Ranking the top 50 Teen Choice Awards nominees by number of Twitter followers

Luis Fonsi has been in the music biz for nearly two decades, but the Puerto Rican singer just recently reached mainstream audiences in the United States thanks to his No. 1 hit “Despacito” with Daddy Yankee and featuring Justin Bieber. Prior to this smash hit, Fonsi only had two songs chart on the Billboard Hot 100, and neither of those made it higher than No. 90. His long wait has been rewarded with four nods at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards, including Choice Latin Artist, Choice Song: Male Artist, Choice Latin Song, and Choice Summer Song.

Kendrick Lamar brings a diverse trio of nominations to the Teen Choice Awards in 2017, as the 30-year-old rapper is nominated for Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Artist, Choice Pop Song (with Maroon 5 for “Don’t Wanna Know”), and Choice Summer Music Tour. That tour is in support of Kendrick’s most recent album, “DAMN,” which was released on April 14, 2017 and has already yielded three singles and earned Double Platinum certification.

Serena Williams is currently taking time off from tennis due to her pregnancy, which is probably a welcome relief to her fellow tennis players, as Serena absolutely dominates the competition in almost every opportunity she gets. Most recently, the No. 1-ranked Serena won the Australian Open –her 23rd Grand Slam singles title – which broke the previous record of 22 held by Steffi Graf. Oh, and for the record, Serena was 20 weeks pregnant at the time. Please allow us to offer apologies in advance to the other 2017 Teen Choice Award nominees for Choice Female Athlete, because Serena has this one locked up.

Luke Bryan has been tearing up the country charts since 2010, and it appears there’s no stopping the 41-year-old singer/songwriter, who recently performed the National Anthem at Super Bowl LI. At the 2017 Teen Choice Awards, Luke will compete for Choice Country Artist, and we like his odds, especially since his 9.13 million Twitter followers rank him second in the category, ahead of Kelsea Ballerini, Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt, and Carrie Underwood.

Did you know that Hugh Jackman has now played Wolverine on the big screen nine times? The guy should win Choice Action Movie Actor based on that fact alone, and that doesn’t even acknowledge the fact that 2017’s “Logan” has earned $616 million at the box office, is the best-reviewed installment in the X-Men film franchise, and is considered by many to be one of the greatest superhero movies of all time.

If you didn’t already known Cara Delevingne from her modeling career (she won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014), you probably know her now from her roles in 2016’s “Suicide Squad” and 2017’s “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.” If not, then tune into the 2017 Teen Choice Awards to see the beautiful Delevingne compete for Choice Summer Movie Actress and Choice Style Icon.

Ever since their formation in 2011 on the UK version of “The X Factor,” Little Mix’s popularity has been growing exponentially with each passing year. In fact, we can barely keep their number of Twitter followers – which currently sits at 9.31 million – updated throughout the course of writing this article. The four-piece, all-girl group has thus far released four studio albums (the most recent one dropped in Nov. 2016), and their rising celebrity status has yielded three nominations for the 2017 Teen Choice Awards: Choice Music Group, Choice Summer Group, and Choice Song: Group for “Shout Out to My Ex.”

James Corden has really gone mainstream in the last few years, mostly thanks to his hosting gig on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” since 2015, and the viral videos featuring his “Carpool Karaoke” antics. At the 2017 Teen Choice Awards, Corden will contend for Choice TV Personality – and he’s got a pretty good shot, as he also hosted the Tony Awards and Grammy Awards in the past year alone.

Between pro wrestling, film roles, reality TV, and hosting award shows, John Cena is currently one of the busiest guys in Hollywood. For a man who coined the phrase “You can’t see me,” we’ve certainly seen plenty of John Cena in past few years. We’ll hopefully see him again at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards, where he is nominated for Choice Male Athlete.

Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry doesn’t have the most followers in terms of basketball players nominated for a 2017 Teen Choice Award, but he does have one thing the leader doesn’t: a 2017 NBA Championship ring. (He also won one in 2015, but who’s counting?) Often referred to as one of the best shooters in NBA history, Curry is likely a shoo-in for Choice Male Athlete this year. We’re calling it right here!

Daddy Yankee doesn’t have nearly as many Twitter followers as some of his fellow nominees, but he’s up for an impressive four nominations at this year’s Teen Choice Awards, including Choice Latin Artist, Choice Song: Male Artist (for “Despacito” with Luis Fonsi and featuring Justin Bieber), Choice Latin Song (for the same), and Choice Summer Song (same again). Based on the success of “Despacito” alone, we expect his Twitter following (10.4 million at the time of writing) to continue growing with the sky as the limit.

Fresh off the June 30, 2017 release of “Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1” and the singles “Slide,” “Heatstroke,” “Rollin,” and “Feels,” Calvin Harris once again finds himself nominated in the Choice Electronic/Dance Artist category. Although his 11 million Twitter followers are impressive, he’s still getting beaten in this regard by another artist.

It’s almost unfair that singer/songwriter Shawn Mendes has only been in the public eye for four years, yet he has already released an EP, two studio albums, a live album (recorded at Madison Square Garden, no less), has sold millions of records, and boasts 11.3 million followers on Twitter. To top things off, Shawn also earned four Teen Choice Award nods for the 2017 event: Choice Male Artist, Choice Summer Male Artist, Choice Summer Music Tour, and Choice Male Hottie. It’s also totally unfair that he’s still only 19 years old.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s stardom increases every day, whether it’s because of his wrestling and/or fitness fans, his voice acting, his live-action acting, or because he seems like the nicest guy in the world. In fact, if they make that a Teen Choice Awards category, Johnson would win in a landslide. In the meantime, he’ll have to settle for Choice Action Movie Actor (for “The Fate of the Furious”), Choice Fantasy Movie Actor (for “Moana”), Choice Comedy Movie Actor (for “Baywatch”), and Choice Movie Ship (also for “Baywatch,” but shared with Zac Efron). Oh, and he’s also the reigning champ of People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive.”

Enrique Iglesias has been active for more than 20 years now, and has sold upwards of 160 million records worldwide. Most recently, he released the single “Súbeme La Radio” featuring Zion & Lennox and Descemer Bueno, which was also remixed by Matt Terry featuring Iglesias and Pitbull. As you may have guessed, Enrique’s 2017 Teen Choice nod is for Choice Latin Artist.

After initially finding fame as a teen on “High School Musical,” Zac Efron has matured into a bonafide comedy movie star (and owner of 14 million Twitter followers) thanks to appearances in 2014’s “Neighbors,” 2016’s “Dirty Grandpa,” and 2017’s “Baywatch.” The latter earned Efron nods for Choice Comedy Movie Actor and Best Ship, categories in which he’ll compete in alongside his “Baywatch” co-star, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Tyra Banks created “America’s Next Top Model,” which just wrapped its 23rd season - but that’s not why Banks is nominated for Choice TV Personality at the Teen Choice Awards. Instead, it’s because fans (including her 14.2 million Twitter followers) have loved seeing Tyra on “America’s Got Talent,” which she joined in its twelfth season in 2017 after the departure of Nick Cannon.

Maroon 5 has 14.4 million Twitter followers, but lead singer Adam Levine is catching up to his band with 7.63 million of his own. In the last year, Maroon 5 has released two singles - “Don’t Wanna Know” featuring Kendrick Lamar and “Cold” – and their sixth studio album should drop sometime before the end of 2017. In the meantime, catch the band on tour and at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards, where they have a shot at Choice Music Group and Choice Pop Song.

Once upon a time, Beyoncé was one of the most popular people on social media. Now, even among only those nominated for 2017 Teen Choice Awards, she’s ranked No. 32. Still, the Beyhive clocks in at 15 million strong, which is quite respectable for the “Lemonade” singer, except for the fact that it ranks her fourth among artists in the Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Artist category.

Priyanka Chopra’s mainstream fame has been soaring in recent years, mostly due to the Indian actress’ role on the ABC drama “Quantico.” However, that’s not the reason why Priyanka received a Teen Choice Award nomination this year. Instead, it’s a Choice Movie Villain nod for her role in the blockbuster comedy “Baywatch.”

Don’t recognize the name Deepika Padukone? That’s okay, even though she boasts nearly 20 million followers on Twitter. Deepika is one of the highest-paid actresses in India, she has appeared in nearly 30 films, and has earned countless awards and accolades. Deepika can add another trophy (or three!) to her mantle at the Teen Choice Awards, as the beautiful 31-year-old is up for Choice Action Movie Actress, Choice Breakout Movie Star, and Choice Movie Ship (with Ruby Rose) for her role in “xXx: Return of Xander Cage.”

Blake Shelton doesn’t just have four nominations at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards, he actually has nods in three entirely different sections. Of course the eight-time Grammy winner would appear in the Choice Country Artist and Choice Country Song (for “Every Time I Hear That Song”) categories, but he also earned a nomination for Choice TV Personality for being a judge/coach on “The Voice” since 2011, and Choice Twit for obvious reasons.

Ed Sheeran has already had a record-breaking year thanks to his hit singles “Shape of You” and “Castle on the Hill” (which reached No. 1 and No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively) and he can potentially add five Teen Choice Awards to his lists of accomplishments, as he is nominated for Choice Male Artist, Choice Song: Male Artist and Choice Pop Song (for “Shape of You”), Choice Summer Song (for “Castle on the Hill”), and Choice Summer Music Tour. Oh, and he was also appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire as part of the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours. No big deal.

Nicki Minaj is currently hard at work on her fourth studio album - the follow-up to 2014’s “The Pinkprint” - but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been releasing new music in the meantime. The Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Artist nominee has already released four singles in 2017 alone (“Make Love” with Gucci Mane, “Changed It” with Lil Wayne, “No Frauds” with Drake and Lil Wayne, and “Regret in Your Tears”), and that doesn’t include the seven singles she is featured on alongside artists like Major Lazer, PartyNextDoor, Jason Derulo, Ty Dolla Sign, David Guetta, DNCE, Katy Perry, Yo Gotti, Mike Will Made It, Future, and, yes, Lil Wayne.

David Guetta already owns two Grammys, so it’s no surprise that he’s once again up for Choice Electronic/Dance Artist. It’s also no surprise that Guetta has the most Twitter followers in the category, especially since his last three singles - “Another Life” with DJ Afrojack and Ester Dean, “Light My Body Up” with Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj, and “2U” with Justin Bieber - were all released in the last three months. “2U” also earned Guetta an additional nod for Choice Electronic/Dance Song.

On February 22, 2017, Coldplay and The Chainsmokers released the song “Something Just Like This,” which appeared on the latter’s album “Memories...Do Not Open,” and earned both groups a Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Electronic/Dance Song. Coldplay snagged another nod for Choice Summer Group thanks to their recently released EP, “Kaleidoscope.”

See what happens when you leave One Direction? You only end up with a measly 22.6 million Twitter followers, while your former bandmates all surpass you (spoiler!) with their totals –even though the band is currently on hiatus! Kidding aside, Zayn’s following is nothing to scoff at, and neither is the Choice Collaboration nomination he shares with Taylor Swift for their hit single “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.”

Although he has more than 25 million Twitter followers, Pitbull just barely snuck into this list of 2017 Teen Choice Award nominees. His one and only nod is in the Choice Latin Song category for "Hey Ma" with J Balvin and featuring Camila Cabello. Pitbull recently released his tenth studio album, “Climate Change,” on May 17, 2017.

It has been a big year for actress Emma Watson, who starred as Belle in the live-action “Beauty and the Beast” film (the highest-grossing movie of 2017) and alongside Tom Hanks in the techno-thriller “The Circle.” Both roles earned 27-year-old Watson at least one Teen Choice Award nomination - the former for Choice Drama Movie Actress and the latter for Choice Fantasy Movie Actress, Best Ship, and Choice Liplock (the last two with Dan Stevens).

Liam Payne is currently working on his debut solo album, but he already treated fans to a tease from the upcoming album. Liam released “Strip That Down” on May 19, 2017, and this plus the anticipation of new music was enough to earn him Teen Choice Award nods in both the Choice Summer Male Artist and Choice Male Hottie categories.

Following One Direction’s planned hiatus announcement in March 2016, Louis Tomlinson teamed up with house musician Steve Aoki for “Just Hold On,” which hit No. 2 on the UK Single charts, reached No. 52 on the Billboard Hot 100, and earned two 2017 Teen Choice Award nods for Choice Collaboration and Choice Electronic/Dance Song. On July 21, Louis released another single, “Back to You,” which will appear on his upcoming debut solo record. Like Zayn and Liam, Louis is also up for Choice Male Hottie.

In the music section of the 2017 Teen Choice Awards, Harry Styles has a shot at Choice Male Artist, Choice Rock Artist, and Choice Song: Male Artist for “Sign of the Times,” the first single off of his debut self-titled studio album. This year we also see Styles breaking into the acting section of the event for Choice Breakout Movie Star, as he recently made his acting debut in Christopher Nolan’s critically acclaimed war film “Dunkirk.” And yes, like his current and former One Direction bandmates, Harry also received a Choice Male Hottie nod.

It is still TBD when Lil Wayne’s next album will be released, but he has already dropped two singles in 2017 (“Changed It” with Nicki Minaj and “No Frauds” with Minaj and Drake) and has been a featured artist on six more. One of those is DJ Khaled’s “I'm the One,” which also features Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance the Rapper, and earned all five artists a Teen Choice nod for Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Song.

Surprisingly, Niall Horan leads One Direction members as far as Twitter followers go, and his 31.7 million followers also put him well ahead of former bandmate Zayn. Perhaps this has something to do with his solo hit single “Slow Hands,” which is up for a Teen Choice Award for Choice Song: Male Artist, in addition to Niall’s nod for Choice Summer Male Artist. Although his debut album has yet to drop, “Slow Hands” has already made it to No. 7 on the UK Singles chart and No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On the heels of his Platinum-certified 2016 record, “24K Magic,” Bruno Mars and his 32 million Twitter followers will attempt to achieve wins in seven Teen Choice Awards categories, including Choice Male Artist and Choice Song: Male Artist. The latter nod is for “That’s What I Like,” the second of three singles from “24K Magic.”

24-year-old Miley Cyrus’ sixth studio album won’t be released until October 2017, but the Choice Female Artist and Choice Summer Female Artist nominee has already released a single, “Malibu,” which reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned her two additional Teen Choice Award nods for Choice Song: Female Artist and Choice Summer Song. After performing at the One Love Manchester benefit concert, Miley also dropped a promotional single called  “Inspired.” Despite her massive fan following, Cyrus’ 34.7 million Twitter followers only rank her fourth among the six Choice Female Artist nominees.

Choice Comedian nominee Kevin Hart’s last comedy special (2016’s “Kevin Hart: What Now?”) was so successful that it made more than $23 million in theaters, a market most comedians never even break into. In 2017, we’ve already heard Hart in “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie,” and he will also be starring in the upcoming comedy-drama “Untouchable” and the “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” reboot, both of which will premiere before the end of the year.

After releasing his fourth studio album, “Views,” in April 2016, Drake followed it up with another album (which the 30-year-old rapper refers to as a playlist) called “More Life” on March 18, 2017. The latter has already yielded five singles, so Drake is a strong contender for Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Artist and Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Song (for “Passionfruit”) - even though his 36.2 million followers aren’t the most among nominees in either category.

Choice Male Athlete nominee LeBron James didn’t win it all in the NBA this year (although his Cleveland Cavaliers made it to the Finals), but he’s still one of the greatest ballers to ever play the game and his team is only one year removed from their last championship berth (and James’ third). In the 2017 season, LeBron scored an average of 26.4 points per game to go with 8.7 assists and 8.6 rebounds, which are both career highs.

It has been less than a decade since 24-year-old singer/songwriter Demi Lovato released her first single, yet she has already amassed more than a dozen wins at the Teen Choice Awards. In 2017, she’s in the running for Choice Collaboration for her vocal contributions to Cheat Code’s single “No Promises,” a song Demi also helped write.

Shakira rules the new Choice Latin Artist category, boasting more than 33 million additional followers when compared to Enrique Iglesias, who ranks second. The Colombian singer recently released her eleventh studio album, “El Dorado,” on May 26, 2017, and it has already yielded two singles, “Chantaje” and “Me Enamoré.” The former earned Shakira a nod for Choice Latin Song, a category in which she is also nominated for “Deja Vu” with Prince Royce.

Among male actors, Jimmy Fallon’s 48.5 million followers easily make him king. However, he faces some tough competition in the Choice TV Personality category (for which he’s nominated for “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”), as another talk show host has him beat by more than 21 million followers.

Since the release of her 2016 album, “Dangerous Woman,” Ariana Grande has performed at the MTV Movie Awards, Billboard Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and American Music Awards, as well as hosting and performing on “Saturday Night Live.” And that’s all in addition to a world tour. Ariana is up for Choice Female Artist, Choice Summer Music Tour, Choice Snapchatter, and Choice Changemaker at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards.

Selena Gomez is the reigning champion in the Choice Female Artist category, having defeated Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift last year. Although Selena narrowly beats Ariana in terms of Twitter followers, neither of them have the most among 2017’s Choice Female Artists. Although her last album was released back in 2015, Selena recently dropped two new songs and music videos, entitled “Bad Liar” and “Fetish.” The former is also up for Choice Song: Female Artist, and her duet with Kygo, “It Ain’t Me,” received a Choice Collaboration nod. And that’s not even all of her 11 nominations this year!

The most Twitter followers among Teen Choice Awards athletes? That would be soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid and the Portugal national team. If Cristiano wins Choice Male Athlete, he can add the accolade to his other recent accomplishments, which includes getting ranked the world's highest-paid athlete by Forbes and the world's most famous athlete by ESPN - two awards he won in both 2016 and 2017.

Ellen DeGeneres recently hit 71 million followers on Twitter, which is the most in this list among non-musicians. The actress, comedian, and talk show host earned three nods at this year’s Teen Choice Awards: Choice TV Personality for her eponymous talk show, Choice Comedy Movie Actress for her starring voice role in “Finding Dory,” and Choice Twit. Give her a follow because, as she puts it, “My tweets are real, and they’re spectacular.”

There’s a lot of fierce competition in the Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Artist category this year, but when it comes to number of Twitter followers, it’s not even close. Rihanna and her 75.8 million followers are in a league of their own, and, to save you some time and math, next in line is Drake, who has fewer than half the followers of Rihanna. Interestingly, the recent attention on the 29-year-old singer hasn’t been for her music, but because she appears in the new film “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.” She is also in the running for Choice Pop Song (for “Love on the Brain”), Choice Female Hottie, and Choice Style Icon.

Taylor Swift isn’t very active on Twitter, yet she still boasts 85.4 million followers. That’s an impressive number, especially considering the fact that Swift hasn’t released an album in three years. Still, she’s been hard at work writing songs for other artists, including “I Don't Wanna Live Forever,” which she and Zayn recorded for the “Fifty Shades Darker” soundtrack. “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” is up for Choice Collaboration at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards.

Many fans probably think Justin Bieber is the most followed person on Twitter, but the 23-year-old singer actually comes in second place by a few million people. Although it has been almost two years since Justin’s last album, he still earned two major nominations at this year’s Teen Choice Awards for Choice Male Artist and Choice Song for “Despacito” with Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, as well as nods in seven other categories.

The last member of the Choice Female Artist and Choice Summer Female Artist categories is Katy Perry, and those are her only two nominations at the 2017 awards. We say “only” because given Katy’s popularity, one would expect a few more nods. Exactly how popular is the pop singer, who just released her fifth studio album on June 9? She’s 101 million Twitter followers popular - which is the most not just among Teen Choice Awards nominees, but the most in the entire world.