the buzz log
Buzz Multiplex: This Is It
This, indeed, is it. The Buzz Multiplex has been cleared of all wide releases, as Michael Jackson's posthumous concert film continues to gain momentum. The massive online attention supports predictions that "Michael Jackson's This Is It" will be the "highest-grossing music documentary" to date and may even have Oscar potential.
The Wednesday premiere drew in more than $20 million around the world, and the film title continues to be entrenched in the top 700 searches on Yahoo!.
While some observers think Halloween might dampen box-office numbers, holiday celebrants will be paying their tribute to the late singer in many ways: "michael jackson costumes" have topped October costume searches on Yahoo!. That's not all: Expect weekend parties to pass out "michael jackson pumpkin pattern" for carving, play "michael jackson games," and practice the "michael jackson moonwalk."
Below, the online preparations that have been underway for a Jackson tribute:
Top 10 Michael Jackson Searches of the Week, as ranked by Yahoo! searches
- Michael Jackson This Is It
- Michael Jackson Videos
- Michael Jackson Songs
- Michael Jackson Thriller
- Michael Jackson This Is It Song
- Jackson 5
- Michael Jackson Lyrics
- Michael Jackson Thriller Video
- Michael Jackson Billie Jean
- Michael Jackson Beat It
Filed under: Movies, Music, Holidays, Celebrities, Halloween, Dead Celebrities, Michael Jackson
Fawcett: A Generation's Poster Girl
Farrah Fawcett's swimsuit poster is one of the most iconic images of '70s pop culture. Perhaps the decade's equivalent to Marilyn Monroe's classic subway photo, Fawcett's supersized image sold a reported 12 million copies (a record that still stands) and launched the celebrity poster industry.
Fawcett, who died Thursday of cancer, had something rare: The late actress had created and owned her own lucrative image. She even filed a lawsuit to protect her claim earlier this year. All of that exemplifies the Fawcett paradox that troubled some feminists and inspired a new generation of girls. She flaunted a carefree, accessible sexuality and reaped the rewards herself without feeling compromised or commoditized.
Fawcett later carried that confident allure to “Charlie's Angels.” Following in a lineage that included Diana Rigg in "The Avengers," Anne Francis in "Honey West" and Angie Dickinson in "Police Woman," she and her Angel cohorts spawned the much maligned era of "jiggle TV," but continued to redefine women's roles by taking them out of the domestic sphere and into the workplace.
Fawcett only took 25 shots to reach poster perfection, but photographer Bruce McBroom took 400 photographs during that 1976 photo shoot. For a glimpse on those other shots, see this Access Hollywood interview and listen to McBroom's rundown on her "unerring sense for how she looked good."
Filed under: Celebrities, Dead Celebrities
Buzz Weekend in Review
Pay up. March Madness becomes April debts for thousands of office workers who placed their faith in UNC and UCLA. Then again, the spread might not be that high: In the days leading to the Final Four playoffs, the Memphis Tigers became the most searched NCAA team.
In other weekend Buzz news, a quiet celebrity wedding stirred up a sentimental storm, while a legend passed, but not quietly, as readers paid homage to the man who played Moses.
Charlton Heston is Legend
"Soylent Green is people." Charlton Heston emoted fiercely on the big screen, whether dispensing commandments, riding death chariots, rebelling against master apes, or roaring memorable lines like the one from the 1973 sci-fi downer. His passing Saturday night unleashed a torrent of obituaries and searches. The media eulogies have dwelled on his conservative politics, while outlets like Entertainment Weekly have paid homage to an astounding 100-plus film repertoire. Hestonian cinematic proclamations rivaled those of Marlon Brando's, which Wire magazine acknowledged, including arguably his most famous: "Get your stinking hands off me, you d*** dirty ape."
Final Four, Finally Two
Sports searches were all about March Madness and bracketology. Obsession paid off, as history played out on the courts. All four teams boasted a number-one seed pedigree. The closest to an underdog may have been Memphis Tigers, but its crushing offense dispensed with the little Bruins boys at UCLA. The match-ups still managed a "shocker" element when the Tar Heels chipped away at Kansas' early massive lead, but the Jayhawks stomped over any idea of a comeback for UNC. Kansas faces the mighty Memphis, which has emerged to become the top-searched team. UCLA can at least take solace: Their cheerleaders don't just have the most popular pom poms of the Final Four, but they got more searches than "north carolina tar heels." Sis boom bah.
Dangerously in Love... and Married?
For months, young female fans have looked for the announcement when Jay-Z and Beyonce would finally get hitched. As rumors intensified this week, so did Search hysteria over "beyonce wedding," "beyonce and jay z getting married," "beyonce and jay z got married," "beyonce and jay z marriage license," and "beyonce wedding dress." That day was apparently Friday on April 4 (a numerological obsession, according to Usmagazine.com), at a small ceremony in the rapper's apartment... thereby thwarting the wedding industrial complex and their blown-out affairs.
—The world did not rest, with reports on the fiercest fighting in Iraq since a cease-fire and Tibetan protests from China to India to San Francisco. The shock of a suicide bombing at a Sri Lankan marathon, however, resonated among Buzz readers: The attack killed 12, including the country's prime minister.
—Buzz readers continued to follow up on investigation following the March raid of blood farm, in which 17 people were kept captive and bled so that their blood could be sold to medical clinics.
—Grassroots have turned to the Web to help returning war vets. A San Francisco Chronicle story alerted Buzz readers to a number of nonprofits to help Iraqi soldiers suffering combat stress, including a Monday online forum.
—Actress Bette Davis died 9 years ago, but people came in droves to celebrate her 100th birthday. She is still a man's woman, and the men who made up 7 out of 10 of her searches helped boost her Search profile up more than 10,000%. Most sought-after roles online? "All About Eve" and "Jezebel."
Filed under: Celebrity Couples, Death, Dead Celebrities, Week in Review, Wrap Up
Three Legends Pass Away
They say famous people die in threes. Sure enough, this past week, a trio of legendary figures past away. Though the departed men came from three very different fields, each man's death had a similar effect on the Buzz.
Conservative icon William F. Buckley was perhaps the most prominant of the three. Lookups on "william f. buckley essays," "who is william f. buckley," and "national review," the magazine Buckley founded, each made huge strides in Search.
Less political, though just as popular was Boyd Coddington. The car-building legend who hosted the reality show "American Hot Rod," passed away at the age of 63. Fans raced over to the Search box, redlining queries on "boyd coddington bio," "boyd coddington tv show," and, of course, "boyd coddington cars."
Finally, there's Myron Cope. The beloved ex-announcer for the Pittsburgh Steelers died at the age of 79. Naturally, folks in the Steel City were most interested in his passing, but Mr. Cope had fans from all over. Cities from Los Angeles to Miami searched on the man, as well as his lasting contribution to American culture—the Terrible Towel.
Filed under: Death, Dead Celebrities
A Star Dims
"About all the travelin' I ever done is round a coffee pot lookin' for the handle." — Ennis Del Mar, "Brokeback Mountain"
Yesterday's news about the surprising death of Heath Ledger caused lookups on the actor to skyrocket a staggering 110,285%. A solid 62% of those searches came from women, and the biggest search traffic came from New York, Arizona, and California.
Over the course of the afternoon, searches told the tragic story in brief snippets:
Fans of the young actor dialed up his biography, fan site, and took a tour through his filmography, from "10 things i hate about you" to "brokeback mountain" to "i'm not there," and even looked into his role as the Joker in the upcoming "the dark knight." While Ledger was well-known, confusion over the spelling of his name resulted in queries for "heath fletcher," "keith ledger," and "keith legend."
Others chose to look into his personal life and his relationships with actress Michelle Williams, daughter Matilda Rose, model Gemma Ward, and whether he was in Mary-Kate Olsen's 421 Broome Street apartment at the time of his death.
Now that the autopsy has been declared inconclusive, the wait continues for more news on how the star died.
Filed under: Actors, Dead Celebrities
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford 400 | Breakout! |
| 2 | Indonesia Ferry | Breakout! |
| 3 | Jordan Chandler | 3481% |
| 4 | Evan Chandler | 2322% |
| 5 | American Music Awards | 1841% |
| 6 | John F. Kennedy | 1529% |
| 7 | Turkey Stuffing Recipes | 1361% |
| 8 | Liam Hemsworth | 1172% |
| 9 | Lou Dobbs | 1142% |
| 10 | Hendrick Motorsports | 888% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Friday | +340 | 1290 |
| 2 | NFL | +489 | 670 |
| 3 | Jennifer Lopez | +451 | 515 |
| 4 | New Moon | -67 | 250 |
| 5 | American Music Awards | +236 | 249 |
| 6 | UFC | -36 | 239 |
| 7 | Miley Cyrus | +66 | 169 |
| 8 | Hulu | -11 | 154 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
For more detailed information, visit our FAQ.