YouTube is an American video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California. Although the most-viewed videos were initially viral videos, such as "" 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. Some of the previously most-viewed videos are no longer available on the site. Show In November 2005, a Nike advertisement featuring Brazilian football player Ronaldinho became the first video to reach 1,000,000 views. The billion-view mark was first passed by Gangnam Style in December 2012. On January 13, 2022, Pinkfong's "Baby Shark" became the first video to hit 10,000,000,000 views, being the most-watched video on YouTube ever. Views represent how many times a video is watched. To ensure that traffic is coming from actual humans and not scripts or other deceptive methods, YouTube has a secret algorithm to separate legitimate views from illegitimate ones, and only legitimate views are included in the view count. Specifically, to count as a legitimate view, a user must intentionally initiate the playback of the video and play at least 30 seconds of the video (or the entire video for shorter videos). Additionally, while replays count as views, there is a limit of 4 or 5 views per IP address during a 24-hour period, after which point, no further views from that IP are counted until the 24-hour period expires. Top videos This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. The reason given is: Stats need frequent maintenance to meet Wikipedia's policies. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2023) The following table lists the top 30 most-viewed videos on YouTube, with each total rounded to the nearest 10 million views, uploader, and publication date. Note that some videos may not be available worldwide due to in certain countries. Top 30 most-viewed YouTube videos No. Video name Uploader Views (billions) Publication date Note 1. "Baby Shark Dance" Pinkfong Baby Shark - Kids' Songs & Stories 13.65 June 17, 2016 2. "" Luis Fonsi 8.32 January 12, 2017 3. "" LooLoo Kids - Nursery Rhymes and Children's Songs 6.84 October 8, 2016 4. "Bath Song" Cocomelon - Nursery Rhymes 6.50 May 2, 2018 5. "" Ed Sheeran 6.14 January 30, 2017 6. "" Wiz Khalifa 6.09 April 6, 2015 7. "Wheels on the Bus" Cocomelon - Nursery Rhymes 5.71 May 24, 2018 8. "Phonics Song with Two Words" ChuChu TV Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs 5.57 March 6, 2014 9. "" Mark Ronson 5.09 November 19, 2014 10. "Learning Colors – Colorful Eggs on a Farm" Miroshka TV 5.01 February 27, 2018 11. "Gangnam Style" officialpsy 4.96 July 15, 2012 12. "Masha and the Bear – Recipe for Disaster" Get Movies 4.57 January 31, 2012 13. "" Ultra Records 4.48 April 5, 2018 14. "" Crazy Frog 4.16 June 16, 2009 15. "" Maroon 5 3.97 January 14, 2015 16. "" OneRepublic 3.92 May 31, 2013 17. "" Katy Perry 3.91 September 5, 2013 18. "Baa Baa Black Sheep" Cocomelon - Nursery Rhymes 3.84 June 25, 2018 19. "" Shakira 3.78 June 4, 2010 20. "Lakdi Ki Kathi" Jingle Toons 3.76 June 14, 2018 21. "" Justin Bieber 3.74 October 22, 2015 22. "" Ed Sheeran 3.69 October 7, 2014 23. "Humpty the train on a fruits ride" Kiddiestv Hindi - Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs 3.63 January 26, 2018 24. "" Katy Perry 3.63 February 20, 2014 25. "" Ed Sheeran 3.60 November 9, 2017 26. "" Passenger 3.56 July 25, 2012 27. "" Alan Walker 3.55 December 3, 2015 28. "Shree Hanuman Chalisa" T-Series Bhakti Sagar 3.54 May 10, 2011 29. "" Maroon 5 3.52 May 31, 2018 30. "" Major Lazer Official 3.50 March 22, 2015 As of November 21, 2023 Billion-View ClubAn early metric of a video's popularity was the so-called Billion-View Club, denoting 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 "" 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 over 200 in February 2022. Considering older videos that pre-dated YouTube's creation in 2005 but were added later:
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. "" 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, nine billion views in July 2021, and ten billion views in January 2022. As of May 2023, it has more than 12.85 billion views. As of May 2023, thirteen videos have exceeded four billion views, eight of which exceed five billion views, five of which exceed six billion views, and two of which exceed eight billion views. "See You Again" became the second video to reach three billion views in August 2017, followed by "Gangnam Style" in November 2017. "" 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 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, 2020, it passed Despacito to become the most viewed video on YouTube. On February 23, 2021, Baby Shark surpassed 8 billion views, becoming the first video to do so. On July 20, 2021, Baby Shark surpassed 9 billion views, becoming the first (and currently only) video to do so. On January 13, 2022, Baby Shark became the first (and currently only) video to surpass 10 billion views. On July 14, 2022, YouTube made a special playlist and video celebrating the 317 music videos to have hit 1 billion views and joined the "Billion Views Club". Historical most-viewed videosThe following table lists the videos that became YouTube's most-viewed video, from October 2005 to the present. Current record (⁂) Former record (*) Indicates the video has since been removed or privatized from YouTube (‡) Progression of the most-viewed video on YouTube Video name Uploader Views at achievement* Publication date Date achieved Days after upload Days held Takedown date Ref Notes "Baby Shark Dance" Pinkfong Baby Shark - Kids' Songs & Stories 7,046,700,000 June 17, 2016 November 2, 2020 1600 1,126 "Despacito" Luis Fonsi 2,993,700,000 January 12, 2017 August 4, 2017 206 1,186 "" Wiz Khalifa 2,894,000,000 April 6, 2015 July 10, 2017 826 25 "Gangnam Style"⁂ Psy 803,700,000 July 15, 2012 November 24, 2012 134 1,689 "Baby"* Justin Bieber 245,400,000 February 19, 2010 July 16, 2010 149 862 "Bad Romance" Lady Gaga 178,400,000 November 24, 2009 April 14, 2010 143 93 "Charlie Bit My Finger"‡ HDCYT 128,900,000May 22, 2007October 25, 2009 887 171 late July 2021 "" Judson Laipply 118,900,000 April 6, 2006 May 2, 2009 1062 176 ""‡ RCA Records 92,600,000 February 27, 2007 July 17, 2008 508 289 November 2009 "" Judson Laipply 78,400,000 April 6, 2006 March 15, 2008 651 124 "Music Is My Hot Hot Sex"‡ CLARUSBARTEL72 76,600,000 April 9, 2007 March 1, 2008 327 14 March 15, 2008 ""* Judson Laipply 10,600,000 April 6, 2006May 19, 200616 652 ""‡ Smosh 4,300,000 November 28, 2005 March 12, 2006 105 68 June 2007 "Myspace – The Movie"‡ eggtea 2,700,000 January 31, 2006 February 18, 2006 18 22 mid-2006 "Phony Photo Booth"‡ mugenized 3,400,000 December 1, 2005 January 21, 2006 50 28 February 14 to 18, 2006 "The Chronic of Narnia Rap"‡ youtubedude 2,300,000 December 18, 2005 January 9, 2006 22 12 February 14 to 17, 2006 "Ronaldinho: Touch of Gold"‡* Nikesoccer 255,000 October 21, 2005 October 31, 2005 10 70 July to August 2009 "I/O Brush"‡* larfus 247,000 October 5, 2005 October 29, 2005 24 2 January to April 2007 As of December 3, 2023 * The approximate number of views each video had when it became YouTube's most-viewed video. Timeline of most viewed videos (October 2005 – October 2023) Other milestonesYouTube announced that cumulative views of videos related to Minecraft, some of which had been on the service as early as 2009, exceeded 1 trillion views on December 14, 2021, and was the most-watched video game content on the site. See also
Notes
What is most viewed music video on YouTube?Most-Watched Videos on YouTube: Which are the Top 10?. Which song is no 1 viewed video on YouTube?This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information.. What's the most viewed music video on YouTube 2023?Most popular YouTube videos based on total global views as of September 2023 (in billions). What is the most viewed non music video on YouTube in 24 hours?MrBeast has broken his own record for the most-viewed non-music video in 24 hours with the video “$1 vs $250,000 Vacation!” gaining 52 million views. The record-breaking performance tops his own previous record, which he set the week before with his “7 Days Stranded at Sea” video. |
