Google just dropped its Year in Search data for 2025, and the search giant didn’t hand us one list. They served two, each telling a different story about how we consumed music this year.
The first tracks what people typed when they needed lyrics in their lives. The second reveals which melodies hit so hard that people literally hummed them into their phones to find out what they were.
These aren’t just numbers. They’re cultural receipts showing which tracks wormed into our collective consciousness so deep that we either needed to sing along word-perfect or couldn’t get the melody out of our heads even when we forgot the name.
Top 10 Trending Song Lyrics Searches
When people searched for lyrics in 2025, they wanted these words:
- Bad Bunny – “DtMF” (Debí Tirar Más Fotos)
- Tabola Bale – “Silet Open Up”
- Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
- KATSEYE – “Gabriela”
- Taylor Swift – “Eldest Daughter”
- Taylor Swift – “The Fate of Ophelia”
- Taylor Swift – “Opalite”
- Taylor Swift – “Father Figure”
- LBI – “跳楼机 (Drop Tower)”
- Saja Boys – “Soda Pop” (KPop Demon Hunters)
Top 10 Hum to Search Trending Songs
These melodies had people humming into their phones like they were auditioning for a cappella groups:
- HUNTR/X (feat. EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI, KPop Demon Hunters Cast) – “Golden”
- Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
- ATLXS – “PASSO BEM SOLTO”
- Doechii – “Anxiety”
- Connie Francis – “Pretty Little Baby”
- MXZI – “MONTAGEM TOMADA”
- East Duo – “ჩუბინა”
- Haneen – “سيدة قلبي” (Sayidat Qalbi)
- Ravyn Lenae – “Love Me Not”
- Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
What These Two Lists Actually Mean
The lyrics list shows songs people already knew existed. They heard them, got hooked, and needed to sing along properly.
These are tracks that made people pull out their phones mid-commute to Google “Bad Bunny should have taken more photos lyrics” because the words mattered as much as the melody.
The Hum to Search list reveals something different. These are earworms that infected brains without permission.
Someone heard “Golden” playing in a coffee shop, couldn’t shake the melody, and hummed it into Google at 2am because they needed to know what it was. That’s a different kind of obsession.
Notice Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” appears on both lists. That’s the sweet spot: a song so catchy people hum it to find it, then so lyrically resonant they search the words to understand it fully.
#1 (Lyrics): DtMF – Bad Bunny
Bad Bunny’s “DtMF” topped the lyrics search list, which makes perfect sense when you understand what the song actually says. “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” translates to “I Should Have Taken More Photos,” and the Puerto Rican superstar delivered lyrics that cut straight to the bone.
Released January 5, 2025, as the title track from his sixth studio album, the song already crossed one billion Spotify streams. But numbers don’t capture why people needed these specific words.
Bad Bunny samples plena, a Puerto Rican folk genre traditionally used to carry news and social messages, blending it with a reggaetón rhythm that feels meditative rather than club-ready.
Lines like “Disfrutando lo que se pierden los que se fueron” (Enjoying what those who left are missing out on) speak directly to Puerto Rico’s diaspora.
The song addresses people forced to move to the mainland for economic survival, turning nostalgia into political commentary without losing its emotional core. This isn’t background music. It’s a cultural statement that people wanted to understand word for word.
The lyrics weave San Juan’s physical landscape throughout the verses, turning the city into a symbol of memory and resistance.
When Bad Bunny sings “Pero con ganas de volver a la última vez que te miré” (But wishing I could go back to the last time I looked into your eyes), he’s layering personal loss onto broader cultural displacement. People searched these lyrics because they needed to see how he articulated feelings they couldn’t name themselves.
#5-8 (Lyrics): Taylor Swift’s Quadruple Threat
Swift claimed four spots on the lyrics search list, all from her October 2025 album The Life of a Showgirl. That’s not just chart success. That’s people needing her exact words like they needed air.
“Eldest Daughter” at number five, “The Fate of Ophelia” at six, “Opalite” at seven, and “Father Figure” at eight represent different shades of Swift’s storytelling spectrum. Each track hit different emotional pressure points hard enough to send people searching.
“Opalite” particularly resonated, reaching number two on Reddit’s PopHeads Weekly Hot 50 chart with 258 points and 1,283 listeners in October.
The song uses a synthetic gemstone as metaphor for manufactured happiness, the kind you build yourself rather than wait to discover.
Swift revealed on Capital FM that she’d been stockpiling the word “opalite” in her lyric files after learning it was synthetic, waiting for the right song. That’s the level of craft that makes people Google lyrics at 3am.
The track charted in the top ten across Australia, Vietnam, Switzerland, the Philippines, Denmark, the UK, Malaysia, Norway, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, and Singapore.
In the UK, “Opalite” grabbed the second spot on the Official Charts during the album’s release week while “The Fate of Ophelia” topped the chart and “Elizabeth Taylor” came third.
Swift’s absence from the Hum to Search list tells its own story. Her fans already know her music exists. They don’t need to hum melodies into their phones because they’re plugged into every release. What they need are the precise words to decode the metaphors and Easter eggs Swift buries in every verse.
#2 (Hum to Search) & #3 (Lyrics): Alex Warren’s “Ordinary”
Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” achieved something rare: it dominated both lists. The track sits at number two for Hum to Search and number three for lyrics, proving it works on multiple levels simultaneously.
The song became the UK’s biggest track of 2025 so far, racking up more than 1.7 million UK chart units and 203.5 million UK streams.
The Californian singer-songwriter secured a record-breaking 13th consecutive week at number one in June 2025, making him the US artist with the most consecutive weeks at number one in Official Singles Chart history.
People hummed “Ordinary” to find it, then searched the lyrics to understand it. That’s the full journey from discovery to emotional connection.
Warren described the track as an exploration of finding beauty in everyday moments, a theme that resonated with audiences seeking authenticity in an era of manufactured pop perfection.
The melody hits immediately, catchy enough to stick after one listen. But the lyrics reward deeper engagement, offering the kind of emotional specificity that turns casual listeners into committed fans.
#1 (Hum to Search): Golden – HUNTR/X
“Golden” from Netflix’s animated musical “KPop Demon Hunters” topped the Hum to Search list, which reveals something fascinating about 2025’s biggest surprise hit. People heard this track everywhere but didn’t immediately know where it came from.
The song features HUNTR/X with EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI, and the KPop Demon Hunters Cast, and it became the year’s streaming monster.
The track appeared on October 2025 viral hit charts and maintained chart positions well into December. But its dominance on the Hum to Search list shows how it infiltrated public consciousness beyond the show’s direct audience.
Someone heard “Golden” playing in a shop, couldn’t shake the melody, and hummed it into Google later because they needed to identify it. That’s different from searching lyrics. That’s a hook so infectious it lives rent-free in your brain until you find out what it is.
The track proved that animated series soundtracks can compete with traditional pop releases when the music matches the show’s energy. This wasn’t a throwaway track written for a licensing deal. It was a full production that stood independently of the show’s narrative.
#4 (Lyrics) & #10 (Lyrics): K-Pop Demon Hunters’ Soundtrack Dominance
KATSEYE’s “Gabriela” hit number four on the lyrics search list, while Saja Boys’ “Soda Pop” (also from the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack) landed at number ten.
Combined with “Golden” topping Hum to Search, the animated show’s music claimed three spots across both lists.
This represents a fundamental shift in how soundtracks function. These weren’t songs people tolerated while watching.
They were tracks people actively sought out, searched lyrics for, and hummed when they couldn’t remember the names. The show became a music discovery platform as much as an entertainment property.
The Hum to Search List’s Unique Reveals
The Hum to Search list showcases tracks that infiltrated consciousness through different channels than traditional marketing.
#3: ATLXS – “PASSO BEM SOLTO”
This Brazilian track proved that language barriers mean nothing when the rhythm hits right. The song accumulated millions of TikTok creations, with people using it to soundtrack everything from beach videos to dance challenges. They hummed it to find it because the melody stuck regardless of whether they understood Portuguese.
#4: Doechii – “Anxiety”
One of 2025’s most adventurous pop songs, blending experimental production with confessional lyrics. The track soundtracked countless TikTok videos about mental health journeys and personal growth. People hummed it after hearing it in vulnerability-focused content, drawn to production that felt genuinely different.
#5: Connie Francis – “Pretty Little Baby”
Perhaps the year’s most surprising entry. This classic 1950s recording became the go-to soundtrack for wholesome pet and family videos throughout 2025, averaging over 600,000 daily TikTok video creations at its peak.
Gen Z discovered Francis’ voice for the first time while their grandparents heard songs they’d forgotten they loved.
The Hum to Search placement reveals something beautiful: people heard this vintage track in their For You Page, got charmed by the melody, and hummed it to Google because they’d never encountered it before. TikTok’s algorithm gave a 70-year-old recording the same visibility as tracks with six-figure marketing budgets.
#6: MXZI – “MONTAGEM TOMADA”
Another track that crossed borders through pure rhythmic appeal. Brazilian funk found new audiences through TikTok, and people hummed these patterns to identify them because the beats were too infectious to ignore.
#9: Ravyn Lenae – “Love Me Not”
Lenae parlayed TikTok virality into streaming success and growing radio embrace. The Hum to Search placement shows the typical discovery path: hear it in a video, can’t shake the melody, hum it to find the name, then search the lyrics once you’re hooked.
#10: Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
Gaga’s “Abracadabra” captured 2025’s “recession pop” energy better than any other single release. The chaotic, maximalist track helped launch her Mayhem era with grinding, industrial production that kept ratcheting up sonic tension before Gaga’s elegant vocal provided relief.
The Hum to Search placement reveals people discovering Gaga’s return through ambient exposure rather than direct fandom. They heard it playing somewhere, got infected by the hook, and hummed it later to identify what they’d experienced. That’s reaching beyond the existing fanbase.
The Lyrics List’s Unique Entries
Three tracks appeared only on the lyrics search list, revealing songs where the words mattered more than initial discovery.
#2: Tabola Bale – “Silet Open Up”
Landing at number two shows massive search interest in understanding what this track actually says. The high lyrics placement without Hum to Search presence suggests people already knew the song existed (likely through TikTok or streaming) and wanted to decode the meaning.
#9: LBI – “跳楼机 (Drop Tower)”
The Chinese title translates to “Drop Tower,” and its lyrics-only placement indicates listeners already familiar with the track wanted to understand the words. This represents music crossing language barriers through streaming, with people then seeking translations to grasp the full meaning.
Both entries showcase global sounds finding audiences who care enough to search for lyric translations and meanings, even when they discovered the music through other channels.
What These Two Lists Actually Tell Us
The split between lyrics searches and Hum to Search reveals two distinct music discovery paths in 2025.
The Lyrics Path: People already know the song exists. They’ve heard it multiple times, gotten hooked, and now need the exact words. This list skews toward artists with established fanbases (Swift’s four entries) and songs with narrative depth that rewards lyrical analysis (Bad Bunny’s cultural commentary).
The Hum to Search Path: People heard something they couldn’t identify. The melody infected their brain, but they don’t know the artist or title. This list reveals music breaking through ambient exposure: TikTok backgrounds, public spaces, algorithm-curated playlists. It shows which tracks have hooks so strong they work without context.
Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” bridging both lists represents the ideal trajectory: immediate melodic appeal that converts to lyrical engagement.
The global representation across both lists shows music’s increasingly borderless nature. Brazilian funk, Chinese pop, Georgian traditional sounds, and Arabic vocals appear alongside American and British pop. Language creates no barrier when the melody hits right, though people do search for translations once they’re hooked.
🔍 NeonSignal: Search-Driven Engagement Patterns
Signal: Multi-Mode Discovery Signals Meaning
Status: Emerging
Timeframe: Next 2–4 months
Why this matters:
When listeners actively hummed melodies, searched lyrics, or decoded meaning through search engines, it revealed a deeper engagement with music that goes beyond passive listening – indicating tracks with narrative depth or melodic stickiness are elevating their cultural presence.
What happens next:
Songs that become embedded in listeners’ minds – either through hooks, emotional storytelling, or lyrical resonance – will increasingly dominate both search and streaming trends.
The Bigger Picture: Search as Cultural Barometer
Google’s two trending lists function as different types of cultural thermometers.
Lyrics searches measure depth of engagement. People invest time typing full song titles plus “lyrics” because they want to sing along accurately, decode metaphors, or understand cultural references they’re missing. It’s active, intentional behavior that signals genuine connection.
Hum to Search measures breadth of influence. These melodies penetrated consciousness so thoroughly that people encountered them passively, got infected, and couldn’t rest until they identified the source. It’s involuntary, revealing which hooks actually stick in a content-saturated environment.
Together, they show how music moved through culture in 2025. Not through traditional radio rotation or label marketing campaigns, but through TikTok virality, algorithmic playlists, and peer-to-peer sharing.
Songs can live quietly for months before exploding. Tracks from different decades compete on equal footing. Geographic boundaries matter less than emotional resonance.
Bad Bunny topping lyrics searches while HUNTR/X dominated Hum to Search tells the full story. One artist delivered words people needed to understand. The other created a melody people couldn’t escape. Both approaches won, just through different mechanisms.
The algorithm might determine initial visibility, but human connection determines which songs people actively search for.
Whether they’re typing “Bad Bunny should have taken more photos lyrics” or humming “Golden” into their phone at 2am, the common thread stays the same: music that makes people feel something strong enough to chase it down.
That hasn’t changed. Only the tools have.
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