After almost 15 years of internet hosting movies, and with roughly 300 hours of video uploaded to the service each minute, YouTube reinvents itself every day. And whereas the YouTube algorithm works in mysterious (and doubtlessly harmful) methods, view counts be sure that the movies that come out on high are simply acknowledged.
Within the early days of YouTube, the most-watched movies tended to be viral moments equivalent to “Charlie Bit My Finger.” However because the platform advanced, big-name celebrities took over the charts with music movies, with random youngsters’s leisure squeezing into the cracks. The most important shock is that no legacy hit is secure; each video within the high 10 most-viewed movies of all time comes from the previous seven years.
With that, right here’s a take a look at the highest 10 most-watched YouTube movies (as of publish — like all the pieces on YouTube, the numbers may skyrocket on the drop of a brand new hat).
10. “Roar” (2013) – 2.84 billion
Katy Perry and Taylor Swift might have ended their feud in Swift’s new video for “You Must Calm Down,” however Perry is the victor within the the battle for a spot on the most-viewed YouTube video listing. Beating out Swift’s “Shake It Off” by greater than 50 million views, Perry’s empowerment anthem “Roar” secures the No. 10 spot on this listing.
9. “Child Shark Dance” (2016) – 2.94 billion
Child Shark, the viral meme phenomenon from Korean youngsters’s academic model Pinkfong, beat out Taylor Swift and Katy Perry for the No. 9 spot on Could 28, 2019. The catchy children tune rose to virality and meme standing someday in August 2018, however its legacy lives on in each licensed iteration possible. The unique Child Shark lands on the listing with 2.86 billion views, however Child Shark movies as an entire have additionally amassed over 5 billion views.
8. “Sugar” (2015) – 2.98 billion
Maroon 5 has many bangers, however “Sugar” proved extra viral than “Distress,” “This Love,” and “She Will Be Liked.” “Sugar,” helmed by Wedding ceremony Crashers director David Dobkin, is actually the film in music video type. The band crashed as many precise weddings as they may in at some point. Dobkin contacted wedding ceremony planners, on the lookout for weddings occurring on the day of filming, and knowledgeable the grooms {that a} “standard band” would present as much as play. Then Maroon 5 utterly surprises the brides and the opposite company.
7. “Sorry” (2015) – 3.15 billion
The video for Justin Bieber’s Vine-promoted electro-pop tune “Sorry” is filled with neon-clad dancers. Many speculated that it might be about greater than a relationship, and maybe hinted on the singer’s extra controversial moments, however Bieber confirmed that the tune is particularly about ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez. Bear in mind Jelena? The pairing is immortalized on this YouTube-dominating tune.
6. “Gangnam Type” (2012) – 3.37 billion
“Gangnam Type” would possibly by no means have made it to America if rapper T-Pain hadn’t tweeted about it in 2012. “The YouTube video by no means focused overseas international locations. It was for native followers,” Korean rapper Psy advised Reuters in an interview after the video went viral.
Whereas Ok-pop had garnered a lot reputation exterior of Korea earlier than “Gangnam Type,” the style had but to spark fervor in the US. Journalist Mark James Russell theorized in 2012 that “this [K-pop’s popularity in the West] may quickly change due to ‘Gangnam Type.’” One may postulate that the present Ok-pop frenzy in the US — BTS making headlining appearances on varied discuss reveals and sweeping the nation with bought out excursions; lady group Loona sparking a viral meme that continues to befuddle these unfamiliar with Ok-pop canon — could be traced again to this Ok-pop video that might.
5. “Uptown Funk” (2014) – 3.59 billion
The extremely catchy Bruno Mars tune tied for the second longest-reigning No. 1 on the Billboard 100 in 2014, and broke the report for many streamed monitor in the US, United Kingdom, and worldwide in a single week. The success of the tune interprets to success of its music video, which was nominated for varied awards and made a couple of “Prime Music Movies of 2014” lists. Simply excited about the funky bop would possibly get it caught in your head.
4. Masha and the Bear – “Recipe for Catastrophe” (2012) – 3.73 billion
Not solely is Masha and the Bear – “Recipe for Catastrophe” the one video on this listing that isn’t a music video (and the one non-music video on the total high 20 listing), it’s additionally the oldest video on the listing, predating “Gangnam Type” by seven months. One would possibly speculate that the video’s age is what slowly garnered it this many views, but it surely was additionally probably the most considered video of 2012. Not like Child Shark — one other video geared towards children — there’s no viral meme second to clarify the triumph of Masha and the Bear.
The video, fully in Russian, can also be the longest on this listing, clocking in at simply over six minutes. It’s the 17th episode of Russian youngsters’s collection Masha and the Bear. Different Masha and the Bear episodes do fairly effectively, getting hundreds of thousands of views in all probability as a result of youngsters clicking repeat and repeat, with two others cracking 1 billion views.
3. “See You Once more” (2015) – 4.14 billion
The Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth collab is a tribute to Quick and Livid actor Paul Walker, who died in a automobile accident earlier than his closing franchise look in Livid 7. After the movie’s launch, “See You Once more” turned the longest-running rap No. 1 single in the US. The music video surpassed “Gangnam Type” as probably the most favored YouTube video of all time in 2017.
2. “Form of You” (2017) – 4.25 billion
Ed Sheeran’s crooning pop hit turned probably the most streamed tune on Spotify in 2018. Sheeran initially wrote the tune with Rihanna in thoughts, however ended up performing it himself. The tune acquired optimistic acclaim, although Jeremy Gordon of Spin famous “you’ll be able to’t actually image Sheeran ever saying ‘put that physique on me’ to an actual human lady.” The music video manages to color Sheeran as a form of rugged boxer, making the lyrical alternative appear a bit extra believable. On the finish … he battles a sumo wrestler.
1. “Despacito” (2017) – 6.26 billion
The hole between “Despacito” and the runner-up is larger than the hole between any of the opposite movies. One would possibly suppose that the truth that the tune is a punchline to a meme would possibly contribute, however the tune amassed 1 billion views in simply 97 days and finally broke the report for many considered YouTube video in August 2017 — all earlier than the primary occasion of the “That’s so unhappy, Alexa play Despacito” meme on Tumblr in June 2018. Billboard notes that the tune renewed curiosity in Latin music from U.S. report labels. Along with being probably the most considered video on YouTube, “Despacito” can also be probably the most favored, stealing the title from “See You Once more.” And with an infectious, danceable melody, what’s to not like about “Despacito”?