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Internet Names Frank Ocean Person of the Year

frank ocean, grimes, webby awards

Frank Ocean just scored a major publicity coup, landing on TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list, and now the channel ORANGE author can add another honorific to his long list of awards: Ocean has been named the Webby Awards’ Person of the Year. 

According to the Webby’s official site, “Frank Ocean has had a truly remarkable, impactful year as both a musician and cultural icon, showing a deep understanding of the Internet as a communicative tool for social change.” The blurb is, of course, referencing Ocean’s game-changing, heart-swelling “coming out” Tumblr post, which the singer shared online last year, just ahead of channel ORANGE‘s release. “Ocean helped launch a wave of support, understanding, and conversation that continues to swell online and offline to this very day,” the write-up reads. 

The noted Beatles/Beach Boys fan wasn’t the only musician honored by the 17th annual Webbys this year. Internet virtuoso Grimes picked up the Artist of the Year Award, not long after writing a chauvinism-chiding Tumblr post that made headlines across the web. 

Meanwhile, Justin Bieber won the People’s Voice Award for Social Media Campaigns for the launch of his “Girlfriend” fragrance, and not for his affect on Google trends or his use of not-so-humblebrag hashtags. Lady Gaga also earned a Webby, collecting the award for Celebrity/Fan Social Presence for the social media used in conjunction with her Barney’s storefront. 

For a full list of Webby Awards 2013 winners, click here.