Yahoo! Search Rolls out the Red Carpet: Celebs Dominate The Top Searches of 2005; Britney Spears Regains The Top Spot From American Idol Which Is Voted out of The Top Ten

The Yahoo! Search 2005 Overall Top 10 Searches:
1. Britney Spears 6. Jessica Simpson
2. 50 Cent 7. Paris Hilton
3. Cartoon Network 8. Eminem
4. Mariah Carey 9. Ciara
5. Green Day 10. Lindsay Lohan

In 2004 crooner wannabes, fair-haired beauties and sports ruled,but 2005 was all about the mega stars. The number one spot was claimedby new mother Britney Spears. The Top Search Queen three out of thepast four years, stole the top slot back from "American Idol" whichfell off this year's chart. 50 Cent "raps" up the number two slot andcomeback diva Mariah Carey hits a high note at number four. Roundingout the top five is the grunge-rock band Green Day, who snares thenumber five slot. Recently separated blond bombshell Jessica Simpsonand reality royalty Paris Hilton stayed in front of the cameras and onthe Top Search list for the second year in a row. Appealing to a moregrown up sense of humor, the "Adult Swim" lineup helped CartoonNetwork dip in at number three as the only non-human to make the list.

Erik Gunther, Yahoo! Buzz Index Guru, "The Yahoo! Search 2005 Top10 Searches shows us that people are fixated on the activities of popculture icons and they're turning to Yahoo! to research and get thelatest on their favorite celebrities. Everyone on the list this yearhad success either in music, film, or television so it appears thatpeople this year are looking more at talent than controversy."

"Movers" Rocket to the Top

Movers are Search topics that see the greatest percentage increasefrom one day to the next. Often coming out of nowhere, moversmomentarily spark public interest and often disappear just as quicklyas they arrived. When viewed month by month, they highlight some ofthe year's hottest news headlines and events.

Yahoo! Search 2005 Top Movers of Each Month:
MONTH MOVER WHY?
------------ --------------------- ----------------------------------
January Johnny Carson Television icon left behind his
comic legacy
------------ --------------------- ----------------------------------
February 2005 Grammys Award watching was an online
activity
------------ --------------------- ----------------------------------
March NCAA Brackets B-ball ruled the Net
------------ --------------------- ----------------------------------
April Pope John Paul II The world paid tribute to the
pontiff
------------ --------------------- ----------------------------------
May French Open Thrilling matches made this tennis
tourney an ace
------------ --------------------- ----------------------------------
June U.S. Open Golf Underdogs proved to be top dogs
------------ --------------------- ----------------------------------
July Mindy McCready Country singer is plagued by
scandals
------------ --------------------- ----------------------------------
August Matthew McGrory In passing, the giant actor left
behind his sizable footprint
(size 29 1/2)
------------ --------------------- ----------------------------------
September NFL Odds Professional football season
kicked off
------------ --------------------- ----------------------------------
October Daniel Craig The next 007 secret agent is
revealed
------------ --------------------- ----------------------------------
November American Music Awards Online award watching still a
spectator sport
------------ --------------------- ----------------------------------
December Cynthia Watros "Lost" actress popped for a DUI
(Through
mid-month)
------------ --------------------- ----------------------------------

Yahoo! Search Top 10 Celebrities:

Eight out of ten of the Top Celebs also made the Overall Top TenSearches list. Music was on the mind of searchers this year with nineof the Top Ten having released a hit or more in the span of theircareers. Pop princess turned doting mama Britney Spears once againmakes her way to the top of the chart. With "boots made for walkin',"Jessica Simpson strolls into the fifth spot and, "Oh," Ciara is in thehouse at number seven. "Love Bug" Lindsay Lohan gets "A Little MorePersonal" and ranks eighth.

1. Britney Spears

2. 50 Cent

3. Mariah Carey

4. Jessica Simpson

5. Paris Hilton

6. Eminem

7. Ciara

8. Lindsay Lohan

9. Jennifer Lopez

10. Kelly Clarkson

Yahoo! Search Top 10 Sports:

Sports are hot every year and 2005 was no exception. Only threepeople made the cut in this category and all are women. Race cardriver Danica Patrick, the fourth place finisher at the Indy 500,drove her way up to the number eight position. Tennis superstar MariaSharapova "loves" the number 5 spot, while fellow tennis buff AnnaKournikova resides solidly at number seven.

1. NFL

2. NASCAR

3. Major League Baseball

4. NBA

5. Maria Sharapova

6. Dallas Cowboys

7. Anna Kournikova

8. Danica Patrick

9. Ultimate Fighting Championship

10. New York Yankees

Yahoo! Search Top 10 Product Searches:

Gadgets dominated popular product searches in 2005 as digitalcameras zoomed in at the top of the list and Apple's omnipresent iPodplayer proved popular at number three. The Xbox 360 and PSP thumbed inat six and seven respectively. Apparel sews up the category with Nike,prom dresses, Halloween costumes and shoes buttoning up top spots.

1. Digital cameras

2. Flowers

3. iPod

4. Nike

5. Prom dresses

6. PSP

7. Xbox 360

8. Halloween costumes

9. Shoes

10. Roses

Yahoo! Search Top 10 News Searches:

When disaster hit, people searched for Tsunami and HurricaneKatrina, relying on Yahoo! Search and the Internet to keep them up tospeed. Personalities also made the Top 10 News Searches category withpeace mom Cindy Sheehan taking a stand at number eight. Meanwhile,celebrity news ranked hig this year as Tom Cruise jumped his way intoKatie's heart, on to Oprah's couch and in to the Top News Searchescategory.

1. Tsunami

2. Iraq

3. Michael Jackson Trial

4. Natalee Holloway

5. Afghanistan

6. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

7. Hurricane Katrina

8. Cindy Sheehan

9. President Bush

10. Tom Cruise

Yahoo! Search Top 10 Movies from the Entertainment Category:

Comic books inspired half of the year's Top Ten Movie Searches,including "Batman Begins," "Superman Returns," "Spiderman," "SinCity," and the "Fantastic Four." The "force" was also with Star Warspropelling it to the top spot, just above sleeper hit comedy "NapoleonDynamite."

1. Star Wars

2. Napoleon Dynamite

3. Batman Begins

4. Superman Returns

5. Spiderman

6. Sin City

7. Dukes of Hazard

8. The Incredibles

9. Fantastic Four

10. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

To see all of this year's Top Searches lists, go tohttp://search.yahoo.com/top2005. Additional categories to those listedin the press release include:

Top Image Searches

Top Video Searches

Top Female Celebrity Searches

Top Male Celebrity Searches

Top Sports Team Searches

Top Athlete Searches

Top Car Searches

Top Electronic Searches

Top Music Searches

Top Movie Searches

Top TV Show Searches

In 2005 Yahoo! made its Top Searches initiative a worldwide effortwith Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Koreacontributing.

About Yahoo!

Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the mosttrafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo! seeks to provideonline products and services essential to users' lives, and offers afull range of tools and marketing solutions for businesses to connectwith Internet users around the world. Yahoo! is headquartered inSunnyvale, California.

Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logo are trademarks and/or registeredtrademarks of Yahoo! Inc.

All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks oftheir respective owners.