The annual list of Time’s most influential people of 2022 highlights the pioneers, leaders, titans, innovators, icons, and artists that are making an impact in our world today. Celebrities have the power of appealing to many audiences, and celebrity partnerships are a go-to tactic for brands to increase awareness and leverage that power online, especially if they know who to partner with.
For that reason, we looked at Time’s most influential artists of the year and ranked the top 10 based on public interest (engagements to articles about them) since the beginning of 2022. Here’s what we found out about each of them.
Time’s top 10 artists
Pete Davidson – 8.6M engagements
For the last eight years Pete Davidson has been a cast member of Saturday Night Live and just this weekend appeared in his final episode of the sketch comedy juggernaut. More recently, he has been making headlines for his relationship with Kim Kardashian, which has been a significant factor in making him the most engaged artist on the list.
The top article about Pete Davidson this year was about a text message he sent to Kanye West about being with Kim Kardashian (101k). Although the top ten articles were all to do with his relationship and interactions with Kardashians and West, other stories that drew attention about him were about his tribute to the late Bob Saget (51k), and Robert Pattinson hosting a party at Davidson’s bar in New York (49k).
Mila Kunis – 7.1M engagements
The Ukrainian-born actress has been working to raise funds to support a relief effort for refugees in Ukraine, and news of her efforts received a significant amount of public interest.
The Daily Wire had the top article about Kunis and husband Ashton Kutcher pledging to match $3 million to a GoFundMe relief campaign (322k). The only article to make it into the top 10 that did not highlight Kunis and Ukraine was about the upcoming Netflix spin-off of That 70’s Show (170k), which Kunis and co-stars will all be returning to.
Andrew Garfield – 4.3M engagements
Andrew Garflield found himself on Time’s list for his performance in Martin Scorsese’s film Silence, but the millions of engagements he’s received online can actually be linked to his more popular role as Spider Man.
The top article from Buzzfeed was about Garfield and Toby Maguire, who portrayed Spider Man in the 2002 screen adaptation, sneaking into a movie theater to watch the latest reboot together (103k). The next biggest article was about Garfield, Maguire, and Tom Holland, the latest actor to play Spider Man, all coming together to discuss their experiences (75k).
Nathan Chen – 1.9M engagements
Nathan Chen was in the spotlight during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in February, which is when most of the engagement to news about him peaked.
The figure skater took home gold in the men’s individual event, and the New York Times’ article about his win earned the most engagements of all (104k). News of Elton John tweeting about Chen skating to a medley of his songs was also highly noticed (28k).
Channing Tatum – 1.3M engagements
This year Channing Tatum has not just been acting in new films, but directing them as well. His directorial debut, Dog, has resonated with the public in different ways online.
The most engaged article told the story of a mom who adopted the military dog of her son who died in Afghanistan in 2021 (82k). Tatum’s film reflected a similar story, bringing attention to what happens to military working dogs.
Zoë Kravitz – 1.1M engagements
Zoe Kravitz has become a popular actress to talk about this year with her portrayal of Cat Woman in the new Batman film, but she’s also found herself in the midst of some criticism.
Buzzfeed’s article about Kravtiz’s stepfather Jason Momoa and Channing Tatum showing their excitement for The Batman premiere on Instagram received the most engagement (40k). Besides her new role in The Batman, Kravitz came under fire for her comments on Will Smith’s Oscar slap (19k).
Ariana Debose – 966K engagements
Ariana Debose has captured considerable media and public interest for her historical win at the Oscars this year. The most engaged article about her by far was about her win as best supporting actress in West Side Story (162k), making her the first openly queer actor of color to win an Oscar.
Eight out of the top ten articles about Debose were about her win at the Oscars, but her performance on SNL also received thousands of engagements(8.4k).
Sarah Jessica Parker – 772k engagements
Although the actress is most notably known for her role in Sex and The City, it’s her part in the Halloween classic Hocus Pocus that is gathering interest online.
The anticipated Hocus Pocus 2 will be debuting on Disney+ in September of this year, and news of SJP’s return has received the most engagement about the actress (19k). The next biggest article to feature was about SJP and husband Matthew Broderick celebrating 25 years of marriage (18k).
Quinta Brunson – 493k engagements
Quinta Brunson had her first taste of internet fame when she was seen in a meme that went viral back in 2014, but her success in creating the comedy series Abbott Elementary has her making headlines this year.
The top article about Brunson showcases how she’s become TV’s next big powerhouse with the beloved Abbott Elementary (29k). Publisher’s also wrote about Donald Glover complimenting Brunson on her well-deserved success (20k).
Simu Liu – 436k engagements
Simu Liu is a Chinese-Canadian actor who has risen in popularity this year from his performance as Marvel’s first Asian superhero, and his interesting introduction into the entertainment industry.
The most engaged article was about Liu’s difficulty in trying to become an actor and dealing with anti-Asian prejudice (29k). Another story to strike a chord was about the speech Liu gave at Canada’s JUNO awards, earning thousands of engagements (14k).
While the reason these 10 artists were selected for Time’s list may differ from why they’ve garnered so much public interest online, their high level of engagement is a testament to their ability to appeal to the masses. Some have earned millions of engagements and some have earned hundreds of thousands, but all of the numbers show these artists do indeed have the power to influence.
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