'Donald Trump', 'Punggol Coast Mall' & 'SG60': S'pore's trending search terms in 2025

With 2026 just a month away, Christmas shopping lists are growing longer, Spotify Wrapped stories are flooding Instagram again, and New Year’s resolutions are quietly taking shape.

As everyone starts reflecting on the year that has slipped by (seriously, where has the time gone), another familiar year-end rundown arrives: Google’s Year in Search 2025 for Singapore.

The annual list tracks the top trending search terms that saw the biggest spikes in interest throughout the year.

In 2025, Singaporeans leaned on Google for everything from general election updates to new attractions like the Singapore Oceanarium, SG60 vouchers and even Lady Gaga’s long-awaited return.

Here’s a quick (non-exhaustive) rundown of what Singaporeans were Googling the most in 2025:

Trending Singapore News

With some 2.63 million Singaporeans heading to the polls this year, the Singapore General Elections inevitably dominated online searches.

Search interest surged around the “Singapore General Elections results”, coming in at #9, with the Labour chief and NTUC secretary-general “Ng Chee Meng” placing #1 for trending Singaporean personalities, along with other political candidates such as "Alexis Dang" and "Chee Soon Juan" also being listed in the top five.

2025 also marked a major milestone for Singapore with year-long "SG60" celebrations, which made it in the top three search terms for Singapore news.

Singaporeans followed other SG60-related updates closely, from the introduction of the "SG Culture Pass", which provided $100 in credits for cultural activities, to the rollout of new tranches of "SG60 vouchers" and "CDC voucher" all making it into the top 10 for trending finance topics and Singapore news.

Singaporeans were also keenly aware of shifts in global trade, such as the implementation of the “Trump tariffs”, which placed the topic at #8, and of “Donald Trump” himself, who drew the most searches on the trending international personalities list.

Trending local personalities

While political figures dominated the top spots in 2025, several non-political local personalities also drew significant search interest, often because of controversies that sparked public discussion.

Actor "Ian Fang" surfaced as one of the most-searched Singapore personalities this year after he was charged in connection with an underage sex case.

Meanwhile, "Gurmit Singh’s daughter" saw a rise in search interest after appearing with her father on a CNA programme.

Trending city buzz

Singaporeans spent much of 2025 exploring refreshed attractions and new destinations with family and friends.

The top location on the list was “Rainforest Wild ASIA”, Mandai’s long-awaited immersive rainforest experience.

The other two were “Punggol Coast Mall”, a new heartland mall, along with the revamped Sentosa aquarium “Singapore Oceanarium”.

Food, unsurprisingly, also made the list, with searches for “Gastrobeats 2025” and “Paradise Hotpot” making the top 10.

“Yo-chi” also made the top 10 as the popular Australian yoghurt brand opened its first outlet in Singapore.

Trending international news and personalities

Beyond local headlines, Singaporeans also kept a close eye on global personalities.

Astronomer CEO, "Andy Byron", became one of the top 3 most-searched international personalities in Singapore this year after his affair was exposed at a Coldplay concert, sparking endless memes and his eventual resignation.

Malaysian singer-songwriter "Namewee" also saw heightened search interest after being at the centre of investigations involving the death of Taiwanese influencer Iris Hsieh.

American conservative commentator "Charlie Kirk" was #1 in search traffic after he was shot while addressing a crowd.

Unsurprisingly, tech curiosity remained strong, with the “iPhone 17” ranking #2 after Charlie Kirk, driven by long queues and people who camped as early as 4am on launch day.

Pop culture - trending TV shows, movies and others

"Lady Gaga", with Singapore being the only Southeast Asian stop for her MAYHEM tour this year, placed #6 for trending Singapore news and second for trending international personalities.

As for TV shows that Singaporeans binged, “Emerald Hill – The Little Nyonya Story”, the sequel to the beloved 2008 local drama, sits in the top 5, while the new season for "Squid Game" was at #2.

As for movies, the smash hit "Kpop Demon Hunters" came in at #3, no doubt thanks in part to the hit track "Golden," which seemed to be playing just about everywhere.

Google said the 2025 results reflected “a sense of measured caution” shaped by global economic uncertainty, alongside “an opportunistic and optimistic mindset” as Singapore celebrated its 60th anniversary.

Image from K Tan/ Google Maps and White House Gallery