Have you ever wondered which YouTube videos got the most views? The most viewed YouTube videos of all time are primarily multi-million dollar music videos from well-known recording artists. You’ll likely be as shocked as we were to find a few animated kid-friendly videos on the list, with a combined 11 billion views!
Let’s examine the top 15 YouTube videos to get the highest views to determine what’s what.
#1. Baby Shark Dance: Pinkfong Baby Shark by Kids’ Songs & Stories (11 Billion views)
Yes! YouTube video might be the most extremely surprising entry on the list of the top YouTube most viewed YouTube videos Worldwide. A children’s song called Baby Shark tells the story of a shark family. The title of this Baby Shark video is “Baby Shark Dance.” The famous kid’s tune debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of January 7, 2019, at position 32.
This special version of the song has given rise to the Baby Shark Challenge, which has become the most widespread internet dancing trend.
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#2. Despacito by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee (7.9 Billion views)
“Despacito” by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee is number two on Billboard’s list of the Hot 100 Songs of 2017. The YouTube video song reached the top of the charts in 47 nations and the top ten in another ten. And it’s very obvious why this is the most-watched Spanish YouTube video, with more than 7.9 billion views.
Simply listening to the song causes you to hear it again because of its repeating effect. The Despacito music video has all the elements of a successful music video, including dance moves, attractive individuals, palm trees, and dramatic settings. Interestingly, a few months later, Justin Bieber produced a remix of the song with some English-language lyrics.
#3. Shape of You by Ed Sheeran (5.7 Billion views)
The Shape of You video song by Ed Sheeran is the third most watched YouTube video ever. On the US Billboard’s Hot 100, it became the song with the best performance of 2017 and remained at the top for 16 weeks.
On January 30, 2017, Sheeran released the music video that went along with it. It quickly became one of the fastest music videos to gather 1 billion views on YouTube.
#4. See You Again by Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth (5.5 Billion views)
The YouTube video See You Again ultimately overcame “Gangnam Style’s” supremacy of the top spot. Of course, Despacito made its move and passed See You Again in just 25 days.
See You Again’s success was primarily attributed to its selection as “Furious 7” ‘s theme song. It was sung in memorial to the late actor and was beloved by fans of Paul Walker. It is the most popular song Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth have ever released. The song peaked at Number One in several other nations and spent 12 weeks at the top of the US Billboard 100.
Additionally, it held the US Spotify record for the most streams in a single day.
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#5. UpTown Funk by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars (4.6 Billion views)
In addition to peaking at Number 1 on the Billboard 100 in the US for 14 straight weeks, UpTown Funk also did well internationally. The second-best-selling single of 2015 was UpTown Funk. It includes Two Grammy Awards which also includes the record of the year award. With vividly colored clothes and chains on, it depicts Hooligans, Bruno Mars, and Mark Ronson strolling around urban areas. Numerous cities where Bruno Mars was on tour were used for the filming.
#6. Masha and the Bear: Recipe for Disaster by getting Movies (4.5 Billion views)
Masha and the Bear is an oral children’s folktale that is the basis for the Russian animated television series. Three episodes have received more than 1 billion views on YouTube, and all of the episodes have been uploaded over time.
Masha is depicted in the YouTube video wearing traditional clothing and a headscarf, which is regarded as one factor contributing to its popularity.
#7. Gangnam Style by Psy (4.5 Billion views)
This might surprise you, but Gangnam Style unexpectedly became a mega-hit and broke YouTube records that people never imagined were possible. On July 15, 2012, Psy’s official YouTube channel posted the video. Gangnam Style surpassed Justin Bieber’s previous record of 803,700,000 views on November 24 of that year to claim the coveted No. 1 slot on YouTube. It remained there for a great 1,689 days.
Gangnam Style quickly earned the reputation of becoming the first YouTube video to cross 1 billion views in December 2012. In June 2014, it received 2 billion views, and in January 2018, 3 billion.
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#8. Sugar by Maroon 5 (3.7 Billion views)
Maroon 5 included the song Sugar on their “V,” their fifth studio album. The single was made available on January 13, 2015. On the US Billboard 100, it peaked at number two.
The corresponding music video debuted on the band’s YouTube channel on January 14, 2015, and was based on a very popular romantic comedy movie named Wedding Crashers. On YouTube, Sugar has received more than 3.7 billion views as of July 2022.
#9. Roar by Katy Perry (3.6 Billion views)
The song achieved great success. She became the first artist to win three Diamond Awards after the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it as a Diamond.
The video depicts Katy Perry, who has survived a plane disaster, adjusting to life in the jungle. In July 2015, after Roar’s YouTube video surpassed 1 billion views, Katy Perry made history by being the first artist to have two music videos to top that mark.
#10. Counting Stars by OneRepublic (3.6 Billion views)
The song “Counting Stars” is from OneRepublic’s third studio album, “Native,” which features pop rock music (2013). The song sold over a million copies and peaked at number one in several nations, including Canada and the UK.
The video of this song was captured in New Orleans, Louisiana, and includes glimpses of people dancing along to the song in a religious revival service on the top level, as well as the band performing the music in the basement of a building surrounded by hanging light bulbs. As the band plays, the video ends with a service member falling through the floor and coming through the roof. The video got 1 billion views, making it history’s first group music video.
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#11. Sorry by Justin Bieber (3.5 Billion views)
This is an expected one keeping in mind how popular Justin Bieber is amongst music lovers. and is considered a music icon for the YouTube generation.
Sorry was on the top of the music charts for many weeks in Canada, the Hometown of Bieber, and topped 13 other nations also. More than 10 million copies of the music were purchased globally in 2016.
It became the fourth YouTube video to reach 2 billion views in the shortest time and the fifth.
#12. Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran (3.4 Billion views)
Ed Sheeran, an English singer-songwriter, released the song Thinking Out Loud. Before reaching its peak at number one in the UK’s Top 40 in early November 2014, the song spent 19 weeks there.
It’s worth mentioning that in June 2015, Thinking Out Loud is the first ever single to stay on the UK Top 40 list for an entire year. It was the first song to have more than 500 million Spotify streams in October 2015.
#13. Dark Horse by Katy Perry ft. Juicy J (3.3 Billion views)
Katy and rapper Juicy J collaborated on the song “Dark Horse,” which they released in September 2013. The second-best-selling song of 2014, Dark Horse, sold 13.2 million units.
The release of the footage didn’t occur until February 2014. It takes place in Egypt, and Katy portrays “Katy Patra”—her interpretation of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. The dark horse was the first female artist’s YouTube video to reach 1 billion views.
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#14. Faded by Alan Walker (3.3 Billion views)
Iselin Solheim, a Norwegian recording artist, contributed vocals to it. The track was made available on December 3, 2015. Faded was produced by DJ and Norwegian record producer Alan Walker. In the majority of the nations where it charted, it peaked in the Top 10. Shahab Salehi plays the lead in the song video.
It depicts a young man walking around with a picture of his house in his hand and a rucksack while wearing a mask and black block-style clothing. He goes through parts of deserted towns filled with abandoned high rises and damaged or destroyed buildings. When he does discover his house, it is in ruins.
#15. Shake It Off by Taylor Swift (3.1 Billion views)
Taylor Swift’s most popular song on the Billboard Hot 100 is Shake it Off. It remained on the charts for 50 weeks in a row. Tyce Diorio choreographed the dances for the video, which Mark Romanek directed. It includes dance in hip-hop, lyrical, jazz, cheerleader, ballet, and even “twerking” forms.
If Masha, the cartoon character, is excluded, this video has the highest views of any created by a female artist.
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Summary
We sincerely hope you liked reading about the top 15 YouTube videos. To be honest, the majority of them weren’t a surprise to us. A few videos like Baby Shark and Recipe for Disaster did surprise us because we hadn’t even heard of them! It only proves that anything catchy enough will probably succeed!
