YouTube videos
This post is about the 20 most viewed YouTube videos of all time. 14 of these videos are music videos. If you expand our scope to include the top 100 YouTube videos, you will find 95 music videos. None of the remaining five came from popular YouTubers like PewDiePie.
Most Viewed 20 YouTube videos
Blank Space – Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift’s second entry on this list is empty space. It comes from her fifth studio album “1989” (Shake It Off).
The song was released in November 2014, and within three weeks it topped the US Billboard Hot 100, shaking it off. Taylor Swift became the first woman to top the charts in history.
Hello – Adele
English singer Adele released the lead single from “Hello” on her third album “25” in October 2015.
It was successful in many countries, including the UK and the USA, reaching number one in the world.
Xavier Dolan is directing a music video starring Adele and Tristan Wilds.
Let Her Go – Passenger
Let Her Co was written and recorded by English singer-songwriter Passenger (Mike Rosenberg). Led Her Co released the second single from Passenger’s fourth album “All the Little Lights” in July 2012.
The song topped the charts in many countries and has sold over one million digital copies in the UK and over four million digital copies in the United States.
Bailando – Enrique Iglesias ft. Descemer Bueno and Gente De Zona
Bailando is another music video highlighting YouTube’s international appeal.
Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias recorded Bailando in 2014 for his tenth studio album, “Sex and Love”.
He recorded several versions of the song. The original Spanish edition included the voices of the Cubans, Descemer Bueno, and Gente de Zona. Sung by Jamaican singer Sean Paul in a Spanglish version.
Lean On – Major Lazer and DJ Snake ft. MO
Lean on comes from Major Lazer’s third album. ” Peace is the Mission.” This is a House ballad.
The song became the most-streamed song of all time on Spotify in November 2015, although it was preceded by next year’s Drake’s One Dance.
The Lean On music video was directed by Tim Erem and filmed in India. It shows Major Laser, MØ and DJ Snake dance scenes.
Shake It Off – Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift recorded the lead single for her fifth album “1989” as Shake It Off. The song was screened on Yahoo! Live stream on August 18, 2014. The studio released the video on YouTube and made the song available for digital download on the same day.
Shake It off Taylor Swift’s Most Successful Billboard Hot 100 Song. It was on the schedule for 50 consecutive weeks.
Faded – Alan Walker
Norwegian record producer and DJ Alan Walker created faded. It includes voices provided by Norwegian recording artist Iselin Solheim. The single was released on December 3, 2015.
It ranked in the top 10 of most countries listed. It topped the Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish singles rankings, and entered the top 3 in the Danish singles rankings. It charted well in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Dark Horse – Katy Perry ft. Juicy J
Not to be outdone by Taylor Swift, Katy Perry has two videos on this list of 15 YouTube videos. Katie recorded the Dark Horse with rapper Juicy Jay, who released the song in September 2013. It combines trap and hip-hop genres.
Thinking Out Loud – Ed Sheeran
Thinking Out Loud was recorded by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran for his second studio album “×” (2014). The song spent 19 weeks in the top 40 in the UK (Sheeran’s number two single) before reaching number one in early November 2014. The single also reached the top spot in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and South Africa.
Counting Stars – OneRepublic
Counting Stars is from the third studio album “Native” (2013) by the American pop rock band OneRepublic. The song reached number one in many countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom, where it sold over one million copies. The music video was filmed on May 10, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Roar – Katy Perry
She released Rory as the lead soloist for his 2013 album “Prism”. The song was a huge success. It was diamond certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and became the first artist to receive three diamond awards.
Sorry – Justin Bieber
It should come as no surprise to anyone that Justin Bieber has a video in the Top 10 on YouTube. He is one of the most visible signs of the YouTube generation. Despite having videos of his songs on stages 23 and 24, it may come as a surprise that he could not claim more videos in this excellent group.
Sorry, that came from Justin Bieber’s fourth studio album “Purpose”. It was released on October 23, 2015.
Sugar – Maroon 5
Sugar was recorded by Maroon 5 for their fifth studio album “V”. It was released solo on January 13, 2015.
It peaked at number 2 on the US Billboard 100.
The band worked with film director David Dobkin on the music video. He previously directed the movie “Wedding Crashers” and used it as inspiration for this video.
Gangnam Style – Psy
Some believed that Ganganam Style was an unexpected mega hit, setting records on YouTube.
The video shows Psy punching in Seoul’s Gangnam-gu style. It has been said that it is “a bright district focused on high rents, high expectations and high-end lifestyle”. Psy’s official YouTube account uploaded the video on July 15, 2012. On November 24 of that year, Gangnam Style topped the YouTube charts with just 803,700,000 views, just followed by Justin Bieber. It was in that position for an incredible 1,689 days.
UpTown Funk – Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
UpTown Funk was recorded by British record producer Mark Ronson with American singer / songwriter Bruno Mars. It was released as a solo song on 10 November 2014.
It was ranked No. 1 on the US Billboard 100 for 14 consecutive weeks, and No. 1 in many countries.
Uptown Funk became the second best-selling single of 2015. It won two Grammy Awards, including the record of the Year.
Masha and the Bear: Recipe for Disaster – Get Movies
This is a video that is not yet on this list. This is not a music video. This is not an official video (although official copies of this episode are on YouTube). And it is in Russian.
This particular video is technically called Маша и Медведь (Masha and The Bear) – Маша плюс каша, because it is the Russian version. Masha and the Bear is a Russian animated television series, loosely based on an oral children’s folk story. It is a Russian children’s television series, of four series (to date) consisting of 68 episodes. Some episodes of the English-language version are available on Netflix.
See You Again – Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth
From July 10 to August 4, 2017, See You Again was ranked number one on YouTube, and this video was the last to break the first rank of “Gangnam Style”. Of course, only 25 days later, Despacito accepted its responsibility and again overtook Sea Yu.
The main reason for the success of See You Again was that it was appointed as the theme of the film, “Furious 7”. It was written as a tribute to fan-favorite, the late actor Paul Walker.
Shape of You – Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran had the biggest hit of 2017. Wherever you go, Ed Sheeran’s song keeps playing. He even played a minor role in the episode “Game of Thrones”.
He released Shape of You as a digital download on January 6, 2017. He also included it as part of his third studio album.
Despacito – Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee
Despacito topped the list in 2017, proving two key points about YouTube. First, it shows that YouTube’s popularity is ever increasing. There was a time when no one thought that anyone would precede the Gangnam style.
It also demonstrates how YouTube is now a global phenomenon. Despacito, the Spanish word for “slow”, was sung in Spanish by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi and also has Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee.
Baby Shark Dance – Pinkfong Kids’ Songs & Stories
This is another extraordinary entry in the list of best YouTube channels. Baby Shark is a children’s song about a family of sharks.
It is thought to have originated from a campfire song.
Various versions have been created with some music that is often reminiscent of the “Jaws” movie. This very popular Baby Shark video is titled Baby Shark Dance. It has 3.3 billion views worldwide. The song debuted at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the week of January 7, 2019.