Ariana Grande for Givenchy. Photo: Courtesy of Givenchy
Aside from being a chart-topping singer with powerhouse vocals, Ariana Grande has been a much-revered Instagram celebrity for a while now. However, this week, her social media popularity reached new heights when she became the first woman on Instagram to reach over 200 million followers.
The social media breakthrough was preceded by the singer’s recent MTV VMA performance with fellow musician and star, Lady Gaga, when they performed to their song Rain On Me on August 30. The singer celebrated the performance by sharing some behind-the-scenes pictures from the event and shared her gratitude with her followers. “Thank u so much for having me @ladygaga i love u with all my heart always,” Grande wrote. “u were so beyond brilliant tonight. so grateful to have been a part of this with u. & thank u again @mtv. :)” The gallery of images she shared included selfies with co-performer Gaga, some of her selfies showing off her beauty look, and an image of her with boyfriend Dalton Gomez, walking hand-in-hand.
Grande also went on to thank MTV for providing a safe space for performers during a difficult time due to the pandemic. “Thank you to @MTV being so diligent in making this such a safe & healthy experience for all of the performers and crew involved,” she wrote shortly before the show aired. “It’s so greatly appreciated and i can’t imagine how difficult it was to figure out! see u all so soon!”
Grande is the second person and the first woman ever to reach this milestone after football star Cristiano Ronaldo with 237 million followers. Grande was also congratulated on her milestone by Gaga, who wrote on Instagram: “[Congratulations] to my friend @arianagrande for 200 million followers! You’re a queen! Wear that crown!”
Ariana Grande’s position as the female celebrity with the highest amount of followers is followed by Kylie Jenner (with 193 million followers) and Selena Gomez (with 190 million followers).
Read Next: Selena Gomez Wants Rare Beauty to Feel Like Home for Everyone
