Nine of the top ten most-watched YouTube clips
are music videos. Scroll to see which artists make the cut - and why Psy's
'Gangnam Style' can't be toppled
In just four months the
lasso-themed video went on to become the most-viewed YouTube clip
ever with over 805 million views.
A year and a half later, the video
made YouTube history again to become the first clip to break two billion views.
YouTube remains
the go-to website to watch music videos, despite a large number having been
uploaded via vevo.com.
Music videos make up nine of the
ten most-watched videos on YouTube, with just one amateur home film classic,
“Charlie Bit My Finger”, completing the list.
Psy’s "Gangnam
Style" is followed by teen pop star Justin Bieber’s
“Baby”, which despite being the second most-viewed video on YouTube also holds
the record for the most number of dislikes.
The most-watched videos on
YouTube
(These figures are accurate as of
15 July 2014)
1. Psy –
‘Gangnam Style’
2,039,078,316
views
Featuring Psy’s iconic
horse-riding moves, “Gangnam Style” went viral overnight to become the
most-watched video on YouTube in four months. The K-pop king recently made
YouTube history again to claim the first video to reach 2 billion views.
2. Justin Bieber –
‘Baby’
1,060,057,567
views
Back in the day before Bieber knew
what probation even meant, the teen pop star broke onto the international scene
looking like the cute boy next door every teeny bopper craves with “Baby”, a song
that had them in the palms of his hands for evermore.
3. Jennifer Lopez ft
Pitbull – ‘On the Floor’
766,907,539
views
Jenny from the block made her
comeback with this electronic dance pop anthem in 2011, more than ten years
since the release of her debut single. The video features J-Lo dancing on
a table in a crop top looking unfathomably good for her age, but no doubt the
Latino-inspired beats attracted some views too.
4. Harry and Charlie Davies-Carr –
“Charlie Bit My Finger – Again!”
739,202,529 views
Uploaded in 2007, this home video has become
the most-watched amateur YouTube clip ever. Featuring older brother Harry
putting his finger in Charlie’s mouth, the short video lays sibling
relationships bare while remaining enduringly cute.
5. Eminem ft Rihanna – “Love the Way
You Lie”
716, 053, 294 views
She’s produced some memorable videos in her
time, but even “Pour It Up” can’t rival the number of views Rihanna’s video
with Eminem has
attracted. The video to the emotional single follows a tempestuous couple with
Rihanna singing to camera behind a house in flames, and Eminem rapping in a corn
field.
6. LMFAO – “Party Rock
Anthem”
712,971,037 views
Featuring a lot of bespectacled hipsters
dancing en masse in leopard print and Lycra, this high-tempo hit single from
2011 doesn’t get much air time now but its video remains one of the most-viewed
on YouTube.
7. Psy –
“Gentleman”
710,122,626 views
He was never going to achieve the same level of
worldwide recognition as “Gangnam Style”, but that didn’t stop him from trying.
Released in 2013, Psy’s second
video features the pop star larking about in a hotel and trying to eat noodles
sexily.
8. Shakira – “Waka Waka (This Time for
Africa)”
707,291,031 views
The Colombian singer’s World Cup anthem reached number one across the world during the 2010
South Africa tournament, making her sweeping depiction of ‘Africa’ one of the
most-watched videos.
9. Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking
Ball”
685,527,384 views
Released in the midst of Miley-mania,
"Wrecking Ball"
proved the icing on the cake for many parenting groups across the US. The video
has racked up a huge number of views in under a year, no doubt thanks to the
singer writhing naked on a wrecking ball and licking a phallic-shaped
hammer.
10. Lady Gaga – “Bad
Romance”
594,363,102 views
It doesn’t rank as one of her most outrageous videos, but breakout single “Bad Romance” is
Lady Gaga’s
most-viewed on YouTube, showcasing the first of Mother Monster’s many
unconventional outfits and hairstyles to come.