Who were the most popular people on the Internet in 2015?
Queen of pop, legendary Madonna, once said:
“Popularity comes and goes. You need to know who you are, what you stand for, and why you’re here.”
And, she was right. Popularity doesn’t last long for everybody. There are cases of people who became the world-recognized, only after their death, and the people who were popular while alive but became even more so, after they’ve died. There are also people, who became popular because of some unplanned and unusual event, but soon after it, they were forgotten. You can never guess, what will catch the attention of the public eye, and how long can someone stay at the top!
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That’s why celebrities are doing all kinds of crazy stuff, passionately wanting to stay popular. Some of them are so eager to be noticed all the time that they actually enjoy having paparazzi around them, and they would do almost anything to be the most talked-about person. There are those who don’t believe in the negative publicity.
Of course, there are others who are much more bothered by the other side of the medal called popularity. And that other side is the one that affects their private life badly. Oh, well, I guess, like everything in life, saying yes to something just means saying no to something else. And saying yes to popularity means saying no to living in peace, and having your privacy. You can’t have it both ways.
And, with the advancement of the technology, following celebrities has become easier than ever. Even the regular people can now follow their favorite actors and singers, just by subscribing to one of their social accounts. And, as for paparazzi, it is easier for them too. With the cameras they offer these days on the market, it has never been easier to take a picture of someone and make it available to the entire world. Speaking of cameras, don’t forget to check our article on 7 easiest cameras to use for seniors.
Back on the topic! People who are on out list below, are not the ones who are running away from attention. If so, they wouldn’t be having all these accounts on different social networks. They need popularity because that is part of their job. So, what do you think – who dominated the Internet last year?
In order to determine who were the most popular people on the Internet in 2015, we decided to use popular social networks as our criteria. Hence, we used similar lists that show which celebrities were most popular last year on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. As you can see, this list for Facebook, includes celebrities that are not among us anymore, and we didn’t want to include them, so we’ve taken into account the celebrities next in line from this year. Since the numbers of followers are very big, chances are those who are among the top 10 most popular live celebrities on Facebook in 2016, were the same in 2015. Each celebrity was assigned with 5 points for every list on which appeared (only people who were among the top 10 were counted). Two more points were assigned if the person was also present on the Time’s list of the 30 Most influential people on the Internet from March 2015. We also wanted to include the list of the Top 10 most googled people in 2015, but there were no matches with the people we found to be most popular on social networks. And we find those social networks to be the best parameter for how much is a person truly popular on the Internet. (Keep in mind that people who have the same number of points are randomly placed and they can easily switch spots.) The maximum point each celebrity could get in our popularity count is 17, and only two people on our list have it. Interested to know who they are?
Then, let’s finally check them out, shall we?
9. Kim Kardashian
Popularity Count: 7
Kim Kardashian seems to be one of those people who would do anything to attract attention. I mean she became world famous most thankfully to the sex tape she recorded with her boyfriend at the time, rapper Ray J. Allegedly, they didn’t plan to make it publicly available, but somehow it leaked. Intentionally or not, Kim Kardashian surely knows how to stay popular, as she had incredible 46.8 million followers on her Instagram account last year. That number is keep raising, as she already has 63,6 million followers.
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8. Barack Obama
Popularity Count: 7
Did you expect to see a politician on this list? Well, Barack Obama seems to be in the center of the attention ever since he has become the president of the US. Which is something that goes naturally with the position. All his moves political and personal, are followed, and he doesn’t have to do anything special to keep the attention. So why does he have social media accounts? Well, first of all, he is a modern president, well aware of the fact how powerful these networks are, and how easily they can be used, both for campaigns and for addressing a variety of issues, communicating with the voters. Last year his Twitter account was followed by 60+ million people, and now, at the moment of writing, he already has more than 70 million followers.
7. Beyonce
Popularity Count: 7
She is beautiful, talented, amazing singer and she is world-recognized. Seeing Beyonce on the list of most popular people on the Internet in 2015, is not coming as a surprise. Everybody loves her, and she loves the attention, which is why she enjoys posting photos and selfies on her Instagram account. Last year she had 46 million followers, and now she has already 63 million followers. With these numbers in mind, it is safe to say that Beyonce will stay at the top for a long, long time.
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6. Shakira
Popularity Count: 7
Maybe the most unique personality on our list, Shakira, has more than 100 million followers on Facebook. Some people love her for her unusual voice and yodeling, and some for her amazing belly dancing. Maybe it was her originality that has helped her gain so much attention. And, her hips that don’t lie have played a huge part in her success. There is no doubt about it.
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5. Katy Perry
Popularity Count: 10
Whether you like her songs and music, or don’t, you can deny her powerful voice. Yes, she needed one catchy and provocative hit like “I kissed a girl” to make a breakthrough, but after that she has sung some pretty amazing songs like the strong and emotional ballad Unconditionally, or very inspiring and motivational song Roar. With more than 70 million followers on Instagram (last year), Katy Perry has proved who has the loudest roar on the musical scene.
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4. Cristiano Ronaldo
Popularity Count: 10
Finally, some athlete among all these singers on our list of most popular people on the Internet in 2015. Don’t get me wrong, I love music and musicians, but it is nice to see that some people from sport also can catch so much attention. They work very hard too, often times much harder than some pop stars; compete every year, testing themselves both physically and mentally. These are the virtues that we should all be inspired by, which is why I am glad to see that at least one sports figure is on this list, too.
3. Rihanna
Popularity Count: 10
Who doesn’t love this precious jewel from Barbados? It doesn’t matter if she sings a ballad or a dance song, it doesn’t matter with whom she sings a duet, or how she is dressed up, one thing is sure – the crowd will go insane. She has had so many hits throughout the years that is hard to count them all. Almost every song she sings becomes a hit. Luck? Talent? Perfection? Sensuality? Good producing? Marketing? Probably everything. Rihanna has it all, and she sure knows how to use it.
2. Justin Bieber
Popularity Count: 17
You may love him, you may hate him, but you can’t deny his popularity. It seems to me that Justin Bieber is the most hated and loved personality at the same time. It’s like no one is indifferent towards him. Well, that is something, isn’t it? Last year, this famous Canadian, had around 39.2 million followers on Instagram, around 64 million on Twitter, and around 72 million followers on Facebook. It doesn’t matter what, or where Justin posts something, there will be a hell lot of people to read it, share it, like it, enjoy it, or hate it.
1. Taylor Swift
Popularity Count: 17
Taylor Swift this, Taylor Swift that, Taylor Swift here, and Taylor Swift everywhere. For some reason, Taylor Swift seems to be the most talked-about celebrity for quite some time now, and it comes as no surprise that she has topped this list of the most popular people on the Internet in 2015. Currently, she has more than 72 million followers on Twitter, 69 million on Instagram and more than 74 million followers on Facebook. What do you think, is she going to top the new list for this year, and become the most popular person on the Internet in 2016, too?
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