2013 Most Popular Songs
Ernest Babin
YouTube is an American video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California. The site indicates view counts of each uploaded video, making it possible to keep track of the most viewed, many of which continue to exist while others are no longer available on the site. Although the most-viewed were initially viral videos uploaded by amateur content creators, such as "Evolution of Dance" and "Charlie Bit My Finger", they have increasingly become music videos produced on behalf of professional recording artists. 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.
In November 2005, a Nike advertisement featuring Brazilian football player Ronaldinho became the first video to reach 1,000,000 views.[1] 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.[2]
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.[3] 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.[4][5]
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 regional restrictions in certain countries.[6]
In December 2012, "Gangnam Style" became the first video to reach one billion views.[33] By June 2015, only "Baby" had also managed to pass this threshold, but, by October 2015, a total of ten videos had done so,[56] and the number grew further to over 400 in 2024.[57]
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.[34] "Despacito" became the first video to reach three billion views in August 2017,[12] four billion in October 2017,[13] five billion in April 2018,[14] six billion in February 2019,[15] and seven billion in October 2020.[16] "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.[8] As of March 2024, it has more than fourteen billion views.
As of May 2023[update], 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,[24] followed by "Gangnam Style" in November 2017.[35] "Shape of You" became the second video to reach four billion views in January 2019,[27] followed by "See You Again" in February 2019.[25] "Baby Shark Dance" became the second video to reach five billion views in April 2020,[62] 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 "Johnny Johnny Yes Papa" from children's stations LooLoo Kids and ChuChu TV.[63] 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.[64] 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.[8]
On April 1, 2024, the communications app Discord incorporated a short trailer video into their in-app April Fools' Day prank regarding loot boxes. The video automatically looped for anyone with Discord open, even if the notification had not been opened yet. This had the inadvertent effect of massively increasing the trailer's view count, causing it to reach a billion views in less than 24 hours and becoming the most-viewed video in that timeframe on the platform, surpassing Grand Theft Auto VI's trailer which gained over 90 million views in a single day.[67][68] The video later had its view count adjusted to the low millions.[citation needed]
YouTube announced that cumulative views of videos related to Minecraft, some of which had been on the platform as early as 2009, exceeded 1 trillion views on December 14, 2021, and was the most-watched video game content on the site.[119]
At the start of 2015 only two videos could boast having over a billion views. By the end of the year, ten more had crossed the threshold. Flash-forward a few more years, and several pop songs 2021 offered were rapid hits that accelerated to a billion and beyond also.
Probably, but for the sake of it, here are the 16 most popular songs in the world according to YouTube. And while they may not be the best songs of all time, they certainly shine a light on what floats our boat in this day and age.
An artist who appears twice in this list, Ed Sheeran has swept the world since emerging with his debut EP in 2011. His biggest hit remains Shape of You, released in 2017. The incredible music video that accompanies it is one of the hottest youtube videos of 2017 by far.
Maroon 5 has a score of hits to their name, but none bigger than Sugar. As of the end of 2021, it has claimed over three billion views on Youtube, making it one of the most popular songs ever dropped on the platform.
Yep, another banger from Ed Sheeran! Since its release in 2014, the heartwarming music video for this iconic love ballad, Thinking out Loud has generated a whopping 3.4 billion views, and has surely been played at just as many weddings across the globe.
For many people, listening to music elicits such an emotional response that the idea of dredging it for statistics and structure can seem odd or even misguided. But knowing these patterns can give one a deeper more fundamental sense for how music works; for me this makes listening to music a lot more interesting. Of course, if you play an instrument or want to write songs, being aware of these things is obviously of great practical importance.
Guitar tab websites have tons of information about the chord progressions that songs use, but the quality is not very high. Just as important, the information is not in a format suitable for gathering statistics.
For example, a great question to ask is, if a song happens to use a particular chord, what chord is most likely to come next? Is it random, or will certain chords sound better than others and thus be more likely to show up in the popular songs that make up our database?
This result is striking. If you write a song in C with an E minor in it, you should probably think very hard if you want to put a chord that is anything other than A minor or F major after the E minor. For the songs in the database, 93% of the time one of these two chords came next!
Classical music remains a popular choice for funerals, setting the stage for an emotional and moving service. Many people opt for light classical music for funerals, whilst others may prefer a more dramatic piece which reflects the personality of their loved one.
Frank Sinatra is a show business legend and considered by many to be the greatest vocalist of the 20th century. His groundbreaking phrasing vocal technique helped the listener to understand and empathise with this song. My Way would be an obvious musical choice to remember those that in life were charismatic and individual.
Wind Beneath My Wings was performed by Bette Midler for the soundtrack of the film Beaches, and was named Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards in 1990. It has become one of the most popular funeral songs as a way to remember a loved one.
A soaring and sweet duet between the world-famous tenor and soprano. The popularisation of opera has seen this musical piece become a regular choice at funerals for those that have lost a romantic partner.
This is the song that was famously performed by Elton John at the funeral of Princess Diana. Originally written as a tribute to Marilyn Monroe, Elton re-wrote the lyrics upon the death of his friend at the request of her family. Released as a charity record it became the biggest selling single of all time. A profound expression of love and healing the song was described as proof that music can unite the world in the celebration of life and in an emotional grieving for a loss".
A gentle and calming composition that would allow mourners an interval in the service to pause and remember the life of their loved one. Bach was a family man with 20 children who dedicated his life to music, once walking 200 miles to hear a fellow organist.
Debussy has often been described as the master of subtlety and nuance. Claire de Lune translates as Light of the Moon and the ingenuity of this composition lies in the ease with which you can imagine the moon appearing slowly from behind a cloud as the music reveals its full sensuality. A perfect musical piece to provide a few moments of reflection during the service.
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