diff --git a/beetsplug/fetchart.py b/beetsplug/fetchart.py
index b508a5f66..3259dfa53 100644
--- a/beetsplug/fetchart.py
+++ b/beetsplug/fetchart.py
@@ -590,7 +590,7 @@ class FanartTV(RemoteArtSource):
                 self._log.debug('fanart.tv: unexpected mb_releasegroupid in '
                                 'response!')
 
-        matches.sort(key=lambda x: x['likes'], reverse=True)
+        matches.sort(key=lambda x: int(x['likes']), reverse=True)
         for item in matches:
             # fanart.tv has a strict size requirement for album art to be
             # uploaded
diff --git a/docs/changelog.rst b/docs/changelog.rst
index da8e23d32..6d1dc02bb 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/changelog.rst
@@ -185,6 +185,8 @@ Bug fixes:
 * Fix updating "data_source" on re-imports and improve logging when flexible
   attributes are being re-imported.
   :bug:`4726`
+* :doc:`/plugins/fetchart`: Correctly select the cover art from fanart.tv with
+  the highest number of likes
 
 For packagers: