Justin Bieber is now the reigning King of Twitter. The 18-year-old pop idol has overtaken Lady GaGa to become the most-followed person on the popular social media site.
Lady Gaga even marked her rival’s achievement with a congratulatory tweet to Bieber, writing :
“So proud of @justinbieber and all the Beliebers! I’m only happy to see your fans growing in size, you all deserve it! Monsters support you.”
Bieber’s followers now number 33.32 million followers, while Lady GaGa comes in a close second with 33.32 million.
Gaga had been the most followed person on Twitter since she herself dethroned Britney Spears back in 2010.
Bringing up the top three just below Gaga and Bieber, are Katy Perry at 31.481 million, Rihanna at 27.946 million, and President Barack Obama with 26.158 million followers.
BBC Newsbeat reports that Lady Gaga and Bieber have been the two most popular users on Twitter for some time, but somehow Gaga managed to stay ahead as she became the first to hit 10 million, then rising to 20 million, before she sailed past the 30 million milestone.
Inevitably, both artists have used Twitter to cultivate their connection with their fans — “Little Monsters” and “Beliebers” respectively.
Bieber’s social media victory over Lady Gaga is not total though.
The Born This Way singer trounces Bieber on Facebook with 54.98 million ‘likes’ compared to Justin Bieber’s 50.66 million, and Rihanna beats them both with 65.579 million, Digital Spy notes .
Here’s the virtual lay of the land on Twitter:
1. Justin Bieber – 33.321m 2. Lady GaGa – 33.320m 3. Katy Perry – 31.481m 4. Rihanna – 27.946m 5. Barack Obama – 26.158m 6. Britney Spears – 23.366m 7. Taylor Swift – 23.182m 8. YouTube – 22.226m 9. Shakira – 19.376m 10. Kim Kardashian – 17.233m