Ariana Grande overtakes Selena Gomez to become Instagram's most-followed woman

As of Feb 26, Ariana Grande, 25, had 146.3 million followers while fellow pop star Selena Gomez, 26, had 146.2 million. PHOTO: AFP

SAN FRANCISCO - Break Free singer Ariana Grande is now ahead of the chasing pack, after overtaking Selena Gomez as Instagram's most followed woman.

As of Feb 26, Grande, 25, had 146.3 million followers while fellow pop star Gomez, 26, had 146.2 million.

But both are not a match for footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, 34, who scores with 155.9 million followers.

Still, Grande is likely to close the gap to Ronaldo, drawing more followers from Britain, after news came that she would be a headliner at a concert in Manchester in August.

This comes two years after her show in the same city was hit by a suicide bombing that killed 22 people, a tragedy that has made her extra-cautious.

On Sunday (Feb 24), ahead of the American leg of her world tour that kicks off next month, she tweeted that concert-goers would have to put their belongings in clear bags for security reasons.

Grande, whose new album Thank U, Next sits atop the Billboard chart this week, made history recently when she became the first artist - since The Beatles, in 1964 - to fill the top three spots on the singles chart.

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