December 12, 2023
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Some of Philadelphia's most popular (or at least most searched) shows of 2023 include 'The Last of Us' and 'Shrinking.'
Over the past year, millions of people plugged everything from "Smurf cat" to "How often do you think about the Roman Empire?" into Google, and now the search engine is sharing its most common queries.
Google released its annual Year in Search on Tuesday, breaking down some of the most-searched people, songs and stadiums. (The Linc didn't make the cut.) The Philly region didn't make quite as strong of a showing in the data roundup as last year, when the Phillies, Will Smith and Taylor Swift dominated searches.
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In 2023, Swift made another appearance with the seventh-most-searched song in the U.S., "Cruel Summer," and helped catapult her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, to global lists of the most-searched people. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts also made a showing as the fifth-most-searched athlete in the U.S.
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," starring Jenkintown-native and Philly cheesesteak slinger Bradley Cooper, made the top 10 list of this year's most-searched movies, alongside the "Rocky" spinoff sequel "Creed III."
But Google also provided localized breakdowns by zip code and city, revealing more specific search trends. In the Philadelphia region, people spent a good chunk of their year looking up the HBO post-pandemic thriller "The Last of Us," which was the most-searched TV show for the city. "The Golden Bachelor," featuring Delco breakout Susan Noles, came in second, followed by "The Night Agent," "Daisy Jones & the Six" and "Shrinking."
As for concerts, Swift's Eras Tour topped the regional list, followed by Beyoncé's Renaissance Tour. Drake and SZA, who abruptly rescheduled her Wells Fargo show earlier this year, claimed the third and fourth spots with their 2023 tours. The New Jersey-bred Jonas Brothers rounded out the top five.
Philadelphia's top "near me" search was "air quality near me," undoubtedly inspired by the multiple days of unsafe air the city experienced over the summer due to the wildfire smoke from Canada. "Pawn shops near me" and "plasma donations near me" also were popular, but the next one is a head-scratcher. "Batting cages near me" was the fourth most-searched "near me" query for Philly, making it the only place in America with that top trending search.
Google didn't elaborate on who exactly is searching for those batting cages, but one thing is clear: A lot of people want Bryce Harper's job.
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