It feels like YouTube has always been a part of our lives, however it only came about in 2005! Feel old yet? Well, since then, music videos, dancing dogs and viral content has gone mad. Everything is now much more accessible and sharing videos is easy. Due to this, along with the quick nature of our society, some videos have reached billions of people in a short amount of time. Below is a list of the top 10 most watched YouTube videos of all time, so let’s which ones you have pushed up the rankings by watching it yourself.
1. “Baby Shark Dance” – 12.85 billion views
This song hit our ears in 2017 and it seems as though we have heard it every single day since. Whether you love it or hate it, this song is everywhere, and you would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t at least heard this song in passing.
Coming from the South Korean group Pinkfong, Baby Shark only took four years to gain the title of most-viewed video on YouTube. Some years later in in 2022, Baby Shark became the first video on YouTube to surpass an astounding 10 billion views. If you are one of the parents who has dedicated many hours of viewing to this video, our thoughts are with you.
2. “Despacito” – 8.16 billion
You may only be aware of the Justin Beiber remixed version of this tune; however, it is the original version that has dominated the YouTube viewing ranks throughout the years.
This song was released in 2017 and quickly shot up to become the most-viewed video on the platform, before being dethroned by the cartoon sharks. YouTube had a great part to play in this songs success.
3. “Johny Johny Yes Papa” – 6.70 billion views
We can forgive you for having missed this weird little video, but clearly not everyone missed out on it. This tune, coming from Billion Surprise Toys, an Indian YouTube channel, takes the lullaby “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” into one perfect for memes.
The nonsensical melody and lyrics caused people to watch the video for entertainment, shock value or just to get in on what everyone was talking about. Either way, it has solidified itself in the top three of this list.
4. “Bath Song” – 6.20 billion views
It seems that many songs tailored towards young children do well on YouTube. This is probably because children find one song and video they like and simply make their parents replay it time after time. This continues to be true with number four on this list, which comes from the giant that is Cocomelon Nursery Rhymes.
“Bath Song” mixes some of our favourite childhood tunes into an educational one about how to properly wash yourself. Apparently, children are more likely to listen to your advice if you give it to them in the tune of Itsy Bitsy.
5. “Shape of You” – 6 billion views
Finally landing back on a ‘real’ song, we have the titan of the music industry that is Ed Sheeran. Coming from his 2017 album, “Shape of You” took to the skies as soon as it was released.
Sheeran is no stranger to having songs on this list, as “Thinking Out Lous” and “Perfect” also feature as number 18 and 28 on the most-viewed YouTube video list.“See You Again” – 5.89 billion views
6. “See You Again” – 5.89 billion views
7. “Phonics Song with Two Words” – 5.30 billion views
8. “Wheels on the Bus” – 5.24 billion views
9. “Uptown Funk” – 4.92 billion views
10. “Learning Colors” – 4.89 billion views
