Last Updated on September 6, 2024
YouTube went live on December 15th, 2005. The co-founder, Jawed Karim uploaded the first video of him at the zoo on the 23rd of the same month. The 19 seconds video now has over 100 million views and Jawed earned 2million plus subscribers with just that one video on his channel…what a legend.
Ever since, YouTube now is home to millions of videos and it is estimated that in a minute, approximately 500 hours of videos are added. In this article, we are going to do a roundup of the most viewed YouTube videos ever. A majority of them belong to the Billion View Club-meaning since the day of the upload, they have garnered over 1 billion views. Stay tuned.
YouTube’s Most-watched Videos
Without wasting a second, here is a rundown of the most-watched YouTube clips:
1. Pinkfong Kids’ Baby Shark
Taking the top position is Pinkfong’s Baby Shark Dance song. This insanely catchy children’s song boasts 8.86 billion views and seems not to be stopping any time soon. With many parents having access to internet devices, they can play this song over 10 times just to calm down or entertain their kids. That’s why the song will continue to rule-possibly till the kingdom comes.
2. Luis Fonsi – Despacito ft. Daddy Yankee
Despacito is a record-breaker. In just 97 days, this jam by Louis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee had collected 1 billion views. It’s recognized as the fastest video to have garnered 2 billion views and the only one to get 7 billion views.
3. LooLoo Kids’ Johny Johny Yes Papa
Coming in at number three is the short and sweet Johny Johny Yes Papa. It’s an animated music video for kids about a kid named Johnny who clearly has his dad worried over eating sugar. The clip boasts 5+ million views.
4. Shape of You-Ed Sheeran
If you haven’t watched Shape of You on YouTube, then you must have watched it on TV or listened to it on the radio. Debuting in 2017, this record banger is the third-fastest clip to have hit 1 billion views.
5. Wiz Khalifa ft Charlie Puth-See You Again
Shining the spotlight on the last acting days of the Fast & Furious actor, Paul Walker, See You Again became an instant hit-just like the movie itself. With both Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth being some of the biggest names in the music industry, it’s no wonder why the song joined the Billion View Club in a few months. It dethroned PSY’s Gangnam Style only to be eclipsed later by Despacito.
6. Recipe for Disaster-Marsha and the Bear
Kids are ruling the internet-whether you like it or not. And another top hit for the young ones with 4.4+ billion views is titled Masha and The Bear. Quite interesting, it is the only video with very few songs and dances and it is in the Russian language.
7. Bath Song-Cocomelon
One simple animation for kids with songs and dances, yet it managed to kick unforgettable songs like Uptown Funk and Gangnam style down the chart. Hello children, it’s your time to shine.
8. Learning Colors-Miroshka TV
Basic education is a must for every child. We all want those little champs chanting shapes and numbers even before they see school doors. Now, don’t you ever wonder why Learning Colors is one of the most-watched videos on YouTube.
9. Uptown Funk-Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars
The moves, the swag, the fashion…what’s not to like about Uptown Funk. Since its debut in 2014, this collabo project between Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars has survived being dethroned by Katy Perry’s 2013 wildest hits. Listening to it now brings back good memories when Corona was only a drink and not an international menace.
10. PSY’s Gangnam Style
July 2012 was one of the many good times to be alive thanks to PSY’s Gangnam style. This urban legend may be going out of the top ten YouTube videos but its history is mind-blowing. After the release it got roughly 33 views in a second, 121k in an hour, and a whopping 2.9 million views a day. It’s the first YouTube video to have ever gathered 2 billion views.
11. Phonics Song with Two Words-ChuChu TV
Another educational video for kids that teaches them the alphabet. Sorry if you think it’s the last children’s project on this list. There’s one more coming up.
12. Sugar-Maroon 5
One of the two bands to make it to this list of the most-watched YouTube videos-Maroon 5. Their song, Sugar has a staggering 3.5 billion views.
13. El Chombo ft Cutty Ranks-Dame Tu Cosita
Dame Tu Cosita (in English, Give me your little thingy) is another track that received viral internet popularity. It was the 7th most viewed YouTube video of 2018. It now has over 3.5 billion views.
We can all be sure the little green alien man’s bouncy dancing styles contributed to its wild success, right?
14. Sorry-Justin Bieber
Justin was discovered on YouTube and it’s also great that he makes the list of the most viewed. His song Sorry is the most viewed of his works and is recognized to be the fifth-fastest track to get 2 billion views. Currently, the viewership stands at a glorious 3.4 billion.
15. Katy Perry-Roar
Old but gold, a masterpiece, a timeless work of art-that’s how we can describe Katty Perry’s Roar. And just like she once ruled the radio and internet, Roar still rules YouTube as one of the top songs in the Billion Views Club with a glistening 3.4 billion views.
16. OneRepublic’s Counting Stars
The second and last band to bask in our rundown of 30 most-watched YouTube videos is OneRepublic. Their chart-topping song, Counting Stars is possibly one of the best soft rock songs of all time with a total viewership of 3.3 billion.
17. Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud
Another marvelous piece by Ed Sheeran that received so much love worldwide is Thinking Out Loud. It is said that he practiced with the dancer (Brittany Cherry) 5 hours a day for three weeks before he was ready to perform. That hard work paid in the end, didn’t it?
18. Wheels on the Bus-Cocomelon
And we’re back to the children’s section but this time with one last video- Wheels on the Bus by Cocomelon. This nursery school rhyme is great for anyone with kids. The clip currently boasts up to 3.2 billion views and is sure to keep going.
19. Dark Horse-Katy Perry
At 19th position is another fine jam by Katy Perry and Juicy J. Despite being 7 years old, Dark Horse remains to be one of the greatest hits on YouTube with an amazing 3.1 billion views. Katy Perry is indeed an icon to be celebrated.
20. Alan Walker-Faded
Faded is inarguably Alan Walker’s best work having garnered platinum certifications in over 10 countries. As of July 2021, it’s the 45th most streamed track on Spotify with 1.4 billion hits. On YouTube, Faded is now past the 3.1 billion views.
21. Girls Like You-Maroon 5
Maroon 5 teamed up with the sensational Cardi B on the project Girls Like You. The collaboration was a success given that the song won several awards and stayed on Billboard 100 top 10 for 33 weeks-an an admirable record very few songs can ever achieve.
22. Taylor Swift-Shake it off
Another 7-year-old track that has received so much love from YouTube users is Taylor Swift’s Shake it off. While it’s currently at 3 billion views, a YouTube analytics website estimates the song will cross the 3.5 billion mark by March 2025.
23. Major Lazer ft DJ Snake, MO-Lean On
Lean On from Major Lazer was a commercial success having peaked at number two on UK Singles Chart and number 4 on Billboard Hot 100. In some countries like Denmark and Netherlands, it peaked at number one. The video has a lustrous 3 billion views.
24. Bailando-Enrique Iglesias Ft Descemer Bueno and Gente De Zona
There are days when we wished we could have taken Spanish lessons in school. Why? Because hit songs like Bailando kept playing on radio and TV all through. And now it has a majestic 3 billion views.
25. Passenger-Let Her Go
Passenger’s Let Her Go could be one of the most emotional songs we’ve ever heard besides Adele’s Hello and possibly Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On (thank you, Titanic). We are digressing.
Let Her Go ruled the charts in over 30 countries a few months after the release and earned Passenger a British Academy Award. Today, the video has achieved a viewership of 3 billion and sold millions of digital copies worldwide.
26. Adele-Hello
Adele is a gem…let’s not disagree on that. Her hit song, Hello took the world by storm and in under 54 hours of release, it already had 50 million views. Five years down the line, the song has amassed 2.8 billion clicks.
27. Taylor Swift-Blank Space
Like Katy Perry, Taylor Swift has several jams with over 2 billion views. One of them is Max Martin-produced Blank Space. To date, it remains her best track to rule the Billboard 100 for seven straight weeks and was 8 times platinum-certified. As of today, the song’s viewership is slowly dragging past the 2.8-billion mark.
28. Mi Gente-J Balvin
Sorry pal, we are not yet done with Spanish hits…but we know you love them, right? Mi Gente by J Balvin is another hit with billions of views and falls in the top 30 most-watched YouTube videos.
29. Axel F-Crazy Frog
Can you believe a frog can get its way into pop culture and become widely celebrated and discussed? Too late to answer. Crazy Frog, formerly known as The Annoying Thing has a top spot on YouTube’s most-watched clips. His insanely animated and colorful performance has so far garnered him a 2.9 billion viewership.
By the way, it is still the most wanted annoying thing in the video and if you catch him, you can go claim the 50-grand reward. Good luck (you’ll need it).
30. Waka Waka-Shakira
And the last of YouTube’s successful hits on this list is…drum roll, please…Waka Waka by the Colombian Queen, Shakira. Have you seen her dance? Well, that’s beside the point. The song did incredibly well by securing several awards and topping charts in over 15 countries. A decade later, it still ranks as one of YouTube’s most viewed music videos with 2.9 billion hits.
Wrap up
There you have it; a list of the most-watched YouTube videos of all time. If you liked this article, feel free to share it with your friends and followers. Hasta la vista, Amigo.
