NEW YORK (Billboard) - It's official -- Eminem is the most liked living artist on Facebook.

The Detroit rapper overtook Lady Gaga this week for the distinction, currently coming in at over 28,883,000 'likes' as opposed to Gaga's 28,872,000.

Eminem, 38, is currently averaging over half a million 'likes' a day, according to Famecount. At this rate, he will soon surpass Michael Jackson as the most 'liked' artist on Facebook, as the King of Pop currently sits at 29.1 million 'likes.'

However, in the broader picture of social influence, Gaga is far ahead of Eminem in terms of Twitter followers, with over 5 million more followers than he; he also goes through long dark periods. And earlier this week, the rapper reached 1 billion plays on YouTube, making him only the third artist to pull off the achievement. However, he still trails both Gaga and Justin Bieber in the category by over 190 million and 340 million plays, respectively.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Justin Bieber Facebook