the buzz log

Steve Harvey wants you to know: Despite his success as a comedian, his popular morning radio show, and a bestselling advice book on love, he's not in it for the money. He says he wrote his first book not for a check, but "purely to empower women."

His relationship guide, "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man," has already been embraced by none other than the arguably very empowered Oprah Winfrey. Harvey has appeared on her show twice to dish with women on the mysteries of men. Why don't they call back? Why don't they want to talk? 

Among other things, the self-proclaimed expert on manhood tells women their standards are too low, to exercise patience, and give men love, support, and the cookie (his word for sex) — but to hold out for 90 days. He calls his tips a "playbook" for relationship success: Just follow the rules and play the game, ladies. Thanks to the magic of Oprah's influence, one of the former Kings of Comedy could be anointed as the next go-to love guru, a Dr. Phil of dating advice. Seriously.

Whether or not the dating advice is working, Harvey has successfully created a frenzy around the book. Women are turning from their TVs to their computers to find out more. Lookups on "steve harvey book," "steve harvey on oprah," and "steve harvey 90 day rule" are all peaking in Search, especially with women ages 35 to 44.

Maybe if Harvey isn't in it to get rich, his book could come with a money-back guarantee. Now that would be empowering.

Filed under: Oprah, Relationships

The U.S. Open produced trophies for Roger Federer and Justine Henin, and boosted buzz on all the high-ranking players, including Novak Djokovic, the jokey Serb who dared face the force of "Darth Federer."

Judging from the scores in Search, though, tennis fans were more interested in the emotions blossoming off the court than the tally of love over the net. The tournament's greatest search spikes pursued the romantic life of the racket-wielding set.

Buzz for "roger federer girlfriend" leapt 1,693% over the past week, while interest in the lucky lady's name ("mirka vavrinec") surged 435%. Queries for "novak djokovic girlfriend" climbed 614%. And lookups for "rafael nadal girlfriend" more than doubled.

The women also drew high points for their paramours. Buzz on "maria sharapova boyfriend russian" (+587%), "venus williams boyfriend photo" (+516%), "venus williams boyfriend" (+385%), and "serena williams boyfriend" (+179%) all thumped upwards. Ain't love a grand slam?

Sadly, breaking hearts draw lookyloos, too. Justine Henin took home the women's trophy, but the search term that spiked 4,658% for her over the past seven days—and topped the Belgian player's buzz—was "justine henin divorce."

Filed under: Sports, Tennis, Romance, Relationships

Whether you like it or not a certain holiday is approaching and the pressure is on. The U.S. Census says singlehood is the new norm, but that doesn't stop well-meaning friends (and mothers) who insist that you should be paired up in some way.

Pity then the poor celebrity—when you're in the limelight, your love life is under the Buzz microscope. Here are the latest dating scenarios, frighteningly real or wistfully imagined, that searchers have been pondering as of late...

Filed under: Romance, Relationships