YouTube was unleashed on the world twenty years ago this month and its fair to say it’s had an impact on the musical landscape. Parents will tell you it’s mostly been in the form of Baby Shark being played over and over, but there’s been other things. In fact, the number of views of videos has become a cultural touchstone, a sign of how songs turn from popular to mega-watt viral phenomenon.
There have been over 20 trillion uploaded videos to the site in total but here are the Top Ten in music, as of this week:
ALL-TIME MOST VIEWED MUSIC VIDEOS
- Luis Fonsi - Despacito ft. Daddy Yankee
- Wiz Khalifa - See You Again ft. Charlie Puth, Furious 7 Soundtrack
- Ed Sheeran - Shape of You
- PSY - GANGNAM STYLE
- Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk ft. Bruno Mars
- Crazy Frog - Axel F
- El Chombo, Dancing Green Alien - Dame Tu Cosita feat. Cutty Ranks
- Maroon 5 - Sugar
- Shakira - Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) (The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Song)
- OneRepublic - Counting Stars
Yes, Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi takes the crown, which may be a little baffling but helps us understand the global usage of the channel. Ed Sheeran is nestled in there at number three, along with expected novelty hits with Gangnam Style and Crazy Frog.
In terms of the most popular artists on the channel, the rise of K-Pop is clearly having an effect, with BLACKPINK and BANGTANTV taking the top spots in terms of fan followers, firmly putting Justin Bieber into third.
ALL-TIME MOST SUBSCRIBED OFFICIAL ARTIST CHANNEL
- BLACKPINK
- BANGTANTV
- Justin Bieber
- EminemMusic
- Taylor Swift
- Marshmello
- Ed Sheeran
- Ariana Grande
- Billie Eilish
- Bad Bunny
The global success of K-pop can also be seen in this list of the most views in the first day:
ALL-TIME TOP 24 HOUR MUSIC DEBUTS
- BTS (방탄소년단) 'Butter' Official
- BTS (방탄소년단) 'Dynamite' Official
- BLACKPINK - ‘Pink Venom’
- BLACKPINK - 'How You Like That'
- BLACKPINK - 'Ice Cream (with Selena Gomez
- BTS (방탄소년단) '작은 것들을 위한 시 (Boy With Luv) (feat. Halsey)' Official MV
- LISA - 'LALISA' M/V
- BTS (방탄소년단) 'Permission to Dance' Official MV
- BTS (방탄소년단) 'Life Goes On' Official MV
- Taylor Swift - ME! (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco) ft. Brendon Urie
But the top videos are now being measured in how quickly they reach a billion views, and here we see Adele emerge with her speeding juggernaut of a song, Hello, which hit a billion views in 88 days.
ALL-TIME FASTEST MUSIC VIDEOS TO ONE BILLION VIEWS
- Adele - Hello
- Ed Sheeran - Shape of You
- Luis Fonsi - Despacito ft. Daddy Yankee
- J Balvin, Willy William - Mi Gente
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars - APT.
- Luis Fonsi, Demi Lovato - Échame La Culpa
- DJ Snake - Taki Taki ft Selena Gomez, Ozuna, Cardi B
- Casper, Nio García, Darrell, Nicky Jam, Bad Bunny, Ozuna - Te Bote Remix
- X (EQUIS) - Nicky Jam x J. Balvin
- Maroon 5 - Girls Like You ft. Cardi B
While these lists represent the biggest names on YouTube, the platform has earned its stripes as a place for new voices to get their music heard, such as Stormzy, Dave, Dua Lipa and Beabadoobee. New features coming to the platform include more creators being able to add voice notes to their comments section and for users to create their very own personalised radio station with Ask Music, which allows you to describe your mood and have tracks selected to match it.
