Lady Gaga, Barack Obama among most popular tweets of 2018
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.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHRHRGRGRGRRRGURBHJB EORWPSOJWPJORGWOIRGWSGODEWPGOHEPW09GJEDPOKSD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!0924QU8T63095JRGHWPE09UJ0PWHRGW
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) November 7, 2012
The nonsensical but apparently relatable text resonated with users, many of whom put their own spin on the tweet.
me driving on a new and terrifying roundabout and realising I’m in the wrong lane https://t.co/vMuksmPqex
— saz (@sarahlostctrl) September 15, 2018
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 Barack Obama 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 BTS 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:
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; marching and organizing to remake the world as it should be. We've been waiting for you. And we've got your backs.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 22, 2018
my dog has ear medicine she needs and the other one also thinks he needs it too.. nobody has the heart to tell him it’s pretend.. pic.twitter.com/Vshe7dhl3b
— chloe copley (@chloecopley_05) September 12, 2018
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
Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts!