(CNN) A Pope and a pop star ruled Instagram this year, but they weren't the only popular figures on the social media platform. Olympic icons, caffeinated hashtags, an Oscar-winning actor and smiley-face emojis also were crowd-pleasers. Here's what else we learned cruising through Instagram's 2016 list of the most popular hashtags, emojis, celebrities and moments:

1. Instagram newbies

Soccer legend Pele, singer Kanye West and actress Halle Berry were among 13 other well-known figures to break new personal ground with their first photo posts on the site this year.

2. Celebrities who stole the Instagram spotlight

Fans can't get enough of Selena Gomez . The 24-year-old American actress and singer has captured the spotlight as this year's most popular Instagram celebrity. With more than 103 million followers -- about the population of the Philippines -- Gomez not only surpassed Pope Francis, she also outperformed other contenders such as Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Beyonce and Kim Kardashian.

when your lyrics are on the bottle 😛 #ad A photo posted by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Jun 25, 2016 at 2:03pm PDT

Not only did Gomez's posts and videos steal the show, she grew her follower base by 50 million -- the most of any celebrity -- even knocking out soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. He came in second with 42 million new followers this year.

3. Most-used emoji

No smiling faces here, the award for the most commonly used emoji of the year goes to the little red heart. "Heart eyes" and "joy face" round out the three most-used digital images on the photo-centric social media site.

4. Feel the love

In the sea of Instagram's hashtags, #love prevailed above all. Food lovers on the other hand had an insatiable appetite for #instafood, while #coffee was the No. 1 choice for beverage connoisseurs.

5. Star moments

Fans and musicians around the world showed an outpouring of #love this year while paying tribute to late music icons David Bowie and Prince with their favorite memory-filled moments.

My musical brother... My friend... The one who showed me the possibilities within myself, changed everything, and kept his integrity until the end, is gone. I am heartbroken. A photo posted by Lenny Kravitz (@lennykravitz) on Apr 21, 2016 at 10:52am PDT

Fashion model Iman rocked a sweater from Gucci's Fall 2016 collection to honor her late husband, Bowie, on Instagram at the 2016 Grammys.

@gucci #Fall2016 A photo posted by IMAN (@the_real_iman) on Feb 15, 2016 at 2:40pm PST

The 2016 Rio Games finished as "the most social Olympic Games in history and the most Instagrammed event ever measured." Athletes, celebrities and sports fans captured their favorite Olympic moments and shared them with the world.

Another fun night last night!! Trying to think of what else to say and I'm speechless.... This has truly been a dream come true!!! #22 #26 #gettysport A photo posted by Michael Phelps (@m_phelps00) on Aug 12, 2016 at 9:33am PDT

Surprise!! #Rio2016 #FinalFive A photo posted by Zac Efron (@zacefron) on Aug 16, 2016 at 4:23pm PDT

nós viemos , nós vimos , conquistamos Rio eu tenho amor infinito para você. nós nos" #euestoufora A photo posted by Usain St.Leo Bolt (@usainbolt) on Aug 21, 2016 at 3:44pm PDT

But this year's Instagram gold medal moment goes to actor Leonardo DiCaprio after he received the best actor Oscar for "The Revenant" -- his first win after earlier snubs. With more than 1.2 million likes, Instagram calls it "the" moment of 2016.