Michael Jackson, the most famous performer in the world died and sent shockwaves around the globe. From Sydney to Seattle, Paris to Peru, grief spilled onto the streets as people poured out tributes at the news of his death on 25th June 2009. Recently, Jackson made history by becoming the first artist to win four American Music Awards posthumously.
Designed to stimulate the economy, many argued a 'handout' was not the solution. Related queries such as 'are we in a recession', reflected the anxieties of the nation. The series of bushfires that were burning across Victoria on and around Saturday 7 February 2009 during extreme weather conditions, resulted in Australia's highest ever loss of life from a bushfire.
Shrouding Sydney in orange dust, commuters donned face masks and watched, along with the world, as national landmarks such as the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House cast eerie orange shadows in the Harbour City, giving it an otherworldly look.
2009 also saw "tweeting" enter the national vocabulary, the unlikely angelic sounding voice from dowdy Scot Susan Boyle wowed and stunned the world, whilst households across the nation kept fit and had fun with the latest Wii games and accessories. On a more serious note, climate change and the Emissions Trading Scheme remained top of Australians' minds.
| OVERALL | |
| 1. Michael Jackson | Despite being rushed to the UCLA Medical Centre, Jackson was pronounced dead at 2.26pm. The web provided a global forum for fans to grieve and celebrate the life of a truly gifted entertainer. |
| 2. Stimulus Package | Designed to stimulate the economy against the backdrop of the Global Financial Crisis, the Australian Government released in stimulus money to the Australian public to much fanfare and criticism. |
| 3. Victorian Bushfires | The nation was shocked at the extent of the devastation following Australia's worst peace-time disaster - the Black Saturday bushfires. The toll included 173 people dead as a result of the fires and 414 injured with approximately 2,000 homes destroyed leaving an estimated 7,000 people homeless. |
| 4. Dust Storm | The spectacular dust storm storm started in SA and inland NSW and stretched as far north as southern QLD on 23 September. |
| 5. Britney Spears | After dominating Search for the past couple of years and enjoying a stint as the pop mother of all meltdowns, interest in Britney has waned somewhat this year. Britney dramas in 2009 have included her lip-synching antics during the Australian 'Circus' tour and her hacked online accounts |
| 6. Rihanna Altercation | The cute R n' B couple came unstuck in a dramatic way after a night out turned into a domestic altercation. |
| 7. Twitter | Australia has become a 'Twitter nation' and actively joined the global Twitter craze. Twitter, the latest Social Media darling has defined the colourful sound byte with peeps using it as a preferred mode of communicating. The ubiquity of Twitter is evident in celebrity circles, in particular, Ashton Kutcher who challenged CNN in a bid to acquire the most Twitter followers. |
| 8. Susan Boyle | The British singing sensation's video of 'I Dreamed a Dream' made it into the most watched viral videos of all-time after being discovered on 'Britain's Got Talent'. |
| 9. Wii Games | As the effects of the credit crunch continued into 2009, peeps decided to make 'staying in' the new 'going out'. Nintendo Wii stepped into this collective social vacuum with the goods and released these new Wii games - Wii Fit Plus, Wii Sports Resort and New Super Mario Bros which pays homage to the original Italian plumber, with better visual stimulation. |
| 10. Emissions Trading Scheme | The Environment has been a consistent topic of online searches with the Emissions Trading Scheme a major source of friction, particularly concerns over excessive taxation in the whole climate change debate. |
Michael Jackson dominated 2009 searches in several categories even taking Britney Spears off the top of the Search pile. This year we saw a more relaxed Britney but a Rihanna in meltdown after her shocking relationship with Chris Brown. Lindsay Lohan kept us amused with her antics and codependency issues and the new celebrity power couple Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore had us all guessing how she stays so young and keeps him so interested, not to mention their constant Twitter updates and diatribes on photoshopped celebrity covers, after her recent appearance on 'W' magazine where she appeared to be missing a hip.
The couple who appear to indulge in social networking more than the average celebrity power couple have garnered a whole new crowd of peeps through Twitter. The world was deeply saddened by the news Patrick Swayze had lost his brave battle with cancer on 14 September. He died with his childhood sweetheart, wife Lisa Niemi by his side.
Brangelina have a plethora of interests between them including their latest foray into jewellery design to raise money for charity. There's much about this movie star couple to engage users including rumours their relationship's falling apart, interest in their love triangle with Jennifer Aniston still at a premium and Ange's threats of adopting a child without Brad continue to enthrall users. TomKat seem to make the list for their constant relationship dramas more than their latest movies and brunette Kim Kardashian, a real-life Jessica Rabbit, appears to be sought after as much for her curves as anything else. Finally, Beyonce definitely seems to make the cut, undoubtedly due to her fierce talent but then a certain Kanye West incident could have contributed to lookups.
| CELEBRITIES | |
| 1. Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson was recently honored with four American Music Awards making history by collecting more AMAs during his career than any other artist. The mega star died on 25 June sparking a wave of grief all over the world. Searches for Michael Jackson dominated 2009. |
| 2. Britney Spears | Britney may not have epic meltdowns these days but she still of course, attracts the odd controversy like her recent lip-synching debacle at her Australian 'Circus' concert series where some fans walked out. Other than some pregnancy rumours, Britney appears to have calmed down considerably this year and seems happy in a relationship with her agent Jason Trawick. |
| 3. Rihanna | Rihanna became the poster child for domestic violence after her boyfriend Chris Brown beat her during a night out, however the year's also been about her music. She seems to produce hit single after hit single, with interest in everything from her latest boyfriend, flirtations with Justin Timberlake and even her cellulite. |
| 4. Lindsay Lohan | The trouble-prone Lilo seems destined to provide more tabloid fodder than Britney by the time she reaches Brit's age if her antics to date are anything to go by. A codependent relationship with Samantha Ronson, fights with family and accusations of being a bad role model to her younger sister Ali have all plagued Lindsay in '09. |
| 5. Demi Moore & Ashton Kutcher | The cougar landed herself a cub in Ashton, 31. From their devotion to Twitter to Demi's incredibly youthful looks, Mr and Mrs Kutcher are always of interest. Most recently Demi, 47, attracted criticism through the use of extensive airbrushing on the cover of "W" magazine where her hip had been digitally removed. |
| 6. Patrick Swayze | The world had lost a dancing star in Patrick Swayze. Nobody will ever forget one of the most famous lines of the silver screen, 'Nobody puts baby in the corner' from his hit film 'Dirty Dancing'. |
| 7. Brangelina | This couple generate a tremendous amount of buzz with their alleged arguments, philanthropic work, expensive art collection and family life as parents of six children. |
| 8. Tomkat | The oddly matched couple appear to have more spats than alley cats. Tom spawns a litany of new 'Tom Cruise impersonators', seemingly every few months and Katie and Suri, have to contend with having the fashion police analyze their wardrobes on a daily basis. |
| 9. Kim Kardashian | Kardashian proves that brunettes can be blonde too. What do we mean? Well sure, she has a reality TV show 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' but really, she's famous for being famous. |
| 10. Beyonce | With consistent styling and heady performances, Beyonce remains one of the most emulated pop stars of 2009. |
Pop legend Michael Jackson's death reminded everyone of the fragility of life and how even the famous people of the world never know when their time is up. On 25 June, Michael Jackson died at the age of 50 after suffering a heart attack in his mansion in LA. Jackson will be remembered for his trademark dance move, the 'Moonwalk' and an explosion of hits throughout the last four decades.
The Victorian bushfires claimed 173 lives, injured 500 more and destroyed over 2,000 homes. U.S. President Barack Obama was inaugurated to much fanfare. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd tried to stave off the recession with his stimulus package, and some people panicked at the thought of Swine flu taking hold.
Sydney was swathed with red dust after an unusually large dust storm and the Iranian elections attracted worldwide criticism. Brave Neda Agha-Soltan was killed for protesting after the Iranian elections and, on the domestic front, issues included the Pacific Brands redundancies, Emissions Trading and the whole asylum seeker dilemma, exemplified by the Oceanic Viking stand-off.
| NEWS | |
| 1. Michael Jackson Death | On 25 June, Michael Jackson died, at the age of 50, after suffering a heart attack in his mansion in LA. Jackson will be remembered for his trademark dance move, the 'Moonwalk' and an explosion of hits throughout the last four decades. |
| 2. Stimulus Package | In February, Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd announced a billion dollar stimulus package in response to the global financial crisis. |
| 3. Victorian Bushfires | The deadliest bushfires in Australia's history raged throughout Victoria in February this year. The peak of the fires occurred on 'Black Saturday' 7 February when temperatures reached 46.4C. |
| 4. Dust Storm | Clouds of red dust hit Australia's east coast on 23 September. The storm started in SA and inland NSW and stretched as far north as southern QLD. |
| 5. Emissions Trading Scheme | The environment has been a consistent topic of online searches with the Emissions Trading Scheme a major source of friction, particularly concern over excessive taxation in the whole climate change debate. |
| 6. Presidency of Barack Obama | The United States first African American President was inaugurated on 20 January. Over the coming weeks he announced his new administration, including Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. |
| 7. Swine Flu | The World Health Organisation announced a new strain of influenza subtype H1N1 is a pandemic in April. The outbreak was first observed in Mexico and over 7,000 people have since died from swine flu. |
| 8. Neda Agha-Soltan | Iranian student, Neda Agha-Soltan, was shot dead on 20 June in Tehran during protests against the results of the Iranian presidential election. Video of the shooting spread virally across the internet. |
| 9. Pacific Brands | The textile giant, Pacific Brands announced it was closing its Australian factories to move operations to China in February. The clothing manufacturer, who made brands such as Hard Yakka, Dunlop and Bonds made 1850 workers redundant. |
| 10. Oceanic Viking | The Australian Customs vessel, Oceanic Viking rescued 78 asylum seekers in October. After a month stand-off, the Sri Lankan refugees agreed to disembark and enter an Australian-funded detention centre on Bintan Island, Indonesia on 17 November. |
Hoaxes on the net spread like wildfire. Once an idea is repeated often enough, people start to believe it. 2009 was a year when people believed a little boy was floating away in a UFO-shaped balloon object while his fame-hungry parents relished the publicity, the Chk-Chk-Boom chick spawned spoofs, remixes and worked her 15 minutes of fame hard. Peeps were agasp at the news of Jeff Goldblum's alleged death but it was quickly proved certain journalists had not checked their sources, ditto with lovable 'Scrubs' actor Zach Braff who was upset his frantic mother had heard the news when he was very much alive. Then there was the whole sorry 'Utegate' incident which thrust a certain Godwin Grech into the spotlight.
Bruno gave Eminem some cheek at the MTV awards, Harrison Ford allegedy died, a certain rugby star thought he could get away with his bloody little number and Britney Spears is tightening her security after her online accounts were hacked into.
| HOAXES | |
| 1. Balloon Boy | Six year old Falcon Heene was believed to have floated 7000 feet in the air after he climbed into a homemade helium balloon. Falcon was hiding in the family home at the time and the hoax was created by his parents. |
| 2. Jeff Goldblum | Rumours about Jeff Goldblum's death started circling the internet stating Goldblum fell to his death whilst on set in New Zealand. |
| 3. Utegate | In June, Malcolm Turnbull accused the Labour party of giving special financial help to a QLD car dealer. Turnbull tried to implicate Rudd's involvement with a fabricated email. Rudd asked for proof or for the Opposition Leader to apologise and resign. Senior Treasury official, Godwin Grech then admitted to producing the fake email. |
| 4. Chk-Chk-Boom | Clare Werbeloff, known as the 'chk-chk-boom' girl, found media attention in May after fabricating a story about a shooting in Kings Cross. Clare then found herself at the centre of a media backlash. |
| 5. Eminem & Bruno | At the MTV Awards, Bruno landed upside down on Eminem's lap while flying in to the stage. Eminem, enraged, stormed out of the ceremony. It was later revealed that the 'accident' was a rehearsed stunt. |
| 6. Harrison Ford | Harrison Ford was also victim of a death hoax. Rumours stated that Ford had been lost at sea when his yacht capsized. |
| 7. Britney Spears | Britney's twitter account was hacked into in June stating that the pop singer had died. "Britney has passed today. It is a sad day for everyone. More news to come." |
| 8. Britney Spears & NWO. | Britney's twitter account was hacked one again, stating 'I hope the New World Order (NWO) will arrive as soon as possible'. It was confirmed the tweets were hacked but they weren't speedily removed. |
| 9. Zach Braff | A report stated that 'Scrubs' actor Zach Braff had been found dead after taking a bottle of pills. Zach replied to this report calling the originator a 'douche bag' for upsetting his mum. |
| 10. Bloodgate | In British rugby, a Harlequins player faked a blood injury by biting into a blood capsule so the team could win the match. The hoax was discovered after the 'injured' player was seen winking to the bench. |
Michael Jackson always seemed somewhat fragile but his death reverberated around the world as a shocked populace came to terms with the end of one of the world's greatest ever entertainers. Farrah Fawcett, iconic in her red swimsuit picture, died after fighting a brave battle with cancer, and many were devastated when Patrick Swayze finally succumbed to cancer.
DJ AM who despite surviving a plane crash, never managed to fight off his demons and thrust the entertainment world into a fresh wave of mourning after his accidental drug overdose. A pleasant ski trip quickly turned to tragedy after Natasha Richardson walked away after a fall on the slopes but then died soon after. Reality TV star Jade Goody had invited the cameras into practically every facet of her life, ending with the young mother and wife dying in the media glare.
John Travolta was left shell-shocked following the death of his much loved son, Jett, and the way David Carradine died brought back memories of Michael Hutchence's death. Meanwhile the United State's saw the passing of another Kennedy clan heavyweight.
| FAREWELLS | |
| 1. Michael Jackson | The 'King of Pop' died on 25 June after collapsing in his home. Jackson, who has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice has three children, Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket and was one of the most influential artists of his time. |
| 2. Patrick Swayze | After nearly 18 months of battle, Patrick Swayze died of pancreatic cancer on 14 September. Swayze will be best remembered for his starring roles in 'Dirty Dancing', 'Ghost' and 'Point Break'. |
| 3. Farrah Fawcett | Farrah Fawcett died of anal cancer on 25 June. She rose to fame starring in the original Charlie's Angels television drama for which she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 1976. |
| 4. DJ AM | Real name Adam Michael Goldstein died on 28 August from an accidental drug overdose. Goldstein survived a plane crash in 2008 and was once engaged to Nicole Ritchie. |
| 5. Natasha Richardson | Natasha Richardson died on 18 March aged 45 after falling and hitting her head during a skiing lesson. Richardson was married to Liam Neeson and was awarded a Tony in 1998 for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical. |
| 6. Jade Goody | Reality TV star, Jade Goody passed away on 22nd March from cervical cancer aged 27. She rose to fame through Big Brother in 2002 and produced a number of products during her fame. Jade's death has lead to a significant increase in young women screening for cervical cancer. |
| 7. Jett Travolta | Jett, son of John Travolta and Kelly Preston died on 2 January from a seizure while the family was holidaying in The Bahamas. Jett suffered from Kawasaki disease and Autism. |
| 8. David Carradine | David Carradine passed away in a Bangkok hotel room on 3 June from autoerotic asphyxiation. Carradine, 72 was best remembered for his starring role in the 1970's TV series, 'Kung Fu' and the Quentin Tarrantino film, 'Kill Bill'. |
| 9. Ted Kennedy | Younger brother of John F and Robert, Edward 'Ted' Kennedy was a US Senator for 46 years. He died of brain cancer on 25 August. |
| 10. Don Lane | Don Lane died on 22 October from a dementia related illness. Lane was a much loved Australian TV presenter originally from New York. He had worked closely with Graham Kennedy and Bert Newton. |
What's a year in Sport without sports stars plagued by major sporting scandals. Who can forget Matthew Johns admitting to the allegations? He was subsequently stood down by Channel 9 as commentator on 'The Footy Show' and released by Melbourne Storm indefinitely as assistant coach. Tiger Woods' private life was splashed over international papers as a string of women came forward admitting affairs with the champion. The private life of Caster Semenya had to become embarrasingly public after people demanded to know whether she was officially male or female.
| SPORTING MOMENTS | |
| 1. Tiger Woods | Tiger Woods' saintly image was blown apart in early December, after 11 women admitted to having an affair with the golf champion. Since the confirmed infidelities, Woods has announced an indefinite leave from professional golf. |
| 2. Matthew Johns | In May, 'Four Corners' broadcast a report on ex-Rugby League player, Matthew Johns involving him in a sex scandal while on tour in New Zealand in 2002. |
| 3. Caster Semenya | In August, Mokgadi Caster Semenya won gold in the 800 meters at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. However, questions about her gender were raised after her victory. |
| 4. Michael Phelps | In January, pictures of Olympic swimming champion, Michael Phelps smoking marijuana were on the cover of international papers. Phelps was banned from competition swimming for 3 months by USA Swimming. |
| 5. AFL sex scandal | After the Matthew Johns incident in NRL, stories of AFL clubs using group sex as a bonding technique emerged. The AFL replied stating they have been working with the Victorian Police and University of Melbourne to educate players through the 'Respect and Responsibility' programme. |
| 6. Serena Williams | In the US Open semi-final against Kim Clijsters, a line judge called a foot fault against Serena Williams which ended in a dramatic outburst from Serena to the judge. A point penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct was given and Serena lost the match. She later apologised for her behaviour. |
| 7. State of Origin | In July, allegations were made that some players of the QLD Maroons mixed energy drinks and prescription drugs along with heavy drinking sessions to the lead up of the series final. |
| 8. Greg Norman & Chris Evert | Greg Norman and former tennis champion, Chris Evert announced their separation in October this year. 'The Shark' famously divorced his wife of 26 years in 2006 claiming there was no third party involved but went on to marry Evert in 2008. |
| 9. Competition swimsuits | In July this year, the World Swimming Federation banned the use of non-textile suits commencing in 2010. The plastic derivative swimsuits have been in use in competition since 2008 and questions have been raised as to how world records will be broken in the future. |
| 10. America's Cup | In 1983, Australia II won the America's Cup with the help of the newly designed winged keel. Now more than 25 years later, disputes over whether the design was Australian or Dutch have arisen. Despite the controversy, the Dutch naval architect thinks Australia should keep the victory. |
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