What Canadians searched for and watched the most on Google, YouTube in 2022
Posted December 1, 2022 4:45 am.
Last Updated December 1, 2022 7:28 am.
YouTube has released several trending lists for 2022, showing what Canadians were most inquisitive about watching.
It’s a list that ranges from the now infamous Will Smith and Chris Rock slap at the Oscars to a smash hit from the 2021 animated film Encanto.
A YouTube spokesperson says it was all about nostalgia for Canadians in 2022 with Tom Cruise of Top Gun: Maverick riding in a fighter jet alongside late-night host James Corden, which cracked the top 10.
RELATED: ‘Gaslighting’ is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2022
The halftime show at Super Bowl LVI featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige was among the top searched and watched videos of 2022.
Still, it was the Oscars slap heard around the world that piqued the interest of Canadians.
Top Trending Videos in Canada (2022):
- Guardian News: Watch the uncensored moment Will Smith smacks Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars, drops F-bomb
- Technoblade: so long nerds
- NFL: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar & 50 Cent FULL Pepsi SB LVI Halftime Show
- Dream: hi, I’m Dream.
- Mark Rober: Pranks Destroy Scam Callers- GlitterBomb Payback
- MrBeast: I Built Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!
- The Try Guys: what happened.
- Ryan Reynolds: Deadpool Update
- The Late Late Show with James Corden: Tom Cruise Terrifies James in ‘Top Gun’ Fighter Jet!
- Jaiden Animations: Being Not Straight
The Smith slap led to his subsequent resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and he was banned from attending all Academy functions, including the Oscars, for 10 years.
On Sept. 27, Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds announced Deadpool 3 alongside Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, which quickly took off online as a viral video.
YouTuber ‘Dream,’ an online gamer with over 31 million subscribers, revealed his face for the first time on his channel. That video has since garnered over 47 million views.
As for the most searched songs in Canada, pop culture was a driving force stemming from the critically acclaimed 2021 animated Disney film Encanto. The soundtrack, which has produced several prevalent songs, is headlined by the viral sensation We Don’t Talk About Bruno.
Canadians were also into Imagine Dragons‘ Enemy and pop sensation Harry Styles’ lead single As It Was, which spent 15 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100.
Top Songs in Canada in 2022
- Encanto Cast – We Don’t Talk About Bruno
- Imagine Dragons x JID – Enemy
- Jessica Darrow – Surface Pressure
- Harry Styles – As It Was
- Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill
- Fireboy DML, Ed Sheeran – Peru
- Lizzo – About Damn Time
- Elley Duhé – MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
- Sidhu Moose Wala – Levels
- Camila Cabello – Bam Bam
Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill saw a significant revival after it was included in season four of Stranger Things, leading to the song’s resurgence on YouTube and TikTok.
Elley Duhé’s 2020 single Middle of the Night saw a similar rebirth after the song took off on TikTok.
Lizzo’s Grammy-nominated lead single About Damn Time, another viral hit courtesy of TikTok, has been viewed over 100 million times on YouTube.
Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala was also honoured, with his song Levels making this year’s top 10.
A Google search appears on an iPhone. Photo: Solen Feyissa.
Meanwhile, across Canada, the most Google-searched ‘how-to’ question was “How to play Wordle,” a daily word game purchased by The New York Times after it soared in popularity with many sharing their daily results on social media.
In comparison, the most frequently searched ‘how-to’ question in Canada in 2021 was “How to get a vaccine passport,” followed by “How to buy Dogecoin” and “How to make money from home.”
In 2022, the most searched ‘why’ question in Canada was “Why are people buying toilet paper,” a trending topic after the COVID-19 pandemic led to Canadians frantically purchasing various items, including toilet paper.
As for top Canadian YouTube curators in 2022, Luke Davidson — with more than nine million subscribers — takes the lead, followed by ‘Kallmekris,’ mental health advocate ‘MDMotivator,’ ‘Sandiction’ and ‘Mythic.’
