As 2024 chimes in it comes with chances for new faces to make names for themselves. For now, it’s good to look back who were the top dogs on X at the end of 2024. Much of the list has remained unchanged for the last few years. Still, there’s always a chance for new blood to creep in. This is especially true in the bottom five entries! For now, these are your top X accounts of the year.
Top 10 Most Popular X Accounts of 2024
While most of the faces on this list are familiar, 2024 could be a year of change. Many of these profiles are close together in followers that they could shuffle! Without further ado, here are your top X accounts of 2024:
#1 Barack Obama: Former President
- Account Name:
- @barackobama
- Total Followers:
- 130 million
- Special Area:
- Politician
- Country:
- USA
- Total Following:
- 593 100
- Page Created:
- 2007
About Him: Barack Obama was the 44th US President. He is the first African American to be elected US President. He has been voted the most respected man of the year for 11 years running. Historians ranked him the 8th greatest President of the United States.
Obama first served as an attorney. He then served as a Democratic senator for a term. He is known for his attempts at progressive social reform. This includes the expansion of rights and protections for LGBT+ people. He is also credited for averting a potential Depression. However, his longest-lasting legacy is the Affordable Care Act. This is a statute that halved the uninsured people of the United States. This is achieved through reform of insurance markets.
Twitter Style: Obama’s profile is highly political. He uses his platform to help raise awareness for Democratic politics. Many of his tweets take the time to share inspiring or motivating posts. An example is the showcase of African American leaders.
The profile can also be fun, as Obama maintains a good sense of humor. This holds up even when discussing serious topics. Some recent videos have tried to take advantage of meme humor. The reactions to these posts are mixed. His Twitter posts are interesting, political, and sometimes funny. As the most popular Twitter accounts go, this is one of the most interesting.
#2 Justin Bieber: Canadian Pop Star
- Account Name:
- @justinbieber
- Total Followers:
- 114 million
- Special area:
- Singer
- Country:
- Canada
- Total Following:
- 290 400
- Page Cretaed:
- 2009
About Him: Bieber is a popular pop and R&B artist. He is noted and praised for his singing voice. His songs generally deal with love and romance. His songs are sometimes religious or spiritual. This is because Bieber is a devout Christian (born-again Pentecostal).
His career took off surprisingly fast after his debut in 2009. His initial Youtube presence drove his success. Most of his career he has been an incredibly divisive figure. He had a devoted fanbase that spawned a just as dedicated “hate following.” The clearest marking of this is the video for his hit song “Baby.” It is the 29th most viewed video on Youtube (2.04 billion views). It also has the 2nd most enormous amount of dislikes. They are barely edged out by a slightly more significant amount of likes.
Most such controversy has since died down. This leaves Bieber with the usual amount of celebrity scrutiny. These days he has only occasional breaches of privacy.
Twitter Style: Bieber’s social media is run by himself. His tweets primarily consist of his personal opinions and endorsements. The occasional ad for a current project makes up the rest. His profile otherwise is average for someone his age. A lot of it is tweets and shares of favorite songs and movies. More are simple status updates on feelings or opinions. Most are about current events or his personal life. It seems clear that his large following drives the profile's success.
#3 Katy Perry: the American Idol Singer
- Account Name:
- @katyperry
- Total Followers:
- 109 million
- Specialization:
- Singer
- Country:
- USA
- Total Following:
- 231
- Page Created:
- 2009
About Her: Katy Perry is a famous singer, dancer, and actress. She is currently a TV host for American Idol. Her tweets are almost exclusively brand related. These can be for everything from clothing lines to American Idol shows.
She has an upbeat, quirky musical style. She’s also known for having an eclectic sense of fashion. She sports many fun outfits. A lot are modeled after food like her (in)famous peppermint swirl dress. She grew up in a strict Pentecostal household. Despite this, she is considered a sex symbol by the media. She often leans into this public image in photos and public events.
Twitter Style: As mentioned, most of Perry’s posts are “on a brand.” They are all about currently ongoing ad campaigns and upcoming projects. Care is taken to ensure each post has something fun or funny in it. The page at least tries to feel like Perry is putting her own stamp on each post. This makes it feel closer to her real feelings than most social media pages.
In other words, it is a more interesting read than the average. This helps explain why it remains the #1 spot of top Twitter profiles on the site.
#4 Rihanna: Hip Hop Ambassador
- Account Name:
- @rihanna
- Total Followers:
- 102 million
- Special area:
- Singer
- Country:
- Barbados
- Total Following:
- 1 015
- Page Created:
- 2009
About Her: Rihanna is a well-known pop, R&B, and, artist. Her image and brand are largely built on her status as a sex symbol. Her sense of style and complex dance numbers are as important as the music.
In addition to being a famous singer, she is a diplomat. She acts as an official ambassador for the country of Barbados. Her charitable acts include the promotion of education and tourism. These are part of her duties as ambassador. She has invested in or created several charities. Many are aimed at fighting terminal illnesses. She is also well known for her social activism. She is most active in the USA.
As a result, she is well respected for her efforts by many people. This includes former President of the United States Barack Obama. She regularly uses her platform to promote the change she’d like to see.
Twitter Style: Rihanna’s profile is like her career. It is a nearly even split between promoting her brand and her politics. Scrolling down her feed, you’ll find a lot of glamour photos. Most are re-posted from her Instagram. These are usually for her various beauty products and fashions. This is sprinkled with endorsements for candidates and political events. A lot is “signal boosting” of events close to her duties as ambassador. As far as social media profiles go, it’s unique and exciting. It’s easy to see why her Twitter and Facebook following is so large.
#5 Cristiano Ronaldo: Football Great
- Account Name:
- @cristiano
- Total Followers:
- 91.7 million
- Special area:
- Footballer
- Country:
- Portugal
- Total Following:
- 51
- Page Created:
- 2010
About Him: Ronaldo is widely considered the best footballer in the world. He is potentially one of the greatest of all time. Similarly, he is the third highest paid athlete in the world right now. He is currently the world’s most famous athlete.
His style of play is flashy and aggressive. This makes him effective and fun to watch as an attacking player. His work ethic, training, and dedication have earned him praise over the years.
Despite being popular and wealthy, his career is dotted with scandals. He is considered arrogant and has had troubles with the law. In 2017 he made the news by being charged with and convicted of tax evasion. That same year police began looking into a rape allegation from 2009. The accuser was allegedly paid off by Ronaldo.
Twitter Style: His tweets are almost all posts relating to his current products. Many are also about the outcomes of games that were played recently. The main exceptions are photos of his family having fun together. Most of these are reposts from his Facebook. There he has a much larger following. He is the most followed Facebook in the world, with 120 million+ followers.
Many posts are written in Portuguese (his first language). He tends to get a lot of engagement from his overseas audience with these.
This is when his posts have words at all. A large percentage of his posts are just a photo with an emoji.
#6 Taylor Swift: Singer with a Big Reputation
- Account Name:
- @taylorswift13
- Total Followers:
- 91.8 million
- Special Area:
- Singer / Songwriter
- Country:
- USA
- Total Following:
- 56
- Page Created:
- 2008
About Her: Swift is a former country music star. She switched to pop music in 2012 to great success. Already popular, her music easily crossed the divide. It has slowly evolved away from her country music roots. Despite the change, it keeps many of the same themes (love, romance, and reputation). She writes most of her music. This makes her a notable songwriter as well as a singer.
Swift is often a topic of celebrity news. Much of this stems from rumors and speculations about her personal life. Some are outright invasions of her privacy made public. She often responds to criticism through her music. Two of her biggest hits in recent years are built upon exploiting this.
Swift is often involved in charity events. Most of her fundraising goes to disaster relief or cancer research. She also has a wide variety of donations to other causes. These include literacy and education.
Twitter Style: Despite being outspoken about politics, this rarely shows here. Most of her feed is self-promotion or otherwise brand-related topics. They often have a whimsical or fun edge to them. This allows them to read as more interesting or personal. Swift makes heavy use of Twitter’s video feature. She often does vlog style posts or scaled down music videos for new singles. Her attitude on her profile is a strange mix of pride and humility. This lends an endearing quality to many of her posts. Her Instagram (the 9th most followed worldwide) is similar in content.
#7 Lady Gaga: Mother Monster
- Account Name:
- @ladygaga
- Total Followers:
- 84.2 million
- Special Area:
- Singer / Songwriter
- Country:
- USA
- Total Following:
- 120 100
- Page Created:
- 2008
About Her: Gaga is a popular artist and a lauded actress. At first, she wanted to be an actress, but her music career took off first. Later her significant roles on TV and film catapulted her to acting stardom.
She experiments and regularly tries out new music genres and styles. She has released albums in many genres. These include pop, electropop, jazz, and soft rock. Almost as varied as her musical style is her fashion sense. Initially, they were provocative and edgy. At this time she often made celebrity news and gossip. The most famous outfit is a dress made of raw beef.
As a bisexual woman, Gaga is an advocate of LGBT+ rights. Her single most significant contribution is founding the Born This Way Foundation. It is a non-profit that helps youths better their communities.
Profile Style: Gaga’s has an interesting approach to social media. Her tweets have two different distinct kinds. All posts are either personal or brand-related tweets. There is a severe dividing line in tone and type of post between the two. Her career related tweets give off a humble, but excited vibe. More personal posts are different.
An example is her reactions to playing Bayonetta. These instead come across as relatable insights into her off-time. The stark split is an interesting contrast to other profiles. Some more naturally blend the two ideas (such as Taylor Swift’s page). Others embody extreme ends like Katy Perry or Justin Bieber. The first is always on brand, and the second almost never.
#8 Ariana Grande: American-Born Actress and Singer
- Account Name:
- @arianagrande
- Total Followers:
- 82.4 million
- Special Area:
- Singer
- Country:
- USA
- Total Following:
- 56.5 thousand
- Page Created:
- 2009
About Her: Ariana Grande is a renowned singer, songwriter, and actress. She is the 40th most popular pop star and the 30th most famous in the world. She appeals strongly towards Millennials and Generation X. Her tweets often relate to her new albums and promote International Women’s Day.
Ariana Grande has an upbeat musical style but also incorporates deeper meanings into her songs. This includes messages about moving on from past traumas and taking care of her mental health. She is often compared to Mariah Carey in that they have similar vocal ranges. Her songs are primarily aimed at females, but she has many male fans as well.
She has openly vowed never to become a sex symbol for the media. She wrote a song when she was a teenager with sexual lyrics, which she later realized was too mature for her age. She does not flaunt her body and is a positive role model towards young girls.
Twitter Style: Ariana Grande’s tweets will typically include exclamation marks or emoticons to attract more attention to them. She often uses a white heart to make her posts recognizable to her fans. She tends to respond directly and show appreciation when followers tweet about her.
As mentioned, most of her posts are geared toward promoting her music or new videos. She tries to spread the word about her new albums as far as possible. She avoids using the platform to share controversial or political opinions. She does not post any personal details about her life on Twitter.
#9 Ellen DeGeneres: Queen of Games
- Account Name:
- @theellenshow
- Total Followers:
- 79.1 million
- Special Area:
- Comedian
- Country:
- USA
- Total Following:
- 26 700
- Page Created:
- 2008
About Her: DeGeneres is a stand-up comedian, actress, and TV show host. She has been entertaining audiences since the early ‘80s. Her style of humor is often sarcastic but rarely feels mean-spirited. She has won the most People’s Choice Awards given to any single person (20).
She is perhaps even more well known as an LGBT+ rights activist. Being a lesbian is a large part of her public identity. She came out on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1997. In the same year, her character on her self-titled comedy came out as well. She has been both criticized and praised for opening up about herself. She is often considered an icon of the gay community. DeGeneres is also a vegan and supports animal rights.
Twitter Style: As might be expected, most of her posts are funny. However, they still do an excellent job of serving their advertising purpose. Many are for her talk show (The Ellen Show). On it she discusses current events and news, among other things). Recently more have been for her new game show and stand-up appearances.
Most of her tweets are about her talk show. It is often hard to distinguish between DeGeneres’ “ad voice” and her real thoughts. They are often closely intertwined by the nature of that type of show. As a result, the feed reads like a miniature slice of The Ellen Show. Overall her the tone is similar in the text as in speech.
#10 Youtube: Viral Media Platform
- Account Name:
- @youtube
- Total Followers:
- 73.1 million
- Special area:
- Video Sharing Service
- Country:
- USA
- Total Following:
- 1 202
- Page Created:
- 2007
About It: Youtube is a company founded in 2005. It was founded by former Paypal employees. The original idea was for an online dating service. Users could share videos as part of the process. It quickly evolved into a more general purpose video sharing site. This was out of a desire to fill a perceived lack in the market. People immediately began to use it to post viral videos, and the site took off.
Today, Youtube is still the primary video sharing service in the world. It has survived or pushed out most of its competitors (such as Vimeo). It is the most downloaded free app of the year.
Youtube has been widely criticized for many things over the last few years. These are mainly about issues with copyright and fair use. They have also been accused of changing things for the worse on the site.
Twitter Style: Posts on Youtube’s feed fall under three primary types. Most are video showcases, fun social media posts, or notices.
While being a corporate page, the people running the profile are fun. They aren’t above poking fun at the company’s perceived screw-ups. This gives the page a fun, upbeat vibe most of the time. The tone makes it easy to engage with the content.
Top X Accounts We’ve Reviewed…
| № | Name | Account | Followers | Specialization | Country | Created |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barack Obama | @barackobama | 130 m | Politician | USA | 2007 |
| 2 | Justin Bieber | @justinbieber | 114 m | Singer | Canada | 2009 |
| 3 | Katy Perry | @katyperry | 109 m | Singer | USA | 2009 |
| 4 | Rihanna | @rihanna | 102 m | Singer | Barbados | 2009 |
| 5 | Cristiano Ronaldo | @cristiano | 91.7 m | Footballer | Portugal | 2010 |
| 6 | Taylor Swift | @taylorswift13 | 91.8 m | Singer/Songwriter | USA | 2008 |
| 7 | Lady Gaga | @ladygaga | 84.2 m | Singer/Songwriter | USA | 2008 |
| 8 | Ariana Grande | @arianagrande | 82.4 m | Singer | USA | 2009 |
| 9 | Ellen DeGeneres | @theellenshow | 79.1 m | Comedian | USA | 2008 |
| 10 | YouTube | @youtube | 73.1 m | Video Service | USA | 2007 |
FAQ Section
Who Is the Most Followed Person on X?
The most popular account on X belongs to former U.S. President Barack Obama. About 112 million people follow this public figure, not only for political posts but also for musings about everyday life. He shares his insight on worldwide events and issues while giving his audience a glimpse of his personal life. It’s a nice balance that has helped his platform grow, even after his Presidency ended.
What Are Good Accounts to Follow from Different Industries?
Musicians make up the majority of the X top 10, so people who are into pop culture and musical artists will have a lot of content to follow. For those who want more serious tweets on their feed, Barack Obama (112 million) and President Trump (71 million) are both part of the 10 most popular accounts and could be worth following. Consider also adding some comedic relief to shake things up. Ellen Degeneres has a huge platform (79 million) and brings a smile to her audience’s faces every day.
Who Are the Most Popular in the USA Alone?
Barack Obama, Katy Perry, and Justin Bieber are the three most-followed. They have a combined 328 mil followers. Katy Perry and Justin Bieber are both artists of a similar genre (pop), and Bieber just dropped a new single not too long ago. His social media accounts are sure to be full of publicity surrounding that. Barack Obama may no longer be President, but he continues to share invaluable insights and reflections on the state of the country and the world.
Who Are the Most Popular Politicians on X?
- Barack Obama (former President of the United States, 112 mil)
- Donald Trump (current President of the United States, 71.3 mil)
- Narendra Modi (Prime Minister of India, 52.8 mil)
- Hillary Clinton (former U.S. Secretary of State, 26.6 mil)
- Recep Tayyip Erdogan (President of Turkey, 14.6 mil)
Barack Obama and Pope Francis share similar left-leaning views in some respects. On the other hand, President Donald Trump is considered a Conservative Republican with oft-challenged viewpoints. Narendra Modi is another active politician on X, while Recep Tayyip Erdogan is an outspoken leader who is shaking things up internationally. Keep in mind that Trump and Modi have multiple accounts, so it’s hard to say how many total followers they have.
The Final Word
And that’s the list, plus some other interesting factoids! Everyone should keep a close eye on the bottom seven entries on this list. Those are the most prominent hotspots for change in the coming year. It wouldn’t be surprising to see shuffling between accounts tied or nearly tied. Some profiles may fall off completely to be replaced. Youtube especially is in a position that has swapped several times. Only time will tell!
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