YouTube is an American video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California. Since its establishment in 2005, the website has featured a “most viewed” section, which lists the most-viewed videos on the site.[citation needed] Although the most-viewed videos were initially viral videos, such as “Evolution of Dance” and “Charlie Bit My Finger“, the most-viewed videos were increasingly related to music videos. In fact, since Lady Gaga‘s “Bad Romance“, every video that has reached the top of the “most-viewed YouTube videos” list has been a music video. Although some of the previously most-viewed videos are no longer listed on the site, reaching the top of the list is still considered a tremendous feat.
In November 2005, a Nike advertisement featuring Brazilian football star Ronaldinho became the first video to reach one million views.[1]
In December 2012, “Gangnam Style” became the first video to reach one billion views.[2] By June 2015, only “Baby” had managed to join this threshold; but, by October 2015, a total of ten videos had done so,[3] and the number reached further to 100 in February 2018.[4] In July 2018, “November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses became the first video created before the YouTube era to reach this threshold.[5]
In May 2014 “Gangnam Style” became the first video to exceed two billion views.[6] “Despacito” became the first video to reach three billion views in August 2017, and since has surpassed four billion in October 2017,[7] five billion in April 2018,[8] and six billion in February 2019.
As of May 2019, 34 videos have exceeded two billion views; seven of which exceed three billion views, three of which exceed four billion views and one of which exceeds six billion views. “See You Again” became the second video to reach three billion views in August 2017, followed by “Gangnam Style” in November 2017.[9][10]“Shape of You” became the second video to reach four billion views in January 2019, followed by “See You Again” in February 2019.
As of May 2019, the fastest videos to reach the one billion view mark are “Hello” (87 days), “Despacito” (96 days), “Shape of You” (97 days), “Mi Gente” (103 days) and “Échame la Culpa” (111 days).[11] The fastest videos to reach two billion views are “Despacito” (154 days), “Shape of You” (187 days) and “Girls Like You” (293 days),[12] and the fastest videos to reach three billion views are “Despacito” (203 days), “Shape of You” (342 days) and “See You Again” (852 days).[13]
As of May 2019, Justin Bieber is the only artist to have five videos exceeding one billion views,[14] while Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Nicky Jam, Shakira, J Balvin, Taylor Swift and Ariana Grandehave four. Only two non-music videos are featured in the top 30 most-viewed. Justin Bieber is the only artist to have three videos exceeding two billion views, while Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, Shakira and Maroon 5 have two.[A]
By year of release
The following table lists the current top 5 most viewed YouTube videos uploaded in each year, with each total rounded to the nearest 10 million views, uploader and upload date.[L]
As of May 2019 Katy Perry, Adele and Ed Sheeran have the most appearances on the list with three each. Only icanrockyourworld (2007), Linkin Park (2007), Guns N’ Roses (2009), Luis Fonsi(2017) and Ed Sheeran (2017) have two videos in the top 5 of a single year, with the English and Spanish versions of Gummibär‘s The Gummy Bear Song being in the top five videos of 2007. Only four videos on the list are not music videos. —Entries with this background color and a dagger (†) indicate that the upload is not a recording artist’s music video.
| Year | Video name | Uploader | Views (billions) | Upload date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | “Tarzan Boy“[62] | nailofgilead | 0.13 | November 2, 2005 | |
| “Life Goes On“[63] | fhearnoiz | 0.12 | September 22, 2005 | ||
| “guitar“[64] | guitar90 | 0.09 | December 20, 2005 | ||
| “Hurt“[65] | beachbuggy | 0.09 | December 12, 2005 | ||
| †”Me at the zoo“[66] | jawed | 0.07 | April 23, 2005 | ||
| Combined views (2005) | 0.50 | [67][68] | |||
| 2006 [M] | “Galinha Pintadinha – videoclip infantil animado“[69] | Galinha Pintadinha | 0.55 | December 28, 2006 | |
| “Ella y Yo“[70] | JosephIngma | 0.45 | April 27, 2006 | ||
| †”Evolution of Dance“[71] | Judson Laipply | 0.31 | April 6, 2006 | [N] | |
| “I Write Sins Not Tragedies“[72] | Fueled By Ramen | 0.27 | July 18, 2006 | ||
| “Hit the road Jack!“[73] | Andres Trevino | 0.18 | June 3, 2006 | ||
| Combined views (2006) | 1.76 | [74][75] | |||
| 2007 | “The Gummy Bear Song“[76] | icanrockyourworld | 1.67 | October 9, 2007 | |
| “Numb“[77] | Linkin Park | 1.14 | March 4, 2007 | ||
| †”Charlie Bit My Finger“[78] | HDCYT | 0.87 | May 22, 2007 | [O] | |
| “Osito Gominola – Full Spanish Version – The Gummy Bear Song“[79] | icanrockyourworld | 0.60 | October 16, 2007 | ||
| “What I’ve Done“[80] | Linkin Park | 0.39 | April 3, 2007 | ||
| Combined views (2007) | 4.67 | [74][75] | |||
| 2008 | “Bohemian Rhapsody“[81] | Queen Official | 0.93 | August 1, 2008 | |
| “Hot n Cold“[82] | Katy Perry | 0.89 | October 13, 2008 | ||
| “Pintinho Amarelinho – DVD Galena Pintadinha“[83] | Galinha Pintadinha | 0.67 | September 15, 2008 | ||
| “Viva la Vida“[84] | Coldplay | 0.56 | August 4, 2008 | ||
| “Colgando en tus manos“[85] | Carlos Baute | 0.48 | October 29, 2008 | ||
| Combined views (2008) | 3.53 | [74] | |||
| 2009 | “Axel F“[86] | Crazy Frog | 1.64 | June 16, 2009 | |
| “November Rain“[87] | Guns N’ Roses | 1.15 | December 24, 2009 | ||
| “Bad Romance“[88] | Lady Gaga | 1.05 | November 23, 2009 | [P] | |
| “You Belong with Me“[89] | Taylor Swift | 0.95 | June 16, 2009 | ||
| “Sweet Child o’ Mine“[90] | Guns N’ Roses | 0.91 | December 24, 2009 | ||
| Combined views (2009) | 5.70 | [74] | |||
| 2010 | “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)“[56] | Shakira | 2.21 | June 4, 2010 | |
| “Baby“[91] | Justin Bieber | 2.09 | February 19, 2010 | [Q] | |
| “Love the Way You Lie“[92] | Eminem | 1.76 | August 5, 2010 | ||
| “Rolling in the Deep“[93] | Adele | 1.53 | November 30, 2010 | ||
| “Just the Way You Are“[94] | Bruno Mars | 1.32 | September 8, 2010 | ||
| Combined views (2010) | 8.91 | [74] | |||
| 2011 | “Party Rock Anthem“[95] | LMFAO | 1.64 | March 8, 2011 | |
| “The Lazy Song“[96] | Bruno Mars | 1.60 | April 15, 2011 | ||
| “On the Floor“[97] | Jennifer Lopez | 1.36 | March 3, 2011 | ||
| “Someone like You“[98] | Adele | 1.34 | September 29, 2011 | ||
| “A Thousand Years“[99] | Christina Perri | 1.30 | October 26, 2011 | ||
| Combined views (2011) | 7.24 | [74] | |||
| 2012 | |||||
| †”Masha and the Bear – “Recipe for Disaster”“[30] | Get Movies | 3.56 | January 31, 2012 | ||
| “Gangnam Style“[32] | Psy | 3.34 | July 15, 2012 | [R] | |
| “Let Her Go“[50] | Passenger | 2.42 | July 25, 2012 | ||
| “Diamonds“[100] | Rihanna | 1.31 | November 8, 2012 | ||
| “Thrift Shop“[101] | Macklemore & Ryan Lewis | 1.30 | August 29, 2012 | ||
| Combined views (2012) | 11.93 | [74] | |||
| 2013 | “Roar“[39] | Katy Perry | 2.81 | September 5, 2013 | |
| “Counting Stars“[42] | OneRepublic | 2.73 | May 31, 2013 | ||
| “Wake Me Up“[102] | Avicii | 1.81 | July 29, 2013 | ||
| “Rude“[103] | Magic! | 1.64 | December 5, 2013 | ||
| “Propuesta Indecente“[104] | Romeo Santos | 1.46 | September 9, 2013 | ||
| Combined views (2013) | 10.45 | [74] | |||
| 2014 | “Uptown Funk“[31] | Mark Ronson | 3.54 | November 19, 2014 | |
| “Shake It Off“[40] | Taylor Swift | 2.77 | August 18, 2014 | ||
| “Thinking Out Loud“[41] | Ed Sheeran | 2.75 | October 7, 2014 | ||
| “Bailando“[43] | Enrique Iglesias | 2.72 | April 11, 2014 | ||
| “Dark Horse“[45] | Katy Perry | 2.57 | February 20, 2014 | ||
| Combined views (2014) | 14.35 | [74] | |||
| 2015 | “See You Again“[23] | Wiz Khalifa | 4.10 | April 6, 2015 | [S] |
| “Sorry“[37] | Justin Bieber | 3.12 | October 22, 2015 | ||
| “Sugar“[38] | Maroon 5 | 2.95 | January 14, 2015 | ||
| “Lean On“[46] | Major Lazer | 2.56 | March 22, 2015 | ||
| “Hello“[47] | Adele | 2.52 | October 22, 2015 | ||
| Combined views (2015) | 15.25 | [74] | |||
| 2016 | “Baby Shark Dance“[44] | Pinkfong Kids’ Songs & Stories | 2.71 | June 17, 2016 | |
| “Chantaje“[51] | Shakira | 2.36 | November 18, 2016 | ||
| “Closer (Lyric video)“[54] | The Chainsmokers | 2.30 | July 29, 2016 | ||
| “This Is What You Came For“[57] | Calvin Harris | 2.21 | June 16, 2016 | ||
| “We Don’t Talk Anymore“[58] | Charlie Puth | 2.20 | August 2, 2016 | ||
| Combined views (2016) | 11.78 | [74] | |||
| 2017 | “Despacito“[17] | Luis Fonsi | 6.17 | January 12, 2017 | [T] |
| “Shape of You“[22] | Ed Sheeran | 4.19 | January 30, 2017 | ||
| “Mi Gente“[53] | J Balvin | 2.34 | June 29, 2017 | ||
| “Perfect“[105] | Ed Sheeran | 2.00 | November 9, 2017 | ||
| “Échame la Culpa“[106] | Luis Fonsi | 1.83 | November 16, 2017 | ||
| Combined views (2017) | 16.53 | [74] | |||
| 2018 | “Girls Like You“[60] | Maroon 5 | 2.16 | May 31, 2018 | |
| “Te Boté (Remix)“[107] | Flow La Movie | 1.80 | April 11, 2018 | ||
| “X“[108] | Nicky Jam | 1.61 | March 1, 2018 | ||
| “Sin Pijama“[109] | Becky G | 1.39 | April 20, 2018 | ||
| “Dura“[110] | Daddy Yankee | 1.35 | January 18, 2018 | ||
| Combined views (2018) | 8.31 | [74] | |||
| 2019 | “Con Calma“[111] | Daddy Yankee | 0.75 | January 23, 2019 | |
| “Secreto“[112] | Anuel AA | 0.57 | January 14, 2019 | ||
| “Rowdy Baby“[113] | Wunderbar Studios | 0.44 | January 2, 2019 | ||
| “7 Rings“[114] | Ariana Grande | 0.38 | January 18, 2019 | ||
| “Kill This Love“[115] | Blackpink | 0.28 | April 4, 2019 | ||
| Combined views (2019) | 2.42 | [74] | |||
| As of April 14, 2019 |
Historical most-viewed videos
The following table lists the last 15 videos to become YouTube’s most-viewed video, from October 2005 to the present. Current record (⁂) Former record (*) Indicates the video has since been removed from YouTube (‡)
| Video name | Uploader | Views* | Upload date | Date achieved | Days held | Ref(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| “Despacito“[17] | Luis Fonsi | 2,993,700,000 | Jan 12, 2017 | Aug 4, 2017 | 637 | [116] | [U] |
| “See You Again“[23] | Wiz Khalifa | 2,894,000,000 | Apr 06, 2015 | Jul 10, 2017 | 25 | [119] | |
| “Gangnam Style“⁂[32] | Psy | 803,700,000 | Jul 15, 2012 | Nov 24, 2012 | 1,689 | [33] | [V] |
| “Baby“*[91] | Justin Bieber | 245,400,000 | Feb 19, 2010 | Jul 16, 2010 | 862 | [121] | [W] |
| “Bad Romance“[88] | Lady Gaga | 178,400,000 | Nov 23, 2009 | Apr 14, 2010 | 93 | [124] | [X] |
| “Charlie Bit My Finger“[78] | HDCYT | 128,900,000 | May 22, 2007 | Oct 25, 2009 | 171 | [127] | |
| “Evolution of Dance“[71] | Judson Laipply | 118,900,000 | Apr 06, 2006 | May 2, 2009 | 176 | [128] | |
| “Girlfriend“‡[129][130] | RCA Records | 92,600,000 | Feb 27, 2007 | Jul 17, 2008 | 289 | [131] | |
| “Evolution of Dance“[71] | Judson Laipply | 78,400,000 | Apr 06, 2006 | Mar 15, 2008 | 124 | [132] | |
| “Music Is My Hot Hot Sex“‡[133] | CLARUSBARTEL72 | 76,600,000 | Apr 09, 2007 | Mar 1, 2008 | 14 | [134] | [Y] |
| “Evolution of Dance“*[71] | Judson Laipply | 10,600,000 | Apr 06, 2006 | May 19, 2006 | 652 | [137] | [Z] |
| “Pokemon Theme Music Video“‡[138] | Smosh | 4,300,000 | Nov 28, 2005 | Mar 12, 2006 | 68 | [139] | [AA] |
| “Myspace – The Movie“‡[142][143] | eggtea | 2,700,000 | Jan 31, 2006 | Feb 18, 2006 | 22 | [144] | |
| “Phony Photo Booth“‡[145] | mugenized | 3,400,000 | Dec 01, 2005 | Jan 21, 2006 | 28 | [146] | [AB] |
| “The Chronic of Narnia Rap“‡[147] | youtubedude | 2,300,000 | Dec 18, 2005 | Jan 09, 2006 | 12 | [148] | |
| “Ronaldinho: Touch of Gold“‡*[149] | Nikesoccer | 255,000 | Oct 21, 2005 | Oct 31, 2005 | 70 | [150] | [AC] |
| “I/O Brush“‡*[152] | larfus | 247,000 | Oct 05, 2005 | Oct 29, 2005 | 2 | [153] | |
| As of May 3, 2019 |
- The approximate number of views each video had when it became YouTube’s most-viewed video.
Timeline of most viewed videos (Oct 2005 – May 2019)
№ 1 most viewed video (Oct 2005 – Jun 2006)
№ 1 most viewed video (Apr 2006 – Jan 2010)
№ 1 most viewed video (Oct 2009 – Jan 2013)
№ 1 most viewed video (Jan 2012 – May 2019)
See also
- List of most-disliked YouTube videos
- List of most-liked YouTube videos
- List of most-subscribed YouTube channels
- List of most-viewed YouTube channels
- List of most-viewed online videos in the first 24 hours
- List of most-viewed online trailers in the first 24 hours
- List of viral music videos
- List of most-streamed songs on Spotify
