Lohan arrested
10. Russell Armstrong suicide

Top Consumer Electronics

1. Xbox and Kinect
2. Kindle
3. PlayStation
4. iPhone 5
5. iPad
6. Wii
7. iPad 2
8. Nook
9. Windows Phone 7
10. Macbook Pro

Top TV Shows

1. "American Idol"
2. "Dancing With the Stars"
3. "Glee"
4. "Jersey Shore"
5. "Family Guy"
6. "Chelsea Lately"
7. "The Young and the Restless"
8. "True Blood"
9. "Audrina"
10. "Big Brother"

More details and additional categories of top 2011 searches from Bing are available at http://www.BingTrends.com. For the latest on all things Bing, check out http://www.bing.com/community, http://www.facebook.com/Bing and twitter.com/Bing.

About Bing

At Bing, we believe that as the Internet evolves, so should search. Bing takes the world's information and services on the Web and makes them more useful by delivering an innovative and intuitive search experience, visually organizing results and bringing in social signals from your friends. The end result? A search engine that takes you from searching and finding to searching and doing. Try it for yourself at Bing.com.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.