If you listen to Lady Gaga, can your own vegetables and watch Dancing with the Stars, consider yourself at the peak of popular trends in modern America.
Trend-tracking firm Nielsen recently released its Top 10 lists for most popular and fastest-growing trends in movies, books, TV shows, games, consumer goods and other ultra-hip sectors – giving a peek into the mindset of modern culture.
There’s good news for vampires in Hollywood, political manifestos and manufacturers of big storage freezers. Here are the Top 10 lists for 2009, as of data leading into November:
TELEVISION
What we watched
Watching amateurs trying to sing and dance proved irresistible to Americans sitting on the couch this year. Otherwise, only professional football and NCIS could elbow a few spots into the Top 10 lists. Top 10 TV regularly scheduled TV programs, and percent of homes watching.
1 American Idol-Wednesday, FOX - 14.4
2 American Idol-Tuesday, FOX - 13.8
3 Dancing with the Stars, ABC - 12.0
4 NBC Sunday Night Football, NBC - 11.7
5 Dancing with the Stars - Results Show, ABC - 9.9
6 NCIS: Los Angeles, CBS - 9.8
7 NCIS, CBS - 9.4
8 NFL Regular Season, ESPN - 8.8
8 Sunday Night NFL Pre-kick, NBC - 8.8
10 The Good Wife, CBS - 8.5
What we recorded
Americans love their DVRs, and when it came to watching their favorite programs later, it was science fiction, drama and hero shows that ruled. Here’s the Top 10 list of shows that saw the most growth in "time shifted" watching.
1 Battlestar Galactica, SYFY - 59.4
2 Mad Men, AMC - 57.7
3 Damages, FX - 56.3
4 Rescue Me, FX - 53.2
5 True Blood, HBO - 46.9
5 Stargate Universe, SYFY - 46.9
7 Sanctuary, SYFY - 45.9
7 Heroes, NBC - 45.9
9 Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, FOX - 45.5
10 10 Things I Hate About You, FAM - 44.9
10 Dollhouse, FOX - 44.9
10 Melrose Place CW 44.9
What commercials we loved
"Likeability" is all in the eye of the beholder. But when Nielsen researched the most-loved TV commercials, comedy prevailed, as did cute puppies.
1 Budweiser Clydesdale fetches a large tree branch
2 Starburst Man and llama feed candy to each other
3 Doritos Man throws snow globe into vending machine
4 Cottonelle Puppy is pampered at spa
5 Pedigree Adoption Drive; people with unusual and large pets
6 Budweiser Clydesdale travels to find Daisy
7 Starburst Man talks to a Scotch-Korean; pack of contradictions
8 E*Trade Baby talks smack about golf opponent
9 Dawn 1 Bottle equals $1 to save wildlife
10 M&Ms Red candy runs on grocery store checkout conveyor belt
MOVIES
What we watched
As the recession ground on through the year, the most popular genres in movies were fantasy, science fiction, comedy and children’s movies. Here are the Top 10 blockbusters. Total cumulative revenue through November 30, with their release date. Notably, Twilight was No. 6, though it only hit screens on November 20, just 10 days before Nielsen closed out the list.
1 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. $402,111,870 - 6/24/2009
2 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. $301,948,049 - 7/15/2009
3 Up. $293,004,164 - 5/29/2009
4 The Hangover. $277,283,642 - 6/5/2009
5 Star Trek. $257,730,019 - 5/8/2009
6 Twilight Saga: New Moon. $255,363,052 - 11/20/2009
7 Monsters vs. Aliens. $198,351,526 - 3/27/2009
8 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. $196,573,705 - 7/1/2009
10 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. $177,243,721 - 5/22/2009
What we bought
Those same escapist genres proved most popular among DVD sales.
1 Twilight. - 3/21/2009
2 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - 10/20/2009
3 Up - 11/10/2009
4 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - 2/6/2009
5 Dark Knight - 12/9/2008
6 Gran Torino - 6/9/2009
7 Star Trek - 11/17/2009
8 Bolt - 3/24/2009
9 Marley & Me - 3/31/2009
10 Quantum of Solace - 3/24/2009
Note: Data does not include sales at Walmart, which does not release DVD sales information.
MUSIC
What we bought
Kanye West may have taken her microphone, but Taylor Swift topped the Top album sales list. (Kanye ranked No. 8.)
1 Fearless - Taylor Swift
2 I am…Sasha Fierce - Beyonce
3 Dark Horse - Nickelback
4 Twilight Soundtrack
5 Hannah Montana: The Movie Soundtrack
6 Circus - Britney Spears
7 808s & Heartbreak - Kanye West
8 The Fame - Lady Gaga
9 Relapse - Eminem
10 The E.N.D. - The Black Eyed Peas
What we downloaded
The Black Eyed Peas ruled the digital download domain, as did Lady Gaga, Switch and Kanye. Top 10 Most Digitally Downloaded Songs
1 Boom Boom Pow - The Black Eyed Peas
2 Poker Face - Lady Gaga
3 Just Dance - Lady Gaga featuring Colby O’Donis
4 Right Round - Flo Rida
5 I Gotta Feeling - The Black Eyed Peas
6 Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) - Beyonce
7 Gives You Hell - The All-American Rejects
8 Love Story - Taylor Swift
9 Heartless - Kanye West
10 I’m Yours - Jason Mraz
CELL PHONES
No big surprise, the iPhone took the No. 1 spot among cell phone sales through October, followed by BlackBerry and RAZRs. Notably, LG had four in the top 10 list. Percent by market share.
1 Apple 3G iPhone 4.0
2 RIM BlackBerry 8300 Series (Curve, 8310, 8320, 8330, 8350i) 3.7
10 RIM BlackBerry 8100 series (Pearl, 8110, 8120, 8129) 1.2
BOOKS
Fiction
After just a few months on sale, Dan Brown’s "The Lost Symbol" dominated the adult fiction bestseller list of fiction books. Release date noted.
1 The Lost Symbol, Hardcover, Dan Brown, 9/1/2009
2 The Shack, Paperback, William P. Young, 7/1/2008
3 The Time Traveler’s Wife, Paperback, Audrey Niffenegger, 7/1/2004
4 The Associate, Hardcover, John Grisham, 1/1/2009
5 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Paperback, Mary Ann Shaffer, 5/1/2009
6 The Help, Hardcover, Kathryn Stockett, 2/1/2009
7 The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Paperback, Stieg Larsson, 6/1/2009
8 The Host, Hardcover, Stephenie Meyer, 5/1/2008
9 Olive Kitteridge, Paperback, Elizabeth Strout, 10/1/2008
10 The Associate, Paperback, John Grisham, 9/1/2009
Non-fiction
Political books, advice treatises and big-think pieces topped the list of non-fiction best-sellers. Notably, Sarah Palin’s autobiography hit No. 5 after just a few weeks after its release date.
1 Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man, Hardcover, Steve Harvey, 2/1/2009
2 Glenn Beck’s Common Sense, Paperback, Glenn Beck, 6/1/2009
3 Liberty And Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto, Hardcover, Mark R. Levin, 3/1/2009
4 Outliers: The Story Of Success, Hardcover, Malcolm Gladwell, 11/1/2008
5 Going Rogue: An American Life, Hardcover, Sarah Palin, 11/1/2009
6 Three Cups Of Tea, Paperback, Greg Mortenson, 2/1/2007
7 Eat This, Not That!, Supermarket Survival Guide, Paperback, David Zinczenko, 12/1/2008
8 The Last Lecture, Hardcover, Randy Pausch, 1/1/2008
9 Have a Little Faith: A True Story, Hardcover, Mitch Albom, 9/1/2009
10 Arguing with Idiots, Hardcover, Glenn Beck, 9/1/2009
STUFF
Consumer Purchasing Trends
The recession also showed an impact on consumer goods purchases, as Americans returned to canning and freezing, using flour and altogether returning to the kitchen rather than the restaurants. The Top 10 growth list among consumer goods, by dollar volume percent growth.
1 Canning & Freezing Supplies, 27.6
2 Seasonal General Merchandise, 15.7
3 Dry Vegetables & Grains, 13.5
4 Flour, 10.9
5 Canned Vegetables, 10.3
6 Tobacco & Accessories, 10.2
7 Sugar & Sugar Substitutes, 9.5
8 Motor/Vehicle Care/Accessories, 9.3
9 Pasta, 9.3
10 Baking Mixes, 8.9
VIDEO GAMES
What we played
Wizards and soldiers proved the most popular game genres of the year on PCs. Nielsen ranked them by minutes gamers spent playing per week. The No. 1 title saw more than an hour and a half per day.
1 World of Warcraft, 683 minutes.
2 The Sims, 232
3 The Sims 2, 295
4 RuneScape, 496
5 Halo: Combat Evolved, 263
6 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, 361
7 Left 4 Dead, 319
8 Call of Duty, 302
9 Diablo II, 344
10 Fallout 3, 388
Richard Mullins is a staff writer with Media General News Service in Tampa, Florida
