Lady Gaga, Barack Obama Among Most Popular Tweets of 2018
By Rachel Yang
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Twitter has unveiled its top-trending topics and tweets of 2018, with Lady Gaga, Barack Obama, and BTS commanding the most popular posts.
Leave it to Gaga to write a tweet six years ago that becomes the third-most-quoted tweet of 2018. In 2012, the singer tweeted a random string of numbers and capitalized letters, which has since been liked 329,000 times and retweeted 232,000 times.
https://.com/ladygaga/status/266036172122365952
The nonsensical but apparently relatable text resonated with users, many of whom put their own spin on the tweet.
And in a year that saw teen activists like Emma Gonzalez fight for gun control, women’s rights, and so many other causes, none other than former President chimed in to celebrate these young changemakers. With 1.6 million people liking his eloquent message, Obama’s tweet became the second-most-liked tweet of 2018.
“Young people have helped lead all our great movements. How inspiring to see it again in so many smart, fearless students standing up for their right to be safe,” Obama wrote in February, “marching and organizing to remake the world as it should be. We’ve been waiting for you. And we’ve got your backs.”
South Korean boy band saw a ton of success in the U.S. in 2018, and when J-Hope, one of its members, did the wildly popular In My Feelings Challenge, fans around the world of course went crazy. The video of him dancing to Drake’s song on Twitter has racked up 1.7 million likes, making it the most-liked tweet of the year.
BTS nabbed the top spot in the most-tweeted-about rankings for celebrities and musicians, a year after the group was named among the most-tweeted-about celebrities in the world. Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, “Game of Thrones,” and “Stranger Things” were also among consecutive mentions in 2017 and 2018.
Here are the top Twitter stats of 2018 (US specific):
Most Liked Tweets:
Most Tweeted About Celebrities:
- BTS
- LeBron James
- Kanye West
- Drake
- EXO
- Ariana Grande
- Cardi B
- Beyonce
- Jimin Park
- Nicki Minaj
Most Tweeted About TV Shows:
- “Saturday Night Live”
- “Roseanne”
- “Grey’s Anatomy”
- “The Walking Dead”
- “Big Brother”
- “The Voice”
- “Live PD”
- “Supernatural”
- “Game of Thrones”
- “Riverdale”
Most Tweeted About Streaming Shows:
- “13 Reasons Why”
- “Stranger Things”
- “Black Mirror”
- “Queer Eye”
- “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Most Tweeted About Movies:
- “Black Panther”
- “The Avengers: Infinity War”
- “The Incredibles 2”
- “Star Wars: The Last Jedi’
- “Deadpool 2”
- “Love, Simon”
- “A Wrinkle in Time”
- “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”
- “Crazy Rich Asians”
- “The Shape of Water”
Most Tweeted About Musicians:
- BTS
- Kanye West
- Drake
- EXO
- Ariana Grande
- Cardi B
- Beyonce
- Jimin Park
- Nicki Minaj
- Rihanna
Most Tweeted About Athletes:
- LeBron James
- Colin Kaepernick
- Kobe Bryant
- Kyrie Irving
- Tom Brady
- Dwyane Wade
- Serena Williams
- Kawhi Leonard
- Chris Paul
- Stephen Curry
Most Tweeted About Sporting Events:
- FIFA World Cup Russia
- PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games
- NBA Finals (Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors)
- NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament
- NFL Draft
- U.S. Open Tennis Championships
- NBA Draft
- WWE Wrestlemania
- NBA All-Star Game
- NHL Stanley Cup Finals
Most Tweeted About Movements:
- March For Our Lives
- NFL Protests
- Students Stand Up
- Me Too
- Black Lives Matter
