NEWS

BTS Is 2018's Most Tweeted-About Celebrity, Plus More Year-End Twitter Data

12/5/2018 by Shelby Reitman

Lady Gaga had the year's third most globally quoted tweet with a post from 2012 that became a meme.

As if there was any doubt already, BTS are truly a global phenomenon.

According to year-end data from Twitter released on Wednesday (Dec. 5), the K-pop boy band was 2018's most tweeted-about user globally, topping the tally for the second year in a row. As well, band member Jimin, was the ninth most tweeted-about celebrity in the United States, even without his own Twitter handle.

BTS, who have 17.2 million followers currently, were also the most tweeted-about musicians in the U.S. and globally had the most liked tweet of 2018 -- their video for Drake's #InMyFeelingsChallenge posted on July 23 amassed over 1.6 million likes and over 13.7 million views.

Check out the tweet below:

 

Meanwhile, #nowplaying was the most used hashtag globally Feb. 25, the day of the Olympics closing ceremony, was the day with the most tweets this year and there were more than 500 million GIFs tweeted this year -- an average of 1.6 million a day, or over 1,000 a minute.

Specific to music, Lady Gaga had the third most globally quoted tweet of 2018 with a post from Nov. 6, 2012, that resurfaced and became a meme used to express frustration and excitement.

Check out her tweet below:

 

In the U.S. specifically, March For Our Lives was the most tweeted-about movement, Black Panther was the most tweeted-about movie, Saturday Night Live was the most tweeted-about television show and 13 Reasons Why was the most tweeted-about streaming show. As well, musicians dominated the most tweeted-about celebrities list with nine out of the top 10 slots. See the full U.S. lists below.

The Most Tweeted-About Celebrities

1. BTS (@BTS_twt)​
2. LeBron James (@KingJames)
3. Kanye West (@KanyeWest)
4. Drake (@Drake)
5. EXO (@weareoneEXO)
6. Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande)
7. Cardi B (@iamCardiB)
8. Beyonce (@Beyonce)
9. #Jimin *see below for explanation*
10. Nicki Minaje (@NickiMinaj)

The Most Tweeted-About Musicians:
1. @BTS_twt
2. @KanyeWest
3. @Drake
4. @weareoneEXO
5. @ArianaGrande
6. @iamCardiB
7. @Beyonce
8. #Jimin *see below for explanation*
9. @NickiMinaj
10. @Rihanna

The Most Tweeted-About Movements:
1. March For Our Lives
2. NFL Protests
3. Students Stand Up
4. Me Too
5. Black Lives Matter

The Most Tweeted-About Movies:
1. Black Panther
2. The Avengers: Infinity War
3. The Incredibles 2
4. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
5. Deadpool 2
6. Love, Simon
7. A Wrinkle in Time
8. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
9. Crazy Rich Asians
10. The Shape of Water

The Most Tweeted-About TV Shows:
1. Saturday Night Live
2. Roseanne
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. The Walking Dead
5. Big Brother
6. The Voice
7. Live PD
8. Supernatural
9. Game of Thrones
10. Riverdale

The Most Tweeted-About Streaming Shows:
1. 13 Reasons Why
2. Stranger Things
3. Black Mirror
4. Queer Eye
5. The Handmaid’s Tale

The Most Tweeted-About Athletes:
1. LeBron James
2. Colin Kaepernick  
3. Kobe Bryant
4. Kyrie Irving  
5. Tom Brady
6. Dwyane Wade
7. Serena Williams
8. Kawhi Leonard
9. Chris Paul
10. Stephen Curry

UPDATE: Twitter issued a statement on Wednesday correcting its list and stating that Jimin of BTS, who does not have his own Twitter account, was actually the eighth most tweeted celebrity. The vast majority of BTS fans use the hashtag #jimin when referring to him. The list had originally credited this position to the @jminpark07 Twitter account belonging to another Jimin Park, a singer with 587k followers.

 

Billboard Year in Music 2018