YouTube is an American video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California. 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. Since Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” in 2009, 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 player Ronaldinho became the first video to reach one million views.
Billion View Club
An early metric of a video’s popularity was the so-called Billion View Club, videos which had succeeded in reaching over 1 billion views since their initial upload.
In December 2012, “Gangnam Style” became the first video to reach one billion views. By June 2015, only “Baby” had also managed to pass this threshold, but, by October 2015, a total of ten videos had done so, and the number grew further to 100 in February 2018. Considering older videos that pre-dated YouTube’s creation in 2005 but were added later:
- “November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses became the first video made prior to YouTube’s creation to reach this threshold by July 2018.
- “Numb” by Linkin Park was the first 2000s video predating YouTube to reach 1 billion views in November 2018.
- “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen was the first 1970s video (and pre-1990s video) to reach 1 billion views in July 2019.
- Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child o’ Mine” was the first 1980s video to reach 1 billion views in October 2019.
With numerous videos readily clearing one billion views by 2018, more interest has been on two and three-billion views and higher metrics. In May 2014, “Gangnam Style” became the first video to exceed two billion views. “Despacito” became the first video to reach three billion views in August 2017, four billion in October 2017, five billion in April 2018, six billion in February 2019 and seven billion in October 2020. “Baby Shark Dance” became the first video to reach eight billion views in February 2021.
As of November 2020, sixteen videos have exceeded three billion views, seven of which exceed four billion views, three of which exceed five billion views, two of which exceed six and seven billion views. “See You Again” became the second video to reach three billion views in August 2017, followed by “Gangnam Style” in November 2017. “Shape of You” became the second video to reach four billion views in January 2019, followed by “See You Again” in February 2019. “Baby Shark Dance” became the second video to reach five billion views in April 2020, followed by “Shape of You” in October 2020. “Baby Shark Dance” became the second video to reach six billion views in July 2020 and seven billion views in October 2020.
The majority of these videos in the Billion View Club have been commercial music videos by popular artists, but the list has included oddities, typically programs aimed at children. Such videos include two episodes of the Russian animated cartoon Masha and the Bear, a version of “The Wheels on the Bus” by the British animation studio Little Baby Bum, and “Johny Johny Yes Papa” from Indian children’s stations LooLoo Kids and ChuChu TV. Various versions of the song “Baby Shark” in total amassed more than five billion views by January 2019, with the original version posted by Pinkfong having exceeded two billion views previously. The original video by Pinkfong is now the most viewed video on the site. On October 29, 2020, Baby Shark surpassed 7 billion views, and on November 2, it passed Despacito to become the most viewed video on YouTube.
Top videos
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The following table lists the top 30 most-viewed videos on YouTube, with each total rounded to the nearest 10 million views, uploader and upload date.
| No. | Video name | Uploader | Views (billions) | Upload date | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Baby Shark Dance” | Pinkfong Kids’ Songs & Stories | 8.17 | June 17, 2016 | ||
| 2. | “Despacito” | Luis Fonsi | 7.25 | January 12, 2017 | ||
| 3. | “Shape of You” | Ed Sheeran | 5.22 | January 30, 2017 | ||
| 4. | “See You Again” | Wiz Khalifa | 5.01 | April 6, 2015 | ||
| 5. | “Johny Johny Yes Papa” | LooLoo Kids | 4.98 | October 8, 2016 | ||
| 6. | “Masha and the Bear – Recipe for Disaster” | Get Movies | 4.42 | January 31, 2012 | ||
| 7. | “Uptown Funk” | Mark Ronson | 4.12 | November 19, 2014 | ||
| 8. | “Gangnam Style” | Psy | 4.01 | July 15, 2012 | ||
| 9. | “Bath Song” | Cocomelon – Nursery Rhymes | 3.79 | May 2, 2018 | ||
| 10. | “Learning Colors – Colorful Eggs on a Farm” | Miroshka TV | 3.77 | February 27, 2018 | ||
| 11. | “Phonics Song with Two Words” | ChuChu TV | 3.63 | March 6, 2014 | ||
| 12. | “Sugar” | Maroon 5 | 3.41 | January 14, 2015 | ||
| 13. | “Sorry” | Justin Bieber | 3.41 | October 22, 2015 | ||
| 14. | “Roar” | Katy Perry | 3.30 | September 5, 2013 | ||
| 15. | “Counting Stars” | OneRepublic | 3.23 | May 31, 2013 | ||
| 16. | “Thinking Out Loud” | Ed Sheeran | 3.21 | October 7, 2014 | ||
| 17. | “Dame Tu Cosita” | El Chombo | 3.18 | April 5, 2018 | ||
| 18. | “Shake It Off” | Taylor Swift | 3.03 | August 18, 2014 | ||
| 19. | “Faded” | Alan Walker | 3.01 | December 3, 2015 | ||
| 20. | “Dark Horse” | Katy Perry | 3.00 | February 20, 2014 | ||
| 21. | “Lean On” | Major Lazer Official | 3.00 | March 22, 2015 | ||
| 22. | “Bailando” | Enrique Iglesias | 2.99 | April 11, 2014 | ||
| 23. | “Girls Like You” | Maroon 5 | 2.98 | May 31, 2018 | ||
| 24. | “Let Her Go” | Passenger | 2.94 | July 25, 2012 | ||
| 25. | “Mi Gente” | J Balvin | 2.88 | June 29, 2017 | ||
| 26. | “Hello” | Adele | 2.80 | October 22, 2015 | ||
| 27. | “Perfect” | Ed Sheeran | 2.78 | November 9, 2017 | ||
| 28. | “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” | Shakira | 2.77 | June 4, 2010 | ||
| 29. | “Blank Space” | Taylor Swift | 2.74 | November 10, 2014 | ||
| 30. | “Axel F” | Crazy Frog | 2.71 | June 17, 2009 | ||
| As of March 16, 2021 | ||||||
By year of release
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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.
Ed Sheeran has the most appearances on the list with three. icanrockyourworld (2007), Linkin Park (2007), Queen (2008), Guns N’ Roses (2009), Ed Sheeran (2017) and Cocomelon – Nursery Rhymes (2018) 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.
| Year | Video name | Uploader | Views (billions) | Upload date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | “Tarzan Boy” | nailofgilead | 0.20 | November 2, 2005 | |
| “Me at the zoo” | jawed | 0.15 | April 23, 2005 | ||
| “Life Goes On” | fhearnoiz | 0.13 | September 22, 2005 | ||
| “guitar” | guitar90 | 0.09 | December 20, 2005 | ||
| “Hurt” | beachbuggy | 0.09 | December 12, 2005 | ||
| Combined views (2005) | 0.66 | ||||
| 2006 | “Galinha Pintadinha – videoclip infantil animado” | Galinha Pintadinha | 0.67 | December 28, 2006 | |
| “Ella y Yo” | JosephIngma | 0.53 | April 27, 2006 | ||
| “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” | Fueled By Ramen | 0.33 | July 18, 2006 | ||
| “Evolution of Dance” | Judson Laipply | 0.30 | April 6, 2006 | ||
| “Hit the Road Jack” | Andres Trevino | 0.21 | June 3, 2006 | ||
| Combined views (2006) | 2.04 | ||||
| 2007 | “The Gummy Bear Song” | icanrockyourworld | 2.31 | October 9, 2007 | |
| “Numb” | Linkin Park | 1.54 | March 4, 2007 | ||
| “Osito Gominola – Full Spanish Version – The Gummy Bear Song” | icanrockyourworld | 1.03 | October 16, 2007 | ||
| “Charlie Bit My Finger” | HDCYT | 0.87 | May 22, 2007 | ||
| “What I’ve Done” | Linkin Park | 0.50 | April 3, 2007 | ||
| Combined views (2007) | 6.25 | ||||
| 2008 | “Bohemian Rhapsody” | Queen | 1.26 | August 1, 2008 | |
| “Hot n Cold” | Katy Perry | 1.01 | October 13, 2008 | ||
| “Pintinho Amarelinho – DVD Galena Pintadinha” | Galinha Pintadinha | 0.88 | September 15, 2008 | ||
| “Viva la Vida” | Coldplay | 0.67 | August 4, 2008 | ||
| “Don’t Stop Me Now” | Queen | 0.66 | August 1, 2008 | ||
| Combined views (2008) | 4.48 | ||||
| 2009 | “Axel F” | Crazy Frog | 2.66 | June 16, 2009 | |
| “November Rain” | Guns N’ Roses | 1.55 | December 25, 2009 | ||
| “Bad Romance” | Lady Gaga | 1.34 | November 24, 2009 | ||
| “Smells Like Teen Spirit” | Nirvana | 1.21 | June 16, 2009 | ||
| “Sweet Child o’ Mine” | Guns N’ Roses | 1.20 | December 25, 2009 | ||
| Combined views (2009) | 7.96 | ||||
| 2010 | “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” | Shakira | 2.74 | June 4, 2010 | |
| “Baby” | Justin Bieber | 2.42 | February 19, 2010 | ||
| “Love the Way You Lie” | Eminem | 2.16 | August 5, 2010 | ||
| “Rolling in the Deep” | Adele | 1.78 | November 30, 2010 | ||
| “Just the Way You Are” | Bruno Mars | 1.57 | September 8, 2010 | ||
| Combined views (2010) | 10.67 | ||||
| 2011 | “The Lazy Song” | Bruno Mars | 2.06 | April 15, 2011 | |
| “Party Rock Anthem” | LMFAO | 1.97 | March 8, 2011 | ||
| “A Thousand Years” | Christina Perri | 1.78 | October 26, 2011 | ||
| “On the Floor” | Jennifer Lopez | 1.68 | March 3, 2011 | ||
| “Someone like You” | Adele | 1.65 | September 29, 2011 | ||
| Combined views (2011) | 9.14 | ||||
| 2012 | |||||
| “Masha and the Bear – Recipe for Disaster” | Get Movies | 4.41 | January 31, 2012 | ||
| “Gangnam Style” | Psy | 3.98 | July 15, 2012 | ||
| “Let Her Go” | Passenger | 2.91 | July 25, 2012 | ||
| “Diamonds” | Rihanna | 1.66 | November 8, 2012 | ||
| “Thrift Shop” | Macklemore & Ryan Lewis | 1.53 | August 29, 2012 | ||
| Combined views (2012) | 14.49 | ||||
| 2013 | “Roar” | Katy Perry | 3.28 | September 5, 2013 | |
| “Counting Stars” | OneRepublic | 3.20 | May 31, 2013 | ||
| “Wake Me Up” | Avicii | 2.02 | July 29, 2013 | ||
| “Rude” | Magic! | 1.96 | December 5, 2013 | ||
| “All of Me” | John Legend | 1.88 | October 2, 2013 | ||
| Combined views (2013) | 12.34 | ||||
| 2014 | “Uptown Funk” | Mark Ronson | 4.10 | November 19, 2014 | |
| “Phonics Song with Two Words” | ChuChu TV | 3.56 | March 6, 2014 | ||
| “Thinking Out Loud” | Ed Sheeran | 3.19 | October 7, 2014 | ||
| “Shake It Off” | Taylor Swift | 3.02 | August 18, 2014 | ||
| “Bailando” | Enrique Iglesias | 2.97 | April 11, 2014 | ||
| Combined views (2014) | 16.84 | ||||
| 2015 | “See You Again” | Wiz Khalifa | 4.97 | April 6, 2015 | |
| “Sorry” | Justin Bieber | 3.40 | October 22, 2015 | ||
| “Sugar” | Maroon 5 | 3.39 | January 14, 2015 | ||
| “Faded” | Alan Walker | 2.99 | December 3, 2015 | ||
| “Lean On” | Major Lazer | 2.98 | March 22, 2015 | ||
| Combined views (2015) | 17.73 | ||||
| 2016 | “Baby Shark Dance” | Pinkfong Kids’ Songs & Stories | 7.99 | June 17, 2016 | |
| “Johny Johny Yes Papa” | LooLoo Kids | 4.83 | October 8, 2016 | ||
| “Chantaje” | Shakira | 2.62 | November 18, 2016 | ||
| “Closer (Lyric video)” | The Chainsmokers | 2.62 | July 29, 2016 | ||
| “We Don’t Talk Anymore” | Charlie Puth | 2.59 | August 2, 2016 | ||
| Combined views (2016) | 20.65 | ||||
| 2017 | “Despacito” | Luis Fonsi | 7.21 | January 12, 2017 | |
| “Shape of You” | Ed Sheeran | 5.19 | January 30, 2017 | ||
| “Mi Gente” | J Balvin | 2.87 | June 29, 2017 | ||
| “Perfect” | Ed Sheeran | 2.75 | November 9, 2017 | ||
| “New Rules” | Dua Lipa | 2.35 | July 7, 2017 | ||
| Combined views (2017) | 20.37 | ||||
| 2018 | “Learning Colors – Colorful Eggs on a Farm” | Miroshka TV | 3.70 | February 27, 2018 | |
| “Bath Song” | Cocomelon – Nursery Rhymes | 3.68 | May 2, 2018 | ||
| “Dame Tu Cosita” | Ultra Music | 3.12 | April 5, 2018 | ||
| “Girls Like You” | Maroon 5 | 2.96 | May 31, 2018 | ||
| “Yes Yes Vegetables Song” | Cocomelon – Nursery Rhymes | 2.61 | August 10, 2018 | ||
| Combined views (2018) | 16.07 | ||||
| 2019 | “Con Calma” | Daddy Yankee | 2.19 | January 23, 2019 | |
| “Con Altura” | Rosalía | 1.74 | March 28, 2019 | ||
| “China” | Anuel AA | 1.64 | July 19, 2019 | ||
| “Dance Monkey” | Tones and I | 1.50 | June 24, 2019 | ||
| “No Me Conoce (Remix)” | Jhay Cortez | 1.36 | May 16, 2019 | ||
| Combined views (2019) | 8.43 | ||||
| 2020 | “Life Is Good” | Future | 1.65 | January 10, 2020 | |
| “Dynamite” | BTS | 0.86 | August 20, 2020 | ||
| “How You Like That” | Blackpink | 0.77 | June 26, 2020 | ||
| “Genda Phool” | Sony Music India | 0.74 | March 26, 2020 | ||
| “Gooba” | 6ix9ine | 0.68 | May 8, 2020 | ||
| Combined views (2020) | 4.70 | ||||
| As of February 22, 2021 | |||||
Historical most-viewed videos
The following table lists the videos that became YouTube’s most-viewed video, from April 2005 to the present.
| Video name | Uploader | Views* | Upload date | Date achieved | Days held | Ref | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| “Baby Shark Dance” | Pinkfong! Kids’ Songs & Stories | 7,037,500,000 | June 17, 2016 | November 2, 2020 | 136 | ||
| “Despacito” | Luis Fonsi | 2,993,700,000 | January 12, 2017 | August 4, 2017 | 1,186 | ||
| “See You Again” | Wiz Khalifa | 2,894,000,000 | April 6, 2015 | July 10, 2017 | 25 | ||
| “Gangnam Style”⁂ | Psy | 803,700,000 | July 15, 2012 | November 24, 2012 | 1,689 | ||
| “Baby”* | Justin Bieber | 245,400,000 | February 19, 2010 | July 16, 2010 | 862 | ||
| “Bad Romance” | Lady Gaga | 178,400,000 | November 24, 2009 | April 14, 2010 | 93 | ||
| “Charlie Bit My Finger” | HDCYT | 128,900,000 | May 22, 2007 | October 25, 2009 | 171 | ||
| “Evolution of Dance” | Judson Laipply | 118,900,000 | April 6, 2006 | May 2, 2009 | 176 | ||
| “Girlfriend”‡ | RCA Records | 92,600,000 | February 27, 2007 | July 17, 2008 | 289 | ||
| “Evolution of Dance” | Judson Laipply | 78,400,000 | April 6, 2006 | March 15, 2008 | 124 | ||
| “Music Is My Hot Hot Sex”‡ | CLARUSBARTEL72 | 76,600,000 | April 9, 2007 | March 1, 2008 | 14 | ||
| “Evolution of Dance”* | Judson Laipply | 10,600,000 | April 6, 2006 | May 19, 2006 | 652 | ||
| “Pokemon Theme Music Video”‡ | Smosh | 4,300,000 | November 28, 2005 | March 12, 2006 | 68 | ||
| “Myspace – The Movie”‡ | eggtea | 2,700,000 | January 31, 2006 | February 18, 2006 | 22 | ||
| “Phony Photo Booth”‡ | mugenized | 3,400,000 | December 1, 2005 | January 21, 2006 | 28 | ||
| “The Chronic of Narnia Rap”‡ | youtubedude | 2,300,000 | December 18, 2005 | January 9, 2006 | 12 | ||
| “Ronaldinho: Touch of Gold”‡* | Nikesoccer | 255,000 | October 21, 2005 | October 31, 2005 | 70 | ||
| “I/O Brush”‡* | larfus | 247,000 | October 5, 2005 | October 29, 2005 | 2 | ||
| “Me at the zoo” | jawed | 1 | April 23, 2005 | April 23, 2005 | 1 | ||
| As of March 18, 2021 | |||||||
* The approximate number of views each video had when it became YouTube’s most-viewed video.
Timeline of most viewed videos (Oct 2005 – Nov 2020)
No. 1 most viewed video (Oct 2005 – Jun 2006)
No. 1 most viewed video (Apr 2006 – Jan 2010)
No. 1 most viewed video (Oct 2009 – Jan 2013)
No. 1 most viewed video (Jan 2012 – Feb 2021)