Money. Power. Respect. A Guinness World Record. These are the trophies of the celebrity record breakers revealed in the new Guinness World Records 2012 edition hitting shelves on September 15th. The new book lists a veritable who’s who of mega-watt celebrities from music, movies, television, and more that have earned a special place in the best-selling book.
Musicians dominated the celebrity Guinness World Records this year with ladies taking the lead starting with ”The Fame Monster” and fashion chameleon on everyone’s minds – Lady Gaga. The ‘Bad Romance’ songstress certainly has a love affair with her fans earning two formidable records for “Most Followers on Twitter” and “Most Weeks on the US Hot Digital Songs Chart”. For power-packed performances on the pop charts, Rihanna earned the record for “Most US #1 Singles in a Year (Female)”. On the other side of the pond, enigmatic singing sensation Adele has earned recognition for her vast talents, racking up records for “Most Consecutive Weeks at #1 on the UK Albums Chart (Female)”, “Most Non-Consecutive Weeks at #1 on the UK Albums Chart (Female)”, and “First Female to Reach the UK Top 5 with Two Singles and Two Albums Simultaneously”.
The past year has been one for the young, too, with fever inducing teen sensation, Justin Bieber, scoring the title for ” while pop princess Taylor Swift grabbed the records for “Fastest Selling Digital Album by a Female (USA)” and “Most Simultaneous US Hot 100 Hits by a Female Artist”. Young upstart Willow Smith is already following in the famous footsteps of her parents, becoming the “Youngest Transatlantic Top 20 Artist” and although his name belies his age, the always-unpredictable rapper, Lil Wayne, scored the “Most US Hot 100 Hits by a Rap Artist”.
Guinness World Records 2012 not only sings the praises of our greatest pop-stars, it also features plenty of leading men and ladies. After a difficult year, America’s Sweetheart Sandra Bullock blindsided the public by earning $56 million to become the “Highest Paid Actress” from June 2009 – June 2010. During that same period, Johnny Depp pirated wallets around the world to earn $75 million.
Hollywood’s big screen doesn’t necessarily mean the biggest money. This year there were a handful of TV shows and stars that commanded major paychecks. As lead actor for the ‘Most-Watched TV Show’ – House – Hugh Laurie is now the ‘Highest Paid Actor in a TV Drama’ pulling in $400,000 per episode. TV’s young talent is not lounging on the job, either. Seventeen-year old Angus T Jones, the “half” in Two and a Half Men, reportedly earned $250,000 per episode to grab the title of “Highest-Paid Child Actor on TV” while iCarly star, Miranda Cosgrove, became TV’s ‘Highest-Paid Child Actress” earning $180,000 per episode. And CBS’s crime drama Hawaii Five-0 trumped as the ‘Highest-Rated New Show’ in the US, drawing in an audience of 19.34 million on its January 23rd, 2011 episode.
Those figures are trivial when considering J.K. Rowling, one of only five self-made female billionaires, who is the “First Billion-Dollar Author”. Her seven Harry Potter books have sold more than 400 million copies worldwide to date.
Finally, love was in the air — literally — during the Royal Wedding in April. During their nuptials, Prince William and Kate Middleton ruled the invisible airwaves when they broke the record for “Most Live Streams for a Single Event” with 72 million streams. A spokesperson for Clarence House, the official residence of Prince William before his marriage said: “We are thrilled that we were able to help enable millions of people from across the world to watch and enjoy the Royal Wedding.”
“The music industry might be in flux, but its artists are standing strong with an astonishing number of singers and hip-hop stars making it into this year’s book,” said Craig Glenday, Editor-In-Chief, Guinness World Records. “One thing that most of these record-breakers also have in common is their familiarity with the online world. Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook or other digital and social media channels, stars are bringing their talents straight to their fans.”
Guinness World Records 2012 is available in the U.S. on September 15th for the suggested retail price of $28.95. Look out for the 2012 eBook version to launch in November. For more information about Guinness World Records 2012 or to find out how you can participate in Guinness World Records Day 2011, visit www.guinnessworldrecords.com and Facebook.
