--- description: Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and more rank as Twitter's most popular people to follow this year, in a near-repeat of 2015. title: Katy Perry Tops Twitter's Most-Followed Celebrity List Again image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaae49fc8ef99bc74/6988b0d92dce0166c39eba3c/katy-perry-twitter.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Katy Perry Reigns Supreme Still as Twitter's Most-Followed Celebrity  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 3:03 PM CUTPublished: Dec 6, 2016 5:35 PM CUT  Katy Perry attends the ceremony honoring Capitol Records by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce with a "Star of Recognition" at Capitol Records Tower on November 15, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Katy Perry attends the ceremony honoring Capitol Records by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce with a "Star of Recognition" at Capitol Records Tower on November 15, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.Jason LaVeris—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 3:03 PM CUTPublished: Dec 6, 2016 5:35 PM CUT Once again, [pop powerhouse Katy Perry](http://time.com/4170618/katy-perry-twitter-followers/?iid=sr-link3 "undefined") can claim the crown as [most-followed celebrity](http://time.com/4351996/katy-perry-twitter-hacking/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") on Twitter. In 2016, the [politically-active](http://time.com/4430948/dnc-katy-perry-orlando-bloom/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") superstar was joined by fellow music moguls Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift on top of the social media platform’s ranking, an order that remained [unchanged from 2015](https://www.buzzfeed.com/kristinharris/most-popular-celebrities-on-twitter-in-2015?utm%5Fterm=.yapnqYWP5#.rrvW17AmZ "undefined"). President Barack Obama nabbed the number four seat once more for his personal handle (@POTUS, meanwhile, only had 12 million), followed by Rihanna and Lady Gaga. The only other guy on the list was another Justin; Justin “Can’t Stop the Feeling” Timberlake, that is. The biggest switch-up was the addition of a certain Kim Kardashian West, who made the list for the first time, at number nine. Pop royalty Britney Spears completed the top ten, while soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo, who was 10th in 2015, was out. Of the ten, eight were musicians (with TV host [Ellen DeGeneres](http://time.com/4580807/president-obama-presidential-medal-of-freedom/?iid=sr-link6 "undefined") and the infamous Kardashian taking the other spots). And despite questions about Twitter’s popularity [in the age of Snapchat](http://time.com/4355554/snapchat-twitter-daily-users/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"), raw numbers suggest there’s still plenty of growth going on: while Perry had 78.3 million followers in 2015, she appears to have gained more than 16 million over the year. In fact, all of 2015’s follower counts were eclipsed by the 2016 list. Here’s the complete breakdown for 2016: 1. Katy Perry — 94.5 million 2. Justin Bieber — 90.2 million 3. Taylor Swift — 82.2 million 4. Barack Obama —80.1 million 5. Rihanna — 68.1 million 6. Lady Gaga — 64.6 million 7. Ellen DeGeneres — 63.8 million 8. Justin Timberlake — 57.3 million 9. Kim Kardashian West — 49.3 million 10. Britney Spears — 49.3 million But fame is fickle. In 2017, Katy Perry remained atop the rankings with the highest number of followers engrossed with her posts about makeup collaboration posts and [_Witness_\-related](http://time.com/4786126/katy-perry-nicki-minaj-swish-swish/ "undefined") announcements, at 108 million followers as of February 2018\. And yes, the Bieber — despite [canceling](https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/03/entertainment/justin-bieber-letter/index.html "undefined") his tour dates and remaining [mostly](http://time.com/5007723/justin-bieber-selena-bike-ride-pictures/ "undefined") out of the spotlight — kept up his popularity, with 105 million followers. But it was Barack Obama who made the leap to number three, with Rihanna trailing him at number four. Taylor Swift, meanwhile, took a dip, settling in at the fifth place position. Ellen DeGeneres, Lady Gaga, Cristiano Ronaldo (making a comeback), [Justin Timberlake](http://time.com/5132997/watch-justin-timberlake-full-halftime-show/ "undefined") and Kim Kardashian West rounded out the top ten. Here’s the full list for 2017: 1. Katy Perry — 108 million 2. Justin Bieber — 105 million 3. Barack Obama — 100 million 4. Rihanna — 86 million 5. Taylor Swift — 86 million 6. Ellen DeGeneres — 77 million 7. Lady Gaga — 77 million 8. Cristiano Ronaldo — 69 million 9. Justin Timberlake — 65 million 10. Kim Kardashian West — 59 million > [](https://twitter.com/katyperry/status/864074506968510464) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4591951/top-twitter-celebrities-2016/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4591951/top-twitter-celebrities-2016/"},"headline":"Katy Perry Reigns Supreme Still as Twitter's Most-Followed Celebrity","datePublished":"2016-12-06T17:35:59.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T15:03:32.000Z","description":"You're gonna hear her roar (on Twitter, anyway)","url":"https://time.com/4591951/top-twitter-celebrities-2016/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Social Media","Music","entertainment"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaae49fc8ef99bc74/6988b0d92dce0166c39eba3c/katy-perry-twitter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaae49fc8ef99bc74/6988b0d92dce0166c39eba3c/katy-perry-twitter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Capitol Records Honored By The Hollywood Chamber Of Commerce With A \"Star Of Recognition\"","caption":"Capitol Records Honored By The Hollywood Chamber Of Commerce With A \"Star Of Recognition\"","creditText":"Jason LaVeris—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4591951/top-twitter-celebrities-2016/","name":"Katy Perry Reigns Supreme Still as Twitter's Most-Followed Celebrity"}}]}] ```