Mercury award-winning British rapper Dave has had a big year with his hit Starlight
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)UK rapper Dave’s Starlight is the UK’s most watched music video of 2022 according to YouTube Music, which released its official viewing figures today.
Dave’s track debuted at the top spot of the UK charts, spending four weeks at the summit. It has since been certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry - the music video for Starlight has been viewed 38 million times.
The 2022 list marks the first time in twelve years that the end-of-year figures have had such a high representation of UK musicians, with eight of the top 10 most viewed videos coming from homegrown artists.
Geographically, the figures also mark a boost to the UK’s music scene as a whole, with the UK’s top ten most-watched music videos featuring artists from London (Dave and Digga D), Manchester (Aitch), the Midlands (Harry Styles, Bru-C), Yorkshire (Bad Boy Chiller Crew), Liverpool (HAZEY), and Brighton (ArrDee).
UK rap and drill dominated this year’s viewing figures, compromising seven of the top 10 tracks in the list and highlighting its ever-growing presence in the mainstream UK music landscape.
The Head of Label Relations at YouTube Music, Lizzie Dickson, said: “The fusion of different styles in this list (drill, UK Hip Hop, dance, garage) is reflective of how YouTube continues to help drive black music into the mainstream and there is an overlap of styles and genres coming out as a result”
“Collaborations are also helping to drive consumption and YouTube is uniquely positioned for this kind of cross pollination since we are a multi-format platform.
“Whether it’s an artist featuring on another artist’s track or someone like (Manchester rapper Aitch collaborating with a YouTube creator like Amelia Dimoldenberg, YouTube is the perfect platform for discovery of content around an artist which helps to propel official videos”.
The list comprises of six UK Top 10 singles, including the No. 1’s Starlight by Dave and As It Was by Harry Styles.
Here’s the list of the top ten of the UK’s most viewed music videos of the year:
