Justin Bieber, One Direction & Selena Gomez Duke It Out for Most Popular on Instagram in 2015
From J. Katz
Justin Bieber attends the 2015 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Nov. 22, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.
JASON MERRITT/GETTY IMAGES
Instagram has released stats for the app’s most popular music-related subjects in 2015, and its findings -- the pecking orders in particular -- will give fan armies even more of the ammunition they crave.
One Direction edged out Justin Bieber for the artist who garnered the most mentions of the year, landing the No. 1 spot while Bieber nabbed No. 4, even though his Purpose beat the boy band’s Made in the AM on the charts when the two acts dropped new albums on the same day in November. Bieber did land more mentions than ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez (No. 6), and Rihanna was several spots above ex Chris Brown, at No. 8 and No. 12, respectively.
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As social media skews ever-younger, the only artist on the list who is over 40 years old wasMadonna -- last at No. 15.
WHICH MUSIC ARTISTS GARNERED THE MOST MENTIONS ON INSTAGRAM IN 2015:
1. One Direction (@onedirection)
2. Ariana Grande (@arianagrande)
3. 5 Seconds of Summer (@5sos)
4. Justin Bieber (@justinbieber)
5. Taylor Swift (@taylorswift)
6. Selena Gomez (@selenagomez)
7. Beyoncé (@beyonce)
8. Rihanna (@badgalriri)
9. Demi Lovato (@ddlovato)
10. Miley Cyrus (@mileycyrus)
11. Drake (@champagnepapi)
12. Chris Brown (@chrisbrownofficial)
13. Fall Out Boy (@falloutboy)
14. Ed Sheeran (@teddysphotos)
15. Madonna (@madonna)
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As for which songs garnered the most Instagram mentions in 2015, Bieber came out on top with “What Do You Mean,” followed by Gomez and A$AP Rocky’s “Good for You,” whileAdele’s new torch song “Hello,” though seemingly everywhere we look online, only made it to No. 3. Taylor Swift has two songs in the top 10 mentions alone, with “Blank Space” and “Bad Blood.” Surprisingly, we have to scroll down to the No. 10 spot to find Drake ("100"), again proving that younger artists like Bieber, Ariana Grande and 5 Seconds of Summerlikely do better on the social-media platform than older ones because of its millennial-and-under demographic.
WHICH SONGS GARNERED THE MOST MENTIONS ON INSTAGRAM IN 2015:
1. “What do you mean” - Justin Bieber
2. “Good for you” - Selena Gomez, A$AP Rocky
3. “Hello” - Adele
4. “She's kind hot” - 5 Seconds of Summer
5. “Blank Space” - Taylor Swift
6. “Bad Blood” - Taylor Swift
7. “Focus” - Ariana Grande
8. “Worth It” - Fifth Harmony
9. “Thinking out loud” - Ed Sheeran
10. “100” - The Game, Drake
11. “Cool for the summer” - Demi Lovato
12. “Hotline Bling” - Drake
13. “Sugar” - Maroon 5
14. “Photograph” - Ed Sheeran
15. “Chandelier” - Sia
16. “Bitch Better Have My Money” - Rihanna
17. “Infinity” - One Direction
18. “I want you to know” - Zedd, Selena Gomez
19. “Wildest Dreams” - Taylor Swift
20. “Can't feel my face” - The Weeknd
21. “See you Again” - Wiz Khalifa
22. “Black Magic” - Little Mix
23. “Trap Queen” - Fetty Wap
24. “Back to Back” - Drake
25. “Jealous” - Nick Jonas
Closely correlating to the artist and song categories is that for which fan armies were the most active in 2015, with the top spots going to the so-called Beliebers, Selenators and Arianators. Taylor’s Swifties came in at No. 4.
WHICH MUSIC FAN ARMIES WERE THE MOST ACTIVE ON INSTAGRAM IN 2015:
1. Beliebers (Justin Bieber)
2. Selenators (Selena Gomez)
3. Arianators (Ariana Grande)
4. Swifties (Taylor Swift)
5. Directioners (One Direction)
6. Lovatics (Demi Lovato)
7. Barbz (Nicki Minaj)
8. Little Monsters (Lady Gaga)
9. Beyhive (Beyoncé)
10. Harmonizers (Fifth Harmony)
The year’s most Instagrammed U.S. music festival was Coachella. This is not terribly shocking, but Austin City Limits coming in at No. 2 is something of a surprise, perhaps proving the wisdom in that fest's decision to go from a three-day bill to a double-weekend schedule like Coachella, in 2013. The results seem to be paying off.
2015'S MOST-INSTAGRAMMED MUSIC FESTIVALS:
1. Coachella
2. Austin City Limits
3. Outside Lands
4. Made in America Los Angeles
5. Governor's Ball
6. Lollapalooza
7. Ultra Music Festival
8. Bonnaroo
9. Electric Zoo
10. Stagecoach Country Music Festival
Among the standouts from Instagram’s top music trends and hashtags were these duos: #kpop and #indie, #tupac and #jayz, and #yeezy and #northwest. That last pair we get. Even Tupac and Jay Z go together like peanut butter and jelly. But K-pop and indie? This is just further proof that the internet stands as divided as ever. Let 2016 rage on!
A SAMPLING OF INSTAGRAM'S MOST BUZZED-ABOUT U.S. MUSIC TRENDS & HASHTAGS
#music
#hiphop
#dj
#kpop
#flawless
#singer
#producer
#indie
#beats
#lyrics
#band
#soundcloud
#newmusic
#livemusic
#musician
#musicvideo
#radio
#musicislife
#freestyle
#iwokeuplikethis
#mtv
#tupac
#jayz
#yeezy
#northwest