Music

Vin Diesel is more popular than your favourite artist

by Tyler Munro

If we asked you who had more Facebook fans, Vin Diesel or One Direction, what would your answer be?

One of my favourite things about the internet is that a guy like Vin Diesel can thrive to unfathomable heights. For no specific reason, Vin’s a golden god on Facebook. His page is one of the network’s most popular, quickly edging its way into the top 10 with just a shade over 63 million Facebook fans.

Here’s what that means: unless you’re incredibly into Shakira (78 million), Eminem (80 million) or Rihanna (84 million), Vin Diesel is bigger than your favourite artist.

As of today, Facebook’s top 10 pages are rounded out by things like Coca-Cola, Texas Hold ‘Em and some proprietary apps. Michael Jackson’s page is doing pretty stellar, with just under 69 million likes, but past that Vin’s the next best celebrity, 5th on Facebook.

Here’s a little scale for you:

Don’t worry, we’ve got the numbers to prove it.

Vin Diesel’s Facebook Page:
63,103,998 likes

Katy Perry’s:
62,794,156 likes

Justin Bieber:
62,697,166 likes

Lady Gaga:
62,352,496 likes

Linkin Park:
59,284,051 likes

Will Smith:
58,161,275 likes

Beyoncé:
55,564,551 likes

Taylor Swift:
53,597,166 likes

Metallica:
34,457,570 likes

One Direction:
25,185,510 likes

So how does this happen? Images like the one atop this post are a good start. Vin Diesel is incredibly likeable, but his fans are also kind of laughing at him. They have to be. From the swirly photoshop brushes to the inspirational quotes, Vin Diesel’s Facebook is like a 14-year-old girl’s MySpace page. But that’s what makes him so endearing—here’s this big, butch action star who is a complete dork. As much as we’re smirking, he’s likely there with us.

Here’s a guy who put a ton of his own money into Riddick because that’s just the kind of geek he is. He has a Dungeons & Dragons tattoo and once wrote the foreward for a 30 year retrospective on the game. He had a huge hand in the development of the The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay video game, a sleeper hit from 2004, and seriously, how can you not root a guy who regularly shares pictures like this:

And then there’s that time he posted himself singing Rihanna’s “Stay” alone on Valentine’s Day.

It was really sad, but also totally magical. And more than anything, that’s why he’s endeared himself with a better online presence than everyone from Justin Bieber to One Direction. As for how Shakira pulls it off, that’s another story.