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TV musicals are big on Twitter – but how big?

Soccer is the star as we look at the number of live tweets worldwide during premiere broadcasts.

By Neal Justin

January 29, 2016 at 8:01PM

AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM -- Pictured: Jessica Lange as Sister Jude -- CR: Frank Ockenfels/FX (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Julianne Hough isn't the only one who will be working up a sweat Sunday night. "Grease: Live!" is expected to generate millions of tweets, perhaps even as much as TV's most hypnotic dramas receive. But anything short of a rush for T-Birds jackets on Amazon will pale in comparison to next weekend's Super Bowl. The number of live tweets worldwide during premiere broadcasts:

2014 FIFA semifinal, Germany vs. Brazil: 35.6 million

Super Bowl XLIX (2015): 28.4 million

2015 Grammy Awards: 13.4 million

"Empire" season finale, March 2015: 2.4 million

"The Wiz Live!" 1.6 million

"Scandal" (average episode): 559,000

about the writer

Neal Justin

Critic / Reporter

Neal Justin is the pop-culture critic, covering how Minnesotans spend their entertainment time. He also reviews stand-up comedy. Justin previously served as TV and music critic for the paper. He is the co-founder of JCamp, a non-profit program for high-school journalists, and works on many fronts to further diversity in newsrooms.