In Bing’s 2015 U.S. year-end rankings, Caitlyn Jenner led the celebrity list, Tom Brady led the athlete list, and the Paris attacks and threat of ISIS topped the news stories. Pizza Rat appeared in a separate “strange but true” category—not as Bing’s overall top search.
What were the top Bing searches in 2015?
Microsoft’s early-December 2015 report grouped search trends into categories rather than naming one overall most-searched query. It said the year-in-review drew on billions of Bing searches. The rankings below are from the U.S. report; they are not global rankings, and Microsoft did not provide raw query counts for the lists in the cited release. Microsoft’s Bing year-end release described the report as a look at “the events and people that stood out above the rest to make 2015 memorable.”
Most searched celebrities
- Caitlyn (Bruce) Jenner
- Miley Cyrus
- Taylor Swift
- Kim Richards
- Kim Kardashian
- Bindi Irwin
- Chris Brown
- Kylie Jenner
- Justin Bieber
- Kelly Clarkson
Most searched athletes
- Tom Brady
- Ronda Rousey
- Jordan Spieth
- Stephen Curry
- Aaron Rodgers
- Serena Williams
- Caroline Wozniacki
- LeBron James
- Danica Patrick
- Cristiano Ronaldo
Top news stories
- Paris attacks and the threat of ISIS
- EU refugee crisis
- Earthquake in Nepal
- Snowstorm burying the Northeast U.S.
- Germanwings 9525 crash
- Wildfires and drought
- U.S.-Cuba relations restored
- Planned Parenthood potential defunding
- Ashley Madison hack and data leak
- Discoveries on Pluto and Mars
Why was Caitlyn Jenner Bing’s top celebrity search?
Microsoft linked Jenner’s position to her public transition, a high-profile 20/20 interview, an iconic magazine cover, and her Arthur Ashe Courage Award speech. The ranking reflects Bing’s celebrity-search category for the U.S. report, not a claim that Jenner was the most-searched person across every Bing query or region.
What was Bing’s top news story in 2015?
The Paris attacks and the threat of ISIS ranked first among the report’s news stories. Microsoft described the attacks as a tragedy that prompted worldwide discussion and solidarity. That is the top entry in a selected news category, rather than an all-category query ranking.
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What is Pizza Rat, and where did it rank?
Pizza Rat was included among Bing’s “strange but true” stories, alongside the 2015 Dress debate and the discovery of a frog resembling Kermit. It was a notable oddity in that category, not the overall No. 1 Bing search. Search Engine Land’s contemporaneous report also identifies Pizza Rat as part of that category.
How much did searches for Pluto and Mars increase?
Microsoft reported changes in search interest over specific month ranges in 2015:
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| Search topic | Reported change | Period and context |
|---|---|---|
| Pluto | 160 percent growth | June to July 2015, during attention around the Pluto mission |
| Mars | Fivefold increase | August to September 2015, after the discovery of water on Mars |
These figures describe changes across the stated periods, not total annual search volume. Microsoft’s Bing blog post connected the Pluto rise to mission images and the Mars increase to the water discovery.
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How to read the 2015 rankings
- They are U.S.-specific. Microsoft published separate regional year-end reports, including for France and Australia/Asia, with different rankings.
- They are category lists. Celebrity, athlete, news, and strange-but-true entries should not be combined into one universal ranking.
- They do not show raw counts. The cited release supplies ranks and selected trend observations, not a complete table of query volumes.
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