List of 20 Most Viewed YouTube Videos
Since the time “Gangnam Style” became the first video to reach one billion views on YouTube in December 2012, a race begun among the videos to become the most viewed videos on YouTube. “Gangnam Style” remained the only video on YouTube to have one billion views until Justin Bieber’s Baby passed this mark in June 2015. However “Baby” held the title for a couple of months as, by October 2015, there were a total of ten videos that crossed the billion mark.
The number went into 100 by February 2018. After one billion views become a common scenario, the interest rose for two and three billion views and higher metrics. Like the one billion marks, the two billion marks were also broke by “Gangnam Style”. However, it couldn’t become the first video to cross three billion hits as that place was taken by “Despacito”.
In 2020, there are now numerous videos on YouTube that have surpassed a billion views. To let you know the most viewed videos on YouTube are, we have enlisted the top 20 most viewed on YouTube. Just check out the list and see if you have missed any billion times viewed the video.
List of Top 20 Most Viewed YouTube Videos
NOTE: The following views on the videos were till 6th February 2020.
20) Blank Space by Taylor Swift (2,548,541,482 views)
About the Video
Blank Space is the second entry of Taylor Swift’s on this list. This music video came from her fifth studio album, “1989”. The song was released in November 2014, and within just three weeks it becomes a topper in the US Billboard Hot 100, knocking Shake it Off from that position. This even made Taylor Swift the first woman in history to succeed herself at the top.
19) Hello by Adele (2,616,263,177 views)
Hello was released as the lead single from Adele’s third album “25” in October 2015. The single was successful in numerous countries, hitting the top spot across the world, including in both the USA and UK.
About the Video
Directed by Xavier Dolan, it broke the record for the shortest time (88 days) to reach 1 billion views on YouTube. It has more than 12 million likes, making it the fifth most liked video on YouTube.
18) Let Her Go by Passenger (2,618,936,853 views)
Written and recorded by English singer-songwriter Passenger (Mike Rosenberg), Let Her Go was released in July 2012 as the second single from “All the Little Lights” – Passenger’s fourth album. The song peaked the charts in numerous countries and has sold over four million digital copies in the US and one million in the UK.
About the Video
Directed and produced by Australian video artist Dave Jensen and Tavic, the music video was uploaded on July 25, 2012.
17) Faded by Alan Walker (2,649,259,596 views)
Faded was created by Norwegian record producer and DJ Alan Walker. The vocals were incorporated by Norwegian recording artist Iselin Solheim. It was released on December 3, 2015. The single made to the Top 10 in most of the countries where it charted. Shahab Salehi played the protagonist in the music video. The video has over 2.4 billion views, 17 million likes, and 465 thousand dislikes on YouTube.
16) Dark Horse by Katy Perry ft. Juicy J (2,718,329,139 views)
Just like Taylor Swift, Katy Perry also features two videos in this list of the 20 most viewed YouTube videos of all time. Released in September 2013, Katy recorded Dark Horse song with rapper Juicy J. The song was used by Pepsi in a promotion.
About the Video
Dark Horse sold 13.2 million units and was the second-best-selling song of 2014. This song was the first video from a female artist to receive 1 billion views on YouTube.
15) Lean On by Major Lazer and DJ Snake ft. MØ (2,730,407,962 views)
Lean On comes from Major Lazer’s third album – “Peace is the Mission.” In November 2015, it becomes the most-streamed song of all time on Spotify, Drake’s One Dance overtook it the following year though.
About the Video
Directed by Tim Erem, the song was filmed in India showing a sequence of Major Lazer, MØ and DJ Snake performing dance sequences.
14) Bailando by Enrique Iglesias ft. Descemer Bueno and Gente De Zona (2,815,817,232 views)
In 2014, Enrique Iglesias recorded Bailando for his tenth studio album, “Sex and Love”. The singer recorded numerous versions of the song. The Spanish version is the most popular, having been viewed over 2.4 million times.
13) Shake It Off by Taylor Swift (2,872,746,585 views)
Shake it Off was recorded by Taylor Swift as the lead single for her fifth album – “1989”. On August 18, 2014, it was premiered on Yahoo! Live stream. The video was released by the studio on YouTube and it was made available for digital download on the same day. To date, Shake it Off is Taylor Swift’s most successful Billboard Hot 100 song. It was in the chart for 50 consecutive weeks.
About the Video
The video was directed by Mark Romanek and choreographed by Tyce Diorio. It incorporates dancing styles of ballet, hip-hop, jazz, lyrical, and cheerleader – even “twerking” as well. If the cartoon character of Masha is excluded, this video holds the record for being the most-watched video by a female artist on YouTube.
12) Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran (2,903,552,204 views)
Recorded by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, Thinking Out Loud was for his second studio album, “×”. The 2014 song held its spot for 19 weeks within the Top 40 in the UK before grabbing the number one in November 2014. The single also topped the spot in New Zealand, Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, Ireland, Denmark, and Slovakia.
About the Video
“Thinking Out Loud” became the first single to hold a position in the top 40 a complete year in June 2015. Also, it became the first to be streamed more than 500 million times on Spotify.
11) Counting Stars by OneRepublic (2,914,304,075 views)
American pop-rock band OneRepublic’s third studio album “Native (2013)” released Counting Stars. The song ranked the number one spot in numerous countries including the United Kingdom and Canada, where it sold more than one million copies.
About the Video
Filmed on May 10, 2013, in New Orleans, Louisiana, the music video features the band performing the song in a dark ground floor of a building which is surrounded by hanging light bulbs, mixed together with scenes of a group in a religious revival on the upper floor, dancing along with the song. The video gets over with a person from the service falling down through the floor. The music became the first music video by a group in history on YouTube to reach 1 billion views.
10) Roar by Katy Perry (2,998,882,732 views)
Most of you must have seen the Roar music video by Katy Perry, where she is in the jungle, surrounded by wild animals. Katy released Roar as the lead single for her album “Prism” (2013). The lyrics of the song focus on self-empowerment and standing up for you. Roar song was such a great success that It was certified as Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making Katy the first artist to have 3 Diamond Awards.
About the Video
The music video tells a (fictional) story of Katy Perry familiarizing with the jungle life after surviving from a plane crash. She can be seen taming a tiger as well in the video. The video was filmed at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden. In July 2015, when Roar got 1 billion views on YouTube, the singer became the first artist to have two music videos exceeding the milestone.
9) Sugar by Maroon 5 (3,119,849,492 views)
Maroon 5 recorded Sugar for their fifth studio album, “V”. On January 13, 2015, the song was released as a single. It reached Number 2 on the US Billboard 100. The band worked for the music video with film director, David Dobkin, who is known for directing the movie “Wedding Crashers”. The song is also inspired by the same movie only.
About the Video
In the video, Maroon 5 are filmed crashing the actual weddings across Los Angeles. Each groom was notified and agreed to allow an unnamed, but a famous band play at their wedding, however, no one else associated with the marriages was aware of it. Well, what could have been a bigger surprise for the couples and guests seeing Adam Levine serenading them at their weddings?
In order to find suitable weddings for the video, the production team worked with wedding planners in Los Angeles. While the band found it an amazing experience, however, they were a bit nervous that they would grab more attention from people’s big days.
Adam Levine even stated that “It was an out of body experience. I had no idea I would be affected by the overwhelming reactions we received from the couples and guests.”
8) Sorry by Justin Bieber (3,244,068,102 views)
Justin Bieber’s song in YouTube’s Top 10 should not be a surprise for anyone who is aware of his stardom. Bieber is considered to be among the most visible personality of the YouTube generation. What is more surprising is the fact that he hasn’t claimed more of his music videos in this top group, he does have his video songs in 23 and 24 positions though.
The “Sorry” song came from Bieber’s fourth studio album titled “Purposemarks The song was released on October 23, 2015, and soon topped the charts of over 10 countries, including seven weeks in the top spot in his native Canada. In 2016, people bought over 10 million copies of the song worldwide.
About the Video
The dance video of this song was filmed in New Zealand, featuring New Zealand dancers – New Zealand choreographer, Parris Goebel, and the ReQuest Dance Crew. While at first the song was intended to be a lyric video, it ended up being the highlight. “Sorry” became the 5th fastest YouTube video to grab 1 billion views, and the 4th fasted to reach 2 billion views.
7) Gangnam Style – Psy (3,506,773,974 views)
No one would have that “Gangnam Style” would have been the first music video to rake 1 billion on YouTube. However, it became an unexpected mega-hit and created history on YouTube, which at that time; many believed it would never be surpassed.
About the Video
In the video, Psy is making fun of Seoul’s Gangnam-gu style. This is said to be, “a flamboyant district with high expectations, high rents and a focus on the high-status lifestyle.” On July 15, 2012, the official YouTube account of Psy uploaded the video. On November 24th, 2012, it surpassed Justin Bieber’s then-record of 803,700,000 views to reach the number 1 spot on YouTube. Gangnam Style stuck to that position for a record 1,689 days at the time.
It didn’t take the music video very long to become the first-ever video on YouTube to reach 1 billion views, receiving the honor in December 2012. In June 2014, the video crossed 2 billion views and 3 billion in January 2018.
Some more records held by “Gangnam Style” video are
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- Most rated video until February 2017.
- Most liked video until August 2016.
- Fastest video to reach 1 billion views Until it was passed by Adele’s Hello on January 18, 2016.
- It still holds the record for being the most discussed video on YouTube.
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6) Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars (3,770,088,859 views)
Recorded by British record producer, Mark Ronson, along with American singer/songwriter, Bruno Mars, Uptown Funk was released as a single on 10 November 2014. The song stayed at number 1 spot for 14 consecutive weeks on the US Billboard 100 and also stayed at Number 1 spot in the charts in many other countries.
Uptown Funk was the 2nd best-selling single of 2015. It won 2 Grammy Awards and also the record of the Year. The video of the song was released a week after the single on November 17, 2014.
About the Video
The music video shows Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars, and the Hooligans roaming around cities, wearing brightly colored suits and chains. The video was filmed in numerous cities where Bruno Mars was touring. The video was as popular as the song, raking over 2.8 billion views to date.
5) Masha and the Bear: Recipe for Disaster by Get Movies (4,223,820,448 views)
Masha and the Bear is by far the most unusual video on this list of most-viewed YouTube videos. What surprises most is that it is not a music video and it’s not even an official video (official copies of this episode do exist on YouTube). And, one more thing, it is in Russian. This particular video on YouTube is technically called Маша и Медведь (as it is a Russian video) (Masha and The Bear).
About the Video
Masha and the Bear is a Russian animated television series based on an oral children’s folk story. It is four series (to date) Russian children’s TV series, consisting of 68 episodes. You can watch some episodes of the English-language version on Netflix. While all these episodes are available on YouTube, three of them have crossed 1 billion views. There is even an official YouTube channel available – MashaMedvedTV.
One of the reasons for the popularity of the show is that Masha is dressed in a folk costume with a headscarf. As her legs are covered, the show is acceptable to Muslim audiences, including countries such as Indonesia.
4) See You Again by Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth (4,397,439,478 views)
From July 10 to August 4, 2017, See You Again held the number one position on YouTube. It was the first video to cross the “Gangnam Style” position on the top rank. It stayed in that position for only 25 days as then Despacito views increased tremendously and overtook See You Again.
The success of “See You Again” on YouTube came mainly because it was commissioned as the theme for the movie – “Furious 7”. The song was written as a tribute to the late actor Paul Walker.
About the Video
To this date, the song is the most successful track for both Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth. The song stayed at the top of the US Billboard 100 for 12 weeks and hit Number One spot in several countries. Also, it held the record for the most-streamed track in a single day on Spotify in the US, and also held the record for most streams in a week globally and in the UK. In 2015, “See You Again” was the best selling song in the world.
3) Baby Shark Dance by Pinkfong Kids’ Songs & Stories (4,509,316,700 views)
Baby Shark Dance by Pinkfong Kids is another very unusual entry in the list of Top YouTube channels. This song is basically a kid’s song about a family of sharks. Since its release, there have been numerous versions created online, including some with music and even reminiscent of the movie “Jaws”.
About the Video
“Baby Shark” has got more than 3.3 billion views on YouTube worldwide. During the week of January 7, 2019, the song broke into the Billboard Hot 100 at #32. Not only achieving billions of views, this version of the song has driven an online dance craze, which is sometimes referred to as Baby Shark Challenge also.
2) Shape of You – Ed Sheeran (4,607,677,487 views)
Ed Sheeran had great success in 2017. No matter where you go at that time, Ed Sheeran songs were the most common to hear. On 6th January 2017, Ed Sheeran released Shape of You as a digital download and also included it as part of his third studio album.
“Shape of You” reached number 1 spot on the singles charts of more than 40 countries. It even topped the spot on Billboard Year-End Hot 100 Singles of 2017. The song was even nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.
A lyric video for the song was released by the singer on his channel. That version was watched by people more than 750 million times to date. The official video was uploaded to YouTube on 30 January 2017. it became one of the fastest videos to cross 1 billion views on YouTube. The milestone was achieved by the song on 8 May 2017, just 97 days after its release.
1) Despacito by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee (6,619,803,390 views)
Despacito achieved the top spot in the list in 2017, showing two vital facts about YouTube. The first fact being that the popularity of YouTube is increasing day by day. The second fact is that it is possible to overtake the Gangnam Style.
The song topped the charts of more than 45 countries and entered the Top 10 in ten other countries. Despacito was the first song to top the Billboard 100 in Spanish in 20 years.
About the Video
The Despacito music video shows both artists performing the song in the local bar La Factoría and La Perla neighborhood of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Interestingly, a few months later, a remix version of the song was released by Justin Bieber, where he has sung some lines in English. Though this version helped the performance of the original YouTube version, it didn’t surpass it or enter the most viewed video charts of YouTube. Moreover, Despacito became the first video to achieve the milestones of both 3 and 4 billion views on YouTube. In August 2017, it surpassed “See You Again” to hold All-time Number 1 spot on YouTube.
