Shakira Lands Atop Billboard’s Social Media Chart

Shakira is No. 1 with a bullet on the social media charts…

The 36-year-old Colombian superstar singer and returning The Voice coach has reached No. 1 on Billboard‘s Social 50 chart.

Shakira

Shakira jumped 5-1 to take the pole position. It’s her first time at No. 1 since Feb. 9, 2013, and only her second week atop the chart.

Shakira surged to the top of the heap after sharing another photo of her baby on January 25. That image garnered an astounding 2.1 million post-likes and a similar video got very quick real viewers.

In addition, the “Loca” singer released the Spanish version of her new single with Rihanna, “Nunca Me Acuerdo de Olvidarte,” to VEVO on January 22.

The “Nunca” audio post on VEVO has received more than 1 million views, and a successful promotional post on Facebook led to a 250% spike in weekly fan acquisition on the platform.

But Shakira isn’t the only Hispanic artist to make the Top 10…

Pitbull, who earned extensive press this week when it was announced that his track “We Are One (Ole Ola)” was selected as the official song for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, comes in at No. 5.

The track, which hasn’t been released, features Jennifer Lopez and Brazilian singer Claudie Leitte.

Pitbull’s boost in the Social 50 rankings is also complemented by Austin Mahone (47-40), who released his new single “MMM Yeah,” which features the 33-year-old Cuban American rap superstar. Overall, Pitbull ascends with a 132% increase in mentions on Twitter, a 7% rise in Facebook conversation, which leads to 928,000 new fans added overall (up 28% from the previous frame).

The Social 50 ranks the most popular artists on YouTube, VEVO, Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, Wikipedia, Myspace and Instagram. The chart’s methodology blends weekly additions of friends/fans/followers along with artist page views, song plays and reactions as measured by music analytics company Next Big Sound.

Maldonado’s Pentatonix Debuts on Billboard’s Social 50 Chart

Kirstie Maldonado is making sweet music on social media…

The half-Mexican American/part-Spanish artist’s a cappella quintet Pentatonixthe winner of NBC’s The Sing-Off in 2011 – has landed on Billboard’s Social 50 chart, debuting at No. 24.

Pentatonix

Pentatonix’s surge onto the chart is a reaction to its consistently-growing online fan base, which has been kept engaged by the group’s steady stream of releases to their YouTube channel.

The Social 50 ranks the most popular artists on YouTube, Vevo, Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, Wikipedia, Myspace and Instagram. The chart’s methodology blends weekly additions of friends/fans/followers along with artist page views, song plays and reactions as measured by music analytics company Next Big Sound.

Two weeks ago, Pentatonix released a video for their version of “Cruisin for a Bruisin,” a track from the Disney Channel original movie Teen Beach Movie.

The group appeared together on the Disney Channel on Sunday, November 17, during a special airing of the movie to help promote the show.

The effort, combined with a video for their version of “Little Drummer Boy,” released November 25, was the spark for their jump onto the Social 50.

The Disney Channel appearance is reflected in a 104% rise in conversation about the group the following week, which led to them adding 308,000 new fans to their online audience on Facebook and Twitter (up 39% from the previous week). The popularity of their subsequent video releases caused traffic on their channel to jump 77% over the previous week.

Lovato (Neon) Lights Up Billbooard’s Social Media Chart

Talk about neon hot! Demi Lovato leads the charge of Latinos on social media this week…

Hot on the heels of the video debut for her latest track “Neon Lights,” the 21-year-old part-Mexican singer, actress and The X Factor judge rises 12-8 on Billboard’s Social 50 chart with a 13% rise in overall chart points.

demi-lovato-blue-hair-jay-leno-650-430

Lovato re-enters the top 10 thanks in part to the clip’s bow on November 21.

The Social 50 ranks the most popular artists on YouTube, Vevo, Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, Wikipedia, Myspace and Instagram. The chart’s methodology blends weekly additions of friends/fans/followers along with artist page views, song plays and reactions as measured by music analytics company Next Big Sound.

The video, with its neon lights-festooned rave scene, helps drive conversation about Lovato on Facebook up 57% over the previous week, helping her to accumulate 225,000 new followers on the platform (up 3.4%). The video helped Lovato accumulate over 15 million plays across all of her videos hosted on Vevo, a 66% increase over the previous week.

Further down the tally, several artists featured on the new charity album Songs for the Philippines see gains. The set, which raises funds for the Philippine Red Cross to benefit victims of Typhoon Haiyan (Typhoon Yolanda), features acts like Enrique Iglesias, Bruno Mars and Jessica Sanchez.

Iglesias ascends 30-23 with 278,000 overall fans added to his audience.

Meanwhile, Shakira moves 16-7 thanks to her usual family and baby-related postings on Facebook. A photo of her, husband Gerard Piqué and their son Milan received a staggering 2 million likes on Facebook since its posting on November 17. Other activity contributes to a 341% increase in conversation about Shakira on the Facebook platform, which helps grow her audience there by 329,000.

Miley Cyrus remains at No. 1 for the fourth week in a row while Eminem and Katy Perry hold at Nos. 2 and 3 respectively.

Rising Star DJ Avila Releases “Breaking Your Fall” Remixes

He wouldn’t even be old enough to vote in the United States, but Danny Avila has already become one of the hottest acts in the world of electronic dance music (EDM).

The 17-year-old Spanish wunderkind, who won the Best Newcomer DJ award at the prestigious 2011 Vicious Music Awards at just 16, has just released a remix package for his propulsive single “Breaking Your Fall.” And, in support of the five new taked on his debut single, Avila has released a Mega Mix of tracks, launching exclusively on Billboard.com.

Danny Avila

Avila, who was included on Billboard‘s 21 Under 21: Ones To Watch list of new artists last year, has played on bills led by dance superstars like David Guetta, Afrojack and Martin Solveig.

From his extraordinary 2012 Ibiza season that caught the attention of everyone including Tiësto and dance bible DJ Mag where he became the youngest ever Covermount CD artist to the announcement of his residency as the youngest ever prime-time deejay on SiriusXM, Avila has captured the world’s attention with his talent.

Following the release of “Breaking Your Fall” last year, the new remixes were helmed by Lucky Date, Mikael Weermets, dBerrie and SICK INDIVIDUALS.

The remix package precedes Avila’s involvement on the Generation Wild Tour 2013, which will run through North America beginning on January 31 in Chicago. Deniz Koyu, dBerrie and Mikael Weermets will join the teen producer on the trek.

Click here to visit Avila’s SoundCloud page.

Rivera Reaches No. 1 on Billboard’s Social 50 Chart

Jenni Rivera has earned yet another posthumous honor…

The Mexican American banda singer, who died in a plane crash earlier this month at the age of 43, has reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Social 50 chart this past week as predicted, due to a peak in online activity surrounding her untimely passing, particularly the including her public memorial on Wednesday.

jenni-rivera

La Diva de la Banda added a little over a million fans across her various online outlets, accumulating 560,000 to her official Twitter account and 435,000 new followers to her Facebook page, following a 485% rise in weekly conversation on the platform as measured by Facebook’s People Talking About This statistic. Her videos on her VEVO channel saw an increase as well, experiencing a 1,500% rise in plays over the previous week to reach 8.7 million views throughout the week.

The Social 50 chart ranks the most popular artists on YouTube, VEVO, Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, Wikipedia, MySpace and Instagram. The chart’s methodology blends weekly additions of friends/fans/followers along with artist page views, song plays and reactions.

Rivera’s No. 1 position on the Social 50 chart follows her No. 1 finish on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart.