Justin Bieber claims Lady Gaga's YouTube throne

Canadian singer Justin Bieber acknowledges fans during an appearance on NBC's 'Today' show in New York, June 4, 2010. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
LOS ANGELES | Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:24pm EDT
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Teen sensation Justin Bieber has knocked Lady Gaga off her reign as holder of the most-viewed video on YouTube.
Bieber, 16, who was discovered on YouTube, racked up more than 246 million views of his music video "Baby" on Friday, pushing Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" into second place with 245.6 million.
The Canadian singer, currently on tour in the United States to promote his hit album "My World 2.0", thanked his fans in a Twitter message, but added that he thinks Lady Gaga is "an incredible artist who (I) have great respect 4. and her vid is incredible.
"So it doesnt matter who has more views what matters is that we have incredible fans that support us...that im sure we are both greatful 4," he continued.
Bieber signed a record deal at age 14 after posting his own videos on YouTube and now causes mob scenes of hysterical girls wherever he goes.
Lady Gaga, 24, is in the middle of her "Monster Ball" tour and recently became the first living person to have more than 10 million fans on social networking site Facebook.