Showing posts with label YouTube. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YouTube. Show all posts

Thursday, February 6, 2025

YouTube: Billion Airs Club

YouTube: Billion Airs Club

You Tube:

The Billion Airs Club

YouTube has become the 21st century’s version of MTV; that is, it is the go-to place for music videos. On December 1, 2012, “Gangnam Style” by Psy became the first music video to surpass one billion views. Since then, more than five hundred music videos have passed that mark. This page lists all those videos alphabetically by artist.

Note: if there are multiple versions of a song (such as an official video, a lyric video, or live performances) the numbers have been consolidated into one figure as long as all the versions are the same song by the same performer.

Videos ranked in the top 100 are marked with an asterisk. You can see the list of “YouTube’s Top 100 Most-Viewed Videos of All Time” here.

Click here to see other media-based lists.

A
  • John Abraham with Nora Fatehi, Nora, Tanishk B, Neha Kakkar, Dhvani, & Ikka “Dilbar” (2018)
  • AC/DC “Back in Black” (1980)
  • AC/DC “Thunderstruck” (1990)
  • Adele “Rolling in the Deep” (2010) *
  • Adele “Someone Like You” (2011) *
  • Adele “Set Fire to the Rain” (2011)
  • Adele “Hello” (2015) *
  • La Adictiva Banda San José de Mesillas “Después de Ti, ¿Quién?” (2015)
  • Aha “Take on Me” (1984)
  • Akon “Lonely” (2005)
  • Akon & Eminem “Smack That” (2006)
  • Marc Anthony “Vivir Mi Vida” (2013)
  • Marc Anthony “Flor Pálida” (2014)
  • Anuel AA with Daddy Yankee, Karol G, Ozuna, & J. Balvin “China” (2019)
  • Anuel AA & Karol G “Secreto” (2019)
  • Aqua “Barbie Girl” (1997)
  • Arcángel with Bad Bunny, DJ Luian, & Mambo Kingz “Tu No Vive Asi” (2016)
  • Arcángel & Sech “Sigues Con Él” (2020)
  • Arctic Monkeys “Do I Wanna Know?” (2013)
  • Ricardo Arjona with Gaby Moreno “Fuiste Tú” (2012)
  • Aron Chupa with Lilttle Sis Nora “I'm an Albatroz” (2014)
  • James Arthur “Say You Won’t Let Me Go” (2016)
  • Rick Astley “Never Gonna Give You Up” (1987)
  • Audioslave “Like a Stone” (2002)
  • Avicii & Aloe Blacc “Wake Me Up” (2013) *
  • Avicii “Waiting for Love” (2015)
  • Ayo & Teo “Rolex” (2017)
  • Iggy Azalea with Charli XCX “Fancy” (2014)

B
  • Backstreet Boys “I Want It That Way” (1999)
  • Bad Bunny with Ozuna, Farruko, Arcangel, & Ñengo Flow “Diles” (2016)
  • Bad Bunny “Soy Peor” (2016)
  • Bad Bunny “Amorfoda” (2018)
  • Bad Bunny & Drake “MÍA” (2019)
  • Bad Bunny & Tainy “Callaíta” (2019)
  • Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez “Dakiti” (2020)
  • Badshah & Aastha “Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai” (2014)
  • Badshah with Amar Arshi, Neha Kakkar, & Indeep Bakshi “Kala Chashma” (2016)
  • Badshah & Jacqueline Fernandez “Genda Phool” (2021)
  • J. Balvin “Ay Vamos” (2014)
  • J. Balvin & Farruko “6 AM” (2014)
  • J. Balvin & Willy Williams “Mi Gente” (2017) *
  • J. Balvin with Jowell & Randy “Bonita” (2017)
  • J. Balvin & Bad Bunny “Si Tu Novio Te Deja Sola” (2017)
  • J. Balvin with Pharrell Williams, Bia, & Sky “Safari” (2018)
  • Berlin “Take My Breath Away” (1986)
  • Beyoncé “Halo” (2008)
  • Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (2008)
  • Dhvani Bhanushall with Tanishk Bagchi, Nikhil D'Souza, Bhushan Kumar, Radhika R, & Vinay S “Vaaste Song” (2019)
  • Justin Bieber & Ludacris “Baby” (2010) *
  • Justin Bieber & Jaden Smith “Never Say Never” (2010)
  • Justin Bieber & Nicki Minaj “Beauty and a Beat” (2012)
  • Justin Bieber “What Do You Mean?” (2015)
  • Justin Bieber “Sorry” (2015) *
  • Justin Bieber “Love Yourself” (2015)
  • Black Eyed Peas with Justin Timberlake “Where Is the Love?” (2003)
  • Black Eyed Peas with J. Balvin “RITMO (Bad Boys for Life)” (2019)
  • Blackpink “Boombayah” (2016)
  • Blackpink “As if It's Your Last” (2017)
  • Blackpink “DDU-DU DDU-DU” (2018) *
  • Blackpink “Kill This Love” (2019)
  • Blackpink “How You Like That” (2020)
  • Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer” (1986)
  • Bon Jovi “Always” (1994)
  • Bon Jovi “It's My Life” (2000)
  • Bounce Patrol “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” (2013) *
  • Chris Brown with Lil Wayne & French Montana or Too $hort or Tyga “Loyal” (2014)
  • BTS & Desiigner “Mic Drop” (2017)
  • BTS & Nicki Minaj “Idol” (2018)
  • BTS & Halsey “Boy with Luv” (2019)
  • BTS “Dynamite” (2020) *
  • BTS “Butter” (2021)

C
  • Camila Cabello with Young Thug “Havana” (2017) *
  • Cali Y El Dandee with Juan Magan & Sebastián Yatra “Por Fin Te Encontré” (2015)
  • Canciones Infantiles “Johny Johny Si Papa” (2017)
  • Canciones Infantiles “Patitos Cua Cua Cua” (2014)
  • Lewis Capaldi “Someone You Loved” (2018)
  • Pedro Capó with Farruko “Calma” (2018) *
  • Alessia Cara “How Far I’ll Go” (2016)
  • Cardi B “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” (2017)
  • Cardi B with Bad Bunny & J. Balvin “I Like It” (2018)
  • Cardi B with Megan Thee Stallion “WAP” (2020)
  • Mariah Carey “All I Want for Christmas Is You” (1994)
  • Casper Magico with Nio Garcia, Darell, Bad Bunny, Nicky Jam, & Ozuna “Te Boté” (2017)
  • The Chainsmokers & Halsey “Closer” (2016) *
  • The Chainsmokers with Daya “Don’t Let Me Down” (2016)
  • The Chainsmokers with Coldplay “Something Just Like This” (2017) *
  • Chino & Nacho with Farruko “Me Voy Enamorando (remix)” (2015)
  • Chino & Nacho with Daddy Yankee “Andas en Mi Cabeza” (2016)
  • ChuChu TV “Rain Rain Go Away” (2013)
  • ChuChu TV “Phonics Songs with Two Words” (2014) *
  • ChuChu TV “The Finger Family Song” (2015)
  • Clean Bandit, Sean Paul, & Anne-Marie “Rockabye” (2016) *
  • Clean Bandit with Demi Lovato “Solo” (2018)
  • CNCO “Reggaeton Lento (Bailemos)” (2016)
  • CoCoMelon “No No Bedtime Song” (2017)
  • CoCoMelon “The Wheels on the Bus” (2018) *
  • CoCoMelon “Bath Song” (2018) *
  • CoCoMelon “Baa Baa Black Sheep” (2018) *
  • CoCoMelon “Yes Yes Vegetables Song” (2018) *
  • CoCoMelon “Yes Yes Playground Song” (2018) *
  • CoCoMelon “Sick Song” (2018)
  • CoCoMelon “Deck the Halls” (2018)
  • CoCoMelon “Yes Yes Bedtime Song” (2018)
  • CoCoMelon “Swimming Song” (2018)
  • CoCoMelon “The Boo Boo Song” (2019)
  • CoCoMelon “Car Wash Song” (2019)
  • Coldplay “Yellow” (2000)
  • Coldplay “The Scientist” (2002)
  • Coldplay “Paradise” (2011)
  • Coldplay with Beyoncé “Hymn for the Weekend” (2015)
  • Coldplay “Adventure of a Lifetime” (2015)
  • Coolio & L.V. “Gangsta’s Paradise” (1995)
  • Jhay Cortez with J. Balvin & Bad Bunny “No Me Canoce” (2019) *
  • The Cranberries “Zombie” (1994)
  • Crazy Frog “Axel F” (2005) *
  • Cuidado con la Bomba Chita “Las Canciones del Zoo” (2013)
  • Miley Cyrus “Party in the U.S.A.” (2009)
  • Miley Cyrus “Wrecking Ball” (2013)
  • Miley Cyrus “Flowers” (2023)

D
  • Daddy Yankee “Limbo” (2012)
  • Daddy Yankee “Shaky Shaky” (2016)
  • Daddy Yankee “Dura” (2018)
  • Daddy Yankee with Snow “Con Calma” (2019) *
  • Daddy Yankee “Que Tire Pa’ ‘Lante” (2019)
  • Daft Punk with Pharrell Williams “Get Lucky” (2013)
  • Jason Derulo & Snoop Dogg “Wiggle” (2014)
  • Jason Derulo with Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign “Swalla” (2017)
  • Dhanush with Sai Pallavi, Yuvan Shankar Raja, & Balaji Mohan “Rowdy Baby” (2019)
  • Disturbed “The Sound of Silence” (2015)
  • DJ Khaled with Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, & Lil’ Wayne “I’m the One” (2017)
  • DJ Khaled with Rihanna & Bryson Tiller “Wild Thoughts” (2017)
  • DJ Snake & Lil Jon “Turn Down for What” (2013)
  • DJ Snake & Justin Bieber “Let Me Love You” (2016)
  • DJ Snake with Selena Gomez, Ozuna, & Cardi B “Taki Taki” (2018) *
  • Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg “Still D.R.E.” (1999)
  • Drake “Hotline Bling” (2015)
  • Drake “Fake Love” (2016)
  • Drake “God’s Plan” (2018)
  • Dynoro with Gigi D’Agostino “In My Mind” (2018)

E
  • Billie Eilish with Khalid “Lovely” (2018)
  • Billie Eilish “Bad Guy” (2019)
  • El Chombo “Dame Tu Cosita” (2018) *
  • Eminem “The Real Slim Shady” (2000)
  • Eminem “Without Me” (2002)
  • Eminem “Lose Yourself” (2002)
  • Eminem “Mockingbird” (2004)
  • Eminem “When I'm Gone” (2005)
  • Eminem “Not Afraid” (2010)
  • Eminem & Rihanna “Love the Way You Lie” (2010) *
  • Eminem “Rap God” (2013)
  • Eminem & Rihanna “The Monster” (2013)
  • Europe “The Final Countdown” (1986)
  • Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This” (1983)
  • Evanescence with Paul McCoy “Bring Me to Life” (2003)
  • Evanescence “My Immortal” (2003)

F
  • Fifth Harmony & Kid Ink “Worth It” (2015) *
  • Fifth Harmony & Ty Dolla $ign “Work from Home” (2016) *
  • 50 Cent “In Da Club” (2002) *
  • 50 Cent & Olivia “Candy Shop” (2005)
  • Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee “Despacito” (2017) *
  • Luis Fonsi with Demi Lovato “Échame La Culpa” (2017) *
  • Foster the People “Pumped Up Kicks” (2010)
  • 4 Non Blondes “What’s Up?” (1992)
  • fun. with Janelle Monáe “We Are Young” (2011)
  • Nelly Furtado “Say It Right” (2006)
  • Future with Drake “Life Is Good” (2020)

G
  • Becky G with Bad Bunny “Mayores” (2017) *
  • Becky G “Sin Pijama” (2018) *
  • Karol G & Bad Bunny “Ahora Me Llama” (2017)
  • Karol G & Anuel AA “Culpables” (2018)
  • Karol G & Nicki Minaj “Tusa” (2019)
  • Karol G “Bichota” (2020)
  • Karol G “Provenza” (2022)
  • Karol G & Shakira “TQG” (2023)
  • Galinha Pintadinha “Pintinho Amarelinho” (2008)
  • Galinha Pintadinha “A Baratinha” (2008)
  • Galinha Pintadinha “Dona Aranha” (2012)
  • Galinha Pintadinha “Clipe Musica Oficial” (2013)
  • Galinha Pintadinha “Sambalelê” (2014)
  • Galinha Pintadinha “Upa Cavalinho” (2017) *
  • Galinha Pintadinha “Upa Cavalinho” (2017)
  • Galinha Pintadinha “Mariposita” (2011)
  • Galinha Pintadinha “Pollito Amarillito” (2011)
  • Nio Garcia with Darrell & Casper Magico, Bad Bunny, Nicky Jam, & Ozuna “Te Boté (Remix)” (2018) *
  • Martin Garrix “Animals” (2013)
  • J. Geco “Chicken Song” (2013) *
  • Gente de Zona with Marc Anthony “La Gozadera” (2015)
  • Glass Animals “Heat Waves” (2020)
  • Gotye with Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know” (2011) *
  • Ellie Goulding “Burn” (2013)
  • Ellie Goulding “Love Me Like You Do” (2015) *
  • Ariana Grande with Iggy Azalea “Problem” (2014)
  • Ariana Grande with Zedd “Break Free” (2014)
  • Ariana Grande “Focus” (2015)
  • Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj “Side to Side” (2016) *
  • Ariana Grande “Into You” (2016)
  • Ariana Grande “No Tears Left to Cry” (2018)
  • Ariana Grande “Thank U, Next” (2018)
  • Ariana Grande “7 Rings” (2019)
  • La Granja de Zenón “La Gallina Turuleca” (2011)
  • La Granja de Zenón “El Gallo y la Pata” (2014) *
  • La Granja de Zenón “El Pollito Pío” (2014)
  • La Granja de Zenón “Bartolito” (2015)
  • La Granja de Zenón “Percherón” (2015)
  • La Granja de Zenón “La Vaca Lola” (2016) *
  • La Granja de Zenón “El Baile del Sapito” (2017) *
  • David Guetta with Ne-Yo & Akon “Play Hard” (2011)
  • David Guetta with Showtek & Vassy “Bad” (2014)
  • David Guetta with Nicki Minaj & Afrojack “Hey Mama” (2015)
  • David Guetta with Bebe Rexha & J. Balvin “Say My Name” (2018)
  • Gummibär “The Gummy Bear Song” (2007) *
  • Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (1987)
  • Guns N’ Roses “November Rain” (1991)
  • Guru Randhawa “High Rated Gabru” (2017)

H
  • Ha-Ash “Perdón, Perdón” (2014)
  • Ha-Ash “Lo Aprendí de Ti” (2015)
  • Calvin Harris “Summer” (2014)
  • Calvin Harris & Disciples “How Deep Is Your Love” (2015)
  • Calvin Harris & Rihanna “This Is What You Came For” (2016) *
  • Hindi Rhymes for Children “Mausam Hua Garam” (2017)
  • Hoobastank “The Reason” (2003)
  • Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” (1992)
  • Hozier “Take Me to Church” (2013)

I
  • Enrique Iglesias, Descemer Bueno, & Gente de Zona “Bailando” (2014) *
  • Enrique Iglesias with Marco Antonio Solis “El Perdedor” (2014)
  • Enrique Iglesias & Wisin “Duele El Corazon” (2016)
  • Enrique Iglesias with Descemer Bueno, Zion & Lennox “Subeme La Radio” (2017)
  • Imagine Dragons “Radioactive” (2012)
  • Imagine Dragons “Demons” (2012)
  • Imagine Dragons “Believer” (2017) *
  • Imagine Dragons “Thunder” (2017)
  • Indila “Dernière Danse” (2013)

J
  • Jessie J, Ariana Grande, & Nicki Minaj “Bang Bang” (2014)
  • Michael Jackson “Billie Jean” (1982)
  • Michael Jackson “Beat It” (1982)
  • Michael Jackson “Thriller” (1982)
  • Michael Jackson “Smooth Criminal” (1987)
  • Michael Jackson “They Don't Care about Us” (1995)
  • Chris Jedi with J. Balvin, Ozuna, & Arcangel “Ahora Dice” (2017)
  • Jennie “Solo” (2018)
  • Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe” (2011)
  • Jesse & Joy “Corre!” (2011)
  • Jingle Toons “Nani Teri Morni Ko Mor Le Gaye” (2016)
  • Jingle Toons “Lakdi Ki Kathi” (2018) *
  • Dwayne Johnson “You're Welcome” (2016)
  • Jugnu Kids Nursery Rhymes “Machli Jal Ki Rani hai” (2015)
  • Juice Wrld “Lucid Dreams” (2018)

K
  • Kamal Kahlon & Param Singh “Daru Badnaam” (2016)
  • Neha Kakkar & Tony Kakkar “Mile Ho Tum” (2016)
  • Israel Kamakawiwo’ole “Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World” (1993)
  • Khalid “Young, Dumb & Broke” (2017)
  • Khalid “Better” (2018)
  • Rahat Fateh Ali Khan “Zaroori Tha” (2014)
  • Shah Rukh Khan with Deepika, Vishal, Shekhar, Arijit Singh, Sukriti, & Kumaar “Jhoome Jo Pathaan Song” (2022)
  • The Kid Laroi with Justin Bieber “Stay” (2021)
  • Kiddies TV Hindi “Humpty the Train on a Fruits Ride” (2018)
  • Sean Kingston “Beautiful Girls” (2007)
  • Akshay Kumar with Nupar Sanon, Bpraak, Jaani, Arvind, Khaira, & Ammy Virk “Filhall” (2019)
  • Bhushan Kumar & Vee “Lahore” (2017)

L
  • Lady Gaga “Poker Face” (2008)
  • Lady Gaga “Bad Romance” (2009)
  • Lady Gaga with Bradley Cooper “Shallow” (2018)
  • Kendrick Lamar “DNA” (2017)
  • Kendrick Lamar “Humble” (2017)
  • Lamjarred, Saad “LM3Allem” (2015)
  • Zara Larsson & Clean Bandit “Symphony” (2017)
  • Cyndi Lauper “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (1983)
  • John Legend “All of Me” (2013) *
  • Lil Nas X with Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road” (2018) *
  • Lil Nas X “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” (2021)
  • Lil Pump “Gucci Gang” (2017)
  • Linkin Park “In the End” (2000)
  • Linkin Park “Numb” (2003) *
  • Dua Lipa “New Rules” (2017) *
  • Dua Lipa “Don’t Start Now” (2019)
  • Dua Lipa with DaBaby “Levitating” (2020)
  • Lisa “Money” (2021)
  • Little Baby Bum “Ten Little Buses” (2015)
  • Little Baby Bum “La canción del baño” (2016)
  • Little Mix “Black Magic” (2015)
  • LMFAO with Lauren Bennett & GoonRock “Party Rock Anthem” (2011) *
  • LMFAO “Sexy and I Know It” (2011)
  • Paulo Londra with Lenny Tavarez “Nena Maldicion” (2018)
  • Paulo Londra “Adan y Eva” (2019)
  • Paulo Londra “Tal Vez” (2019)
  • LooLoo Kids “Johny Johny Yes Papa” (2016) *
  • Jennifer Lopez & Pitbull “On the Floor” (2011) *
  • Lorde “Royals” (2013)
  • Los Ángeles Azules “Mis Sentimientos” (2014)
  • Los Ángeles Azules with Natalia Lafourcade “Nunca Es Suficiente” (2018)
  • LP “Lost on You” (2016)
  • Lukas Graham “7 Years” (2015)
  • Lullaby for Babies “Hush-a-Bye Baby” (2017)
  • Lunay with Daddy Yankee & Bad Bunny “Soltera” (2019)

M
  • Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with Ray Dalton “Can’t Hold Us” (2011)
  • Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with Wanz “Thrift Shop” (2012)
  • Magic! “Rude” (2013) *
  • Major Lazer, DJ Snake & MØ “Lean On” (2015) *
  • Major Lazer with Justin Bieber & MØ “Cold Water” (2016)
  • Maluma “Borro Cassette” (2015)
  • Maluma “El Perdedor” (2016)
  • Maluma with Trap Capos, Noriel, Bryant Myers, & Juhn “Cuatro Boys” (2016)
  • Maluma “Sin Contrato” (2016)
  • Maluma “Felices los 4” (2017)
  • Maluma with Nego Do Borel “Corazón” (2017)
  • Maluma & The Weeknd “Hawái” (2020)
  • Jass Manak “Lehanga” (2019)
  • Maroon 5 with Christina Aguilera “Moves Like Jagger” (2011)
  • Maroon 5 “One More Night” (2012)
  • Maroon 5 “Sugar” (2014) *
  • Maroon 5 with Cardi B “Girls Like You” (2017) *
  • Maroon 5 “Memories” (2019)
  • Bruno Mars “Just the Way You Are (Amazing)” (2010)
  • Bruno Mars “Grenade” (2010)
  • Bruno Mars “The Lazy Song” (2010) *
  • Bruno Mars “Locked Out of Heaven” (2012)
  • Bruno Mars “When I Was Your Man” (2012)
  • Bruno Mars “24K Magic” (2016)
  • Bruno Mars “That’s What I Like” (2016) *
  • Marshmello “Alone” (2016)
  • Marshmello & Bastille “Happier” (2018)
  • Marshmello & Anne-Marie “Friends” (2018)
  • Ricky Martin with Yotuel “La Mordidita” (2015)
  • Ricky Martin & Maluma “Vente Pa Ca” (2016)
  • Mau y Ricky with Manuel Turizo & Camilo “Desconocidos” (2018)
  • MC Fioti “Bum Bum Tam Tam” (2017)
  • MC Kevinho “Olha a Explosão” (2016)
  • Melendi & Ha-Ash “Destino o Casualidad” (2017)
  • Shawn Mendes “Stitches” (2015)
  • Shawn Mendes “Treat You Better” (2016) *
  • Shawn Mendes “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” (2016)
  • Shawn Mendes with Camila Cabello “Señorita” (2019)
  • Idina Menzel “Let It Go” (2013) *
  • Metallica “Nothing Else Matters” (1991)
  • Migos with Lil Uzi Vert “Bad and Boujee” (2016)
  • Mike Will Made It with Miley Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa, & Juicy J “23” (2013)
  • Nicki Minaj “Super Bass” (2011)
  • Nicki Minaj “Anaconda” (2014)
  • Mirosha TV “Learning Colors – Colorful Eggs on a Farm” (2018) *
  • French Montana with Swae Lee “Unforgettable” (2017)
  • Joey Montana “Picky” (2015)

N
  • Nacho with Yandel & Bad Bunny “Báilame (remix)” (2017)
  • Natti Natasha with Ozuna “Criminal” (2017) *
  • Naughty Boy & Sam Smith “La La La” (2013)
  • Nelly & Kelly Rowland “Dilemma” (2002)
  • John Newman “Love Me Again” (2013)
  • Nicky Jam “Travesuras” (2014)
  • Nicky Jam with Enrique Iglesias “El Perdón (Forgiveness)” (2015)
  • Nicky Jam “Hasta El Amanecer (remixed in English as “With You Tonight”)” (2016)
  • Nicky Jam “El Amante” (2017)
  • Nicky Jam with J. Balvin “X (Equis)” (2018) *
  • Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)
  • No Doubt “Don’t Speak” (1995)
  • Christian Nodal “Adiós Amor” (2017)
  • Mannat Noor with Ammy Virk, Neeru Bajwa, & Amberdeep “Laung Laachi Title Song” (2018)

O
  • Danny Ocean “Me Rehúso” (2016)
  • Tom Odell “Another Love” (2013)
  • Don Omar & Lucenzo “Danza Kuduro” (2010)
  • Don Omar “Taboo” (2011)
  • OMI “Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)” (2014)
  • One Direction “What Makes You Beautiful” (2011)
  • One Direction “Story of My Life” (2013)
  • One Direction “Drag Me Down” (2015)
  • One Republic “Counting Stars” (2013) *
  • Ozuna “Se Preparó” (2017)
  • Ozuna “Síguelo Bailando” (2017)
  • Ozuna with Romeo Santos “El Farsante” (2017)
  • Ozuna with Manuel Turizo “Vaina Loca” (2018)

P
  • Paco El Marinero “El Marinero Baila” (2014)
  • Passenger “Let Her Go” (2012) *
  • Sean Paul & Dua Lipa “No Lie” (2018)
  • Christina Perri “A Thousand Years” (2011) *
  • Katy Perry “Hot N Cold” (2008)
  • Katy Perry “Firework” (2010)
  • Katy Perry “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” (2010)
  • Katy Perry “The One That Got Away” (2010)
  • Katy Perry “Wide Awake” (2012)
  • Katy Perry “Roar” (2013) *
  • Katy Perry & Juicy J “Dark Horse” (2013) *
  • Katy Perry & Migos “Bon Appétit” (2017)
  • Pink with Nate Ruess “Just Give Me a Reason” (2012)
  • Pinkfong! “Baby Shark” (2016) *
  • Piso 21 with Manuel Turizo “Déjala Que Vuelva” (2017)
  • Pitbull with Marc Anthony “Rain Over Me” (2011)
  • Pitbull with Ne-Yo, Afrojack, & Nayer “Give Me Everything” (2011)
  • Pitbull with Ke$ha “Timber” (2013)
  • The Police “Every Breath You Take” (1983)
  • Mike Posner “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” (2015)
  • Post Malone “White Iverson” (2015)
  • Post Malone with Quavo “Congratulations” (2016)
  • Post Malone with 21 Savage “Rockstar” (2017)
  • Post Malone with Swae Lee “Sunflower” (2018) *
  • Post Malone & Ty Dolla $ign “Psycho” (2018)
  • Prince Royce “Darte Un Beso” (2013)
  • Psy “Gangnam Style” (2012) *
  • Psy “Gentleman” (2013)
  • Pulcino Pio TV “El Pollito Pio” (2012)
  • Charlie Puth & Selena Gomez “We Don’t Talk Anymore” (2016) *
  • Charlie Puth “Attention” (2017)

Q-R
  • Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975)
  • R. City “Locked Away” (2015)
  • Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi with Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, & Roop Kumar “Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai Song” (2012)
  • Radiohead “Creep” (1992)
  • Rae Sremmurd with Gucci Mane “Black Beatles (2016)
  • Rag ‘N’ Bone Man “Human” (2016)
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers “Californication” (1999)
  • Reik with Ozuna & Wisin “Me Niego” (2018)
  • R.E.M. “Losing My Religion” (1991)
  • Rema with Selena Gomez “Calm Down” (2022)
  • Bebe Rexha with Florida Georgia Line “Meant to Be” (2017)
  • Rihanna with Jay-Z “Umbrella” (2007)
  • Rihanna & Drake “What’s My Name?” (2010)
  • Rihanna with Calvin Harris “We Found Love” (2011)
  • Rihanna “Diamonds” (2012) *
  • Rihanna & Mikky Ekko “Stay” (2012)
  • Rihanna with Drake “Work” (2016)
  • Rihanna “Love on the Brain” (2016)
  • Roddy Ricch “The Box” (2019)
  • Marc Ronson & Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk!” (2014) *
  • Rosalía with J. Balvin & El Guincho “Con Altura” (2019)
  • Rosé with Bruno Mars “Apt.” (2024)
  • Alex Rose with Cazzu, Lenny Tavarez, Lyanno, & Rauw Alejandro “Toda (remix)” (2018)

S
  • Romeo Santos & Eliza Gonzalez “Propuesta Indecente” (2013)
  • The Scorpions “Wind of Change” (1990)
  • Calum Scott & Leona Lewis “You Are the Reason” (2018)
  • Travis Scott & Kendrick Lamar “Goosebumps” (2016)
  • Travis Scott & Drake “Sicko Mode” (2018)
  • Sesame Street “Healthy Teeth, Healthy Me” (2012)
  • Shaikra & Wyclef Jean “Hips Don’t Lie” (2006)
  • Shakira & Freshlyground “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” (2010) *
  • Shakira & Rihanna “Can't Remember to Forget You” (2014)
  • Shakira & Carlinhos Brown “La La La (Brazil 2014)” (2014)
  • Shakira & Maluma “Chantaje” (2016) *
  • Shakira & Nicky Jam “Perro Fiel” (2017)
  • Ed Sheeran “Thinking Out Loud” (2014) *
  • Ed Sheeran “Photograph” (2014)
  • Ed Sheeran “Shape of You” (2017) *
  • Ed Sheeran with Beyoncé “Perfect” (2017) *
  • Tiger Shroff with Shraddha Kapoor, Meet Bros, Monali Thakur, & Sabbir Khan “Cham Cham” (2016)
  • Sia with the Weeknd & Diplo “Elastic Heart” (2013)
  • Sia “Chandelier” (2014) *
  • Sia & Sean Paul “Cheap Thrills” (2016)
  • Silento “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” (2015) *
  • Ranveer Singh with Sara Ali Khan, Tanishk Bagchi, Mika Singh, Neha, & Kumar S “Aankh Marey” (2018)
  • Jojo Siwa “Boomerang” (2016)
  • 6ix9ine with Anuel AA “Bebe” (2018)
  • 6ix9ine with Nicki Minaj & Murda Beatz “Fefe” (2018)
  • Skrillex with Diplo & Justin Bieber “Where Are Ü Now” (2015)
  • Sam Smith “I’m Not the Only One” (2014)
  • Sam Smith “Stay with Me” (2014)
  • Sam Smith “Too Good at Goodbyes” (2017)
  • Britney Spears “Baby One More Time” (1998)
  • Stromae “Papaoutai” (2013)
  • Harry Styles “Sign of the Times” (2017)
  • Super Simple Songs “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” (2010) *
  • Super Simple Songs “If You’re Happy and You Know It” (2013)
  • Super Simple Songs “This Is the Way” (2016) *
  • Super Yei with Myke Towers, Myke, Sammy, Lenny Tavarez, Rafa Pabon, & Jone Quest “La Forma En Que Me Miras” (2018)
  • Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” (1982)
  • Sushant with Shraddha, Prtiam, Amitabh B, & Arjit Singh “Khairiyat” (2019)
  • Swedish House Mafia & John Martin “Don't You Worry Child” (2012)
  • Taylor Swift “You Belong with Me” (2008)
  • Taylor Swift “Love Story” (2008)
  • Taylor Swift “Shake It Off” (2014) *
  • Taylor Swft “Blank Space” (2014) *
  • Taylor Swift & Kendrick Lamar “Bad Blood” (2014)
  • Taylor Swift “Look What You Made Me Do” (2017)
  • System of a Down “Chop Suey” (2001)
  • System of a Down “Toxicity” (2001)

T
  • Tainy with Ozuna & Anuel AA “Adicto” (2019)
  • Tainy & J. Balvin “Agua” (2020)
  • Michel Teló “Ai Se Eu Te Pego” (2011)
  • Teluga Rhymes for Children “Chal Chal Gurram” (2016) *
  • Thalia & Maluma “Desde Esa Noche” (2016)
  • Thalia & Natti Natasha “No Me Acuerdo” (2018)
  • Justin Timberlake “Mirrors” (2013)
  • Justin Timberlake “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” (2016)
  • Tones and I “Dance Monkey” (2019) *
  • Toto “Africa” (1982)
  • Tove Lo “Habits (Stay High)” (2013)
  • Myke Towers with Farruko, Arcangel, Sech & Zion “Si Se Da (remix)” (2019)
  • Meghan Trainor “All About That Bass” (2014) *
  • T-Series Bhakti Sagar “Shree Hanuman Chalisa” (2011) *
  • Manuel Turizo “Una Lady Como Tú” (2017)
  • Twenty One Pilots “Stressed Out” (2015) *
  • Twenty One Pilots “Ride” (2015)
  • Twenty One Pilots “Heathens” (2016)
  • Tyga & Offset “Taste” (2018)
  • Bonnie Tyler “Total Eclipse of the Heart” (1983)

U-V
  • Usher with Lil Jon & Ludacris “Yeah!” (2004)
  • The Verve “Bitter Sweet Symphony” (1997)
  • Carlos Vives & Shakira “La Bicicleta” (2016)
  • Carlos Vives & Sebastián Yatra “Robarte un Beso” (2017)

W
  • Alan Walker “Faded” (2015) *
  • Alan Walker “Alone” (2016)
  • Alan Walker “The Spectre” (2017)
  • The Weeknd “Can’t Feel My Face” (2015)
  • The Weeknd “The Hills” (2015)
  • The Weeknd & Daft Punk “Starboy” (2016) *
  • The Weeknd & Daft Punk “I Feel It Coming” (2016)
  • The Weeknd “Blinding Lights” (2019)
  • The Weeknd & Ariana Grande “Save Your Tears” (2020) *
  • Wham! “Last Christmas” (1984)
  • will.i.am & Britney Spears “Scream & Shout” (2012)
  • Willy William “Ego” (2015)
  • Pharrell Williams “Happy” (2013) *
  • Amy Winehouse “Back to Black” (2006)
  • Wisin & Ozuna “Escápate Conmigo” (2017)
  • Wiz Khalifa & Charlie Puth “See You Again” (2015) *
  • Wolfine “Bella” (2017)

X-Y-Z
  • XXXtentacion “Sad!” (2018)
  • XXXtentacion “Moonlight” (2018)
  • Sebastián Yatra “No Hay Nadie Más” (2018)
  • Ylvis “The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)” (2013)
  • Yng Lvcas & Peso Pluma “La Bebé” (2023)
  • Zayn “Pillow Talk” (2016)
  • Zayn & Taylor Swift “I Don't Wanna Live Forever” (2016)
  • Zayn & Sia “Dusk Till Dawn” (2017)
  • Zion & Lennox with J. Balvin “Otra Vez” (2016)

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First posted 11/22/2018; last updated 2/6/2025.

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YouTube: The Top 100 Most Watched Videos of All Time

You Tube:

The Top 100 Most Viewed Music Videos of All Time

YouTube has become the 21st century’s version of MTV; that is, it is the go-to place for music videos. On December 1, 2012, “Gangnam Style” by Psy became the first music video to surpass one billion views. Since then, more than five hundred music videos have passed that mark. You can see a full list of those videos here. This page captures the top 100 videos. The first number indicates the number of views in billions.

Note: if there are multiple versions of a song (such as an official video, a lyric video, or live performances) the numbers have been consolidated into one figure as long as all the versions are the same song by the same performer.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

5 billion +:

1) 15574.81: Pinkfong! “Baby Shark” (2016)
2) 10077.68: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee “Despacito” (2017)
3) 7075.15: Cocomelon “Wheels on the Bus” (2018)
4) 7009.73: LooLoo Kids “Johny Johny Yes Papa” (2016)
5) 6989.56: Cocomelon “Bath Song” (2018)
6) 6555.56: Wiz Khalifa & Charlie Puth “See You Again” (2015)
7) 6407.19: Ed Sheeran “Shape of You” (2017)
8) 6230.00: ChuChu TV “Phonics Songs with Two Words” (2014)
9) 5747.09: Marc Ronson & Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk!” (2014)
10) 5452.00: Psy “Gangnam Style” (2012)

11) 5224.16: Mirosha TV “Learning Colors – Colorful Eggs on a Farm” (2018)
12) 5010.59: Crazy Frog “Axel F” (2005)

4.0 to 4.9 billion:

13) 4952.92: El Chombo “Dame Tu Cosita” (2018)
14) 4889.02: Idina Menzel “Let It Go” (2013)
15) 4807.00: Ed Sheeran with Beyoncé “Perfect” (2017)
16) 4364.72: Cocomelon “Baa Baa Black Sheep” (2018)
17) 4347.95: Jingle Toons “Lakdi Ki Kathi” (2018)
18) 4345.53: T-Series Bhakti Sagar “Shree Hanuman Chalisa” (2011)
19) 4179.95: Maroon 5 “Sugar” (2014)
20) 4151.57: Shakira & Freshlyground “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” (2010)
21) 4116.40: One Republic “Counting Stars” (2013)
22) 4098.58: Kiiddiestv Hindi “Humpty the Train ona Fruits Ride” (2018) 23) 4098.29: Katy Perry “Roar” (2013)

3.0 to 3.9 billion:

24) 3912.73: Maroon 5 with Cardi B “Girls Like You” (2017)
25) 3910.00: Justin Bieber “Sorry” (2015)
26) 3900.66: Katy Perry & Juicy J “Dark Horse” (2013)
27) 3847.15: Ed Sheeran “Thinking Out Loud” (2014)
28) 3773.00: Passenger “Let Her Go” (2012)
29) 3763.32: Alan Walker “Faded” (2015)
30) 3725.08: Major Lazer, DJ Snake & MØ “Lean On” (2015)

31) 3634.28: Enrique Iglesias, Descemer Bueno, & Gente de Zona “Bailando” (2014)
32) 3580.84: Taylor Swft “Blank Space” (2014)
33) 3577.50: Gummibär “The Gummy Bear Song” (2007)
34) 3530.00: Taylor Swift “Shake It Off” (2014)
35) 3444.87: J. Balvin & Willy Williams “Mi Gente” (2017)
36) 3439.98: Lil Nas X with Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road” (2018)
37) 3321.04: Cocomelon “Yes Yes Vegetables Song” (2018)
38) 3314.14: Justin Bieber & Ludacris “Baby” (2010)
39) 3267.94: Charlie Puth & Selena Gomez “We Don’t Talk Anymore” (2016)
40) 3213.13: Galinha Pintadinha “Upa Cavalinho” (2017)

41) 3209.30: CoCoMelon “Yes Yes Playground Song” (2018)
42) 3186.18: Adele “Hello” (2015)
43) 3182.81: Chainsmokers & Halsey “Closer” (2016)
44) 3111.41: Dua Lipa “New Rules” (2017)
45) 3029.14: Clean Bandit, Sean Paul, & Anne-Marie “Rockabye” (2016)
46) 3024.80: Shakira & Maluma “Chantaje” (2016)
47) 3010.51: Twenty One Pilots “Stressed Out” (2015)

2.5 to 2.9 billion:

48) 2966.32: Pedro Capó with Farruko “Calma” (2018)
49) 2949.87: Daddy Yankee with Snow “Con Calma” (2019)
50) 2933.61: Eminem & Rihanna “Love the Way You Lie” (2010)
51) 2933.50: Fifth Harmony & Ty Dolla $ign “Work from Home” (2016)
52) 2930.30: Bounce Patrol “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” (2013)
53) 2917.80: Bruno Mars “The Lazy Song” (2010)
54) 2902.00: Camila Cabello with Young Thug “Havana” (2017)
55) 2831.79: Calvin Harris & Rihanna “This Is What You Came For” (2016)
56) 2825.02: Teluga Rhymes for Children “Chal Chal Gurram” (2016)
57) 2858.00: Tones and I “Dance Monkey” (2019)
58) 2789.05: Sia “Chandelier” (2014)
59) 2770.39: Imagine Dragons “Believer” (2017)
60) 2694.03: Meghan Trainor “All About That Bass” (2014)

61) 2679.22: Natti Natasha with Ozuna “Criminal” (2017)
62) 2651.85: DJ Snake with Selena Gomez, Ozuna, & Cardi B “Taki Taki” (2018)
63) 2625.78: Adele “Rolling in the Deep” (2010)
64) 2582.40: Marshmello “Alone” (2016)
65) 2581.51: Post Malone with Swae Lee “Sunflower” (2018)
66) 2580.26: Christina Perri “A Thousand Years” (2011)
67) 2569.88: The Weeknd & Ariana Grande “Save Your Tears” (2020)
68) 2566.60: BTS “Dynamite” (2020)
69) 2563.32: La Granja de Zenón “El Baile del Sapito” (2017)
70) 2556.20: Rihanna “Diamonds” (2012)

71) 2545.15: The Weeknd & Daft Punk “Starboy” (2016)
72) 2543.21: Magic! “Rude” (2013)
73) 2512.28: La Granja de Zenón “La Vaca Lola” (2016)
74) 2508.10: Becky G with Bad Bunny “Mayores” (2017)
75) 2500.51: Shawn Mendes “Treat You Better” (2016)

2.2 to 2.4 billion:

76) 2493.31: Nio Garcia with Darrell & Casper Magico, Bad Bunny, Nicky Jam, & Ozuna “Te Boté (Remix)” (2018)
77) 2482.68: Jennifer Lopez & Pitbull “On the Floor” (2011)
78) 2471.90: John Legend “All of Me” (2013)
79) 2450.58: LMFAO with Lauren Bennett & GoonRock “Party Rock Anthem” (2011)
80) 2446.02: Pharrell Williams “Happy” (2013)

81) 2446.02: Linkin Park “Numb” (2003)
82) 2422.06: La Granja de Zenón “El Gallo y la Pata” (2014)
83) 2420.95: Super Simple Songs “This Is the Way” (2016)
84) 2418.44: Avicii & Aloe Blacc “Wake Me Up” (2013)
85) 2405.52: Luis Fonsi with Demi Lovato “Échame La Culpa” (2017)
86) 2404.49: Gotye with Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know” (2011)
87) 2397.62: J. Geco “Chicken Song” (2013)
88) 2367.20: Bruno Mars “That’s What I Like” (2016)
89) 2359.81: Ellie Goulding “Love Me Like You Do” (2015)
90) 2359.47: Jhay Cortez with J. Balvin & Bad Bunny “No Me Canoce” (2019)

91) 2350.94: The Chainsmokers with Coldplay “Something Just Like This” (2017)
92) 2328.12: Fifth Harmony & Kid Ink “Worth It” (2015)
93) 2305.43: Silentó “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” (2015)
94) 2285.20: Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj “Side to Side” (2016)
95) 2277.65: 50 Cent “In Da Club” (2002)
96) 2276.92: Super Simple Songs “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” (2010)
97) 2276.64: Adele “Someone Like You” (2011)
98) 2276.10: Nicky Jam with J. Balvin “X (Equis)” (2018)
99) 2271.58: Blackpink “DDU-DU DDU-DU” (2018)
100) 2249.29: Becky G “Sin Pijama” (2018)

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First posted 11/22/2018; last updated 2/6/2025.

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Monday, November 2, 2020

“Baby Shark” becomes the most watched video in YouTube history

Baby Shark

Pinkfong!

Writer(s): public domain (see lyrics here)

Released: June 17, 2016

First Charted: January 12, 2019

Peak: 32 BB, 6 UK, 39 CN, 17 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 11.0 US, 2.4 UK

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 622.19 video, 13,560.85 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

This campfire song dates back to the 20th century. It involves a dance and hand movements which made it a popular campfire song originally. While various entities have copyrighted videos and recordings of the song, the actual song and its characters are believed to be in the public domain. WK A German dance version by Alemuel was popular in 2007. WK

In 2016, the south Korean entertainment company Pinkfong released a version of it recorded by Hope Segoine, a 10-year-old Korean-American singer. GN It became a viral video sensation, surpassing Luis Fonsi’s “Despactio” in November 2020 to become the most-viewed video of all time on YouTube with more than 7 million views. By January 2022, it became the first YouTube video to surpass 10 billion in views. By August 2023, it was past 13 billion views. WK

In 2019, children’s songwriter Jonathan Wright (aka “Johnny Only”) sued Pinkfong, claiming he had the copyright on the song. GN He was a DJ at a kids camp and saw how engaged the campers were when counselors would perform the song with them. He released a version in 2011, five years before Pinkfong. WK A South Korean court ruled that “children’s songs handed down via the oral tradition are not copyrightable.” WK

In July 2019, officials in West Palm Beach, Florida, received criticism for playing “Baby Shark” and a song called “Raining Tacos” on a continuous loop as a way to deter vagrants. WK In October 2020, three Oklahoma prisoner workers were charged with prisoner cruelty for forcing inmates to stand handcuffed and listen to “Baby Shark” for two hours. GN David Prater, the district attorney, argued that it would have added “undue emotional stress on the inmates who were most likely already suffering.” GN

Resources:

First posted 10/30/2023.

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Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” released

Thinking Out Loud

Ed Sheeran

Writer(s): Ed Sheeran, Amy Wadge, Julian Williams (see lyrics here)

Released: September 24, 2014

First Charted: October 25, 2014

Peak: 2 US, 11 DG, 11 RR, 119 AC, 16 A40, 26 AA, 11 UK, 2 CN, 15 AU, 13 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 12.0 US, 3.0 UK, 19.5 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 4.0 radio, 3518.7 video, 2274.38 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

“Thinking Out Loud” was the third single from Sheeran’s second studio album, X (or Multiply). The song took 19 weeks to climb to #1 in the UK WK and went on to become the first single to spend a full year in the UK top 40. WK In the U.S., it peaked at #2 for eight weeks behind “Uptown Funk!” It became the first song to be streamed over 500 million times on Spotify. WK

Sheeran wrote the song with Amy Wadge, a Wales-based singer/songwriter whom Sheeran met when he was seventeen years old. When she visited him in February 2014, he was nearly finished with his album. Sheeran heard her playing guitar and the tune caught his attention. He wrote the song in 20 minutes and then recorded it on his phone. The next day he recorded it in the studio. WK Sheeran later explained he wrote the song about his then-girlfriend Athina Andrelos and about “everlasting love” at “a really, really happy point.” WK It became a popular first-dance wedding number, topping Spotify’s 2017 list of the most popular wedding songs in America. SF

The romantic ballad had blue-eyed soul influences. Sheeran composed the melody on guitar which he considered in the style of Irish musician Van Morrison. WK He told Q magazine, “Everyone always channels Michael Jackson and the Beatles and Bob Dylan…I feel like Van Morrison is a key figure in the music that I make.” SF

Some noted the song had similarities to Marvin Gaye’s 1973 song “Let’s Get It On.” Billboard’s Jason Lipshutz even called it a “sleek update” of the classic. WK The heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote and co-produced “Let’s Get It On,” sued Sheeran for plagiarizing the song. SF The lawsuit was dismissed because the complaint wasn’t served before the deadline of January 20, 2017. SF

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Last updated 7/24/2023.

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Friday, April 26, 2013

The Death Knell Sounds Again: The History of Music Industry Whining

Originally published in my "Aural Fixation" column on PopMatters.com on April 25, 2013. See original post here.

image from tumblr.com

If the Chicken Little music industry pundits are to be believed, the sky is falling. A business which makes billions of dollars a year can’t stop whining about how illegal downloading, streaming, and Internet radio are sending them to the poor house. There’s one problem with their complaints – we’ve been hearing them since the beginning of recorded music history more than a century ago.
I blame Thomas Edison. Thanks to his indefatigable curiosity and perpetual instinct to invent, he steered the world into the dawn of a new age: recorded music history. In 1877, he laid down a recitation of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, and shortly thereafter, we fell down the rabbit hole.

If it weren’t for his voice-recording phonograph, we might not presently be enduring the horrible curse of being able to listen to any music we want anytime, anywhere, and any way we choose. Damn you, Mr. Edison! Look what fury you hath wrought!

Edison ruined the music industry – or at least how the form in which it was known 136 years ago. Before the invention of sound recording, the music business was built on sheet music sales. Once Edison let the cat out of the bag, the big bucks moved to recording music, away from sheet music distribution.

image from heykiki.com

Stuart Banner wrote a piece for Bloomberg.com (“The First Time Tech Ruined the Music Business”, 14 December 2012) stating:

“The music business was in turmoil at the turn of the century. Technological innovation had made songs much easier to copy, and established artists foresaw their sales plummeting. The companies that had once dominated the industry were rapidly losing ground to upstarts who produced new devices for playing music. The established companies urged Congress to tighten up the law to prohibit copying, while the innovators argued that any such change would only harm consumers.”

Here’s the kicker. While this sounds like a modern assessment of the music industry, it actually describes the state of the business in 1900. Record execs haven’t stopped griping since.

So let’s take a look at the current reasons why a multi-billion-dollar industry would have the public belief the whole system is falling apart – and when these supposedly new problems first surfaced.

The music industry can’t survive with competing formats or delivery systems.

We’ve heard for more than a decade how the compact disc is suffering a slow death at the hands of the MP3. Clearly this is a late-20th/early-21st century development, right? Uh, no. Try 19th century.

Edison's phonograph, image from wikipedia.org

Within roughly a decade of Edison’s invention of the phonograph, Emile Berliner thrust his alternative, the gramophone, upon the world in 1888. It relied on a disc instead of a cylinder, thus introducing the first “my format’s better than your format” battle.

Thankfully, the dilemma never reared its ugly head again – except for the introduction of piano rolls (1896), 78 RPM records (1906), 33 1/3 RPM records (1928), the LP (1948), the 7” single (1951), the cassette (1964), the 8-track (1966), the compact disc (1978), MTV (1981), the MP3 (1990), streaming (1995), Napster (1999), Pandora (2000), iTunes (2003), YouTube (2005), and Spotify (2008). If some of these dates sound earlier than you expected, well, let that be a lesson to you. These formats did not storm the industry and decimate them overnight.  (Source: PBS.org (““Chronology: Technology and the Music Industry”, 24 May 2004).

image from rateyourmusic.com

The industry can’t compete with free, or nearly free distribution of music.

Record companies have lobbed their legal heft at Internet radio and streaming services like Pandora and Spotify in the claim that such services are ruining the recording industry. However, radio first “threatened” the music business over 80 years ago.

image from thesociety.org.au

The ‘20s saw the mass-production of commercial radio. Record companies were so terrified of the new medium that they signed their major artists to contracts forbidding them from doing radio work. As we all know, once every household in America had a radio, recorded music went away forever.

image from sheltonstella.files.wordpress.com

Oh, wait. It didn’t. As has happened dozens of times, the music industry adapted – even if it had to get over its initially panicked reaction, first – and transformed radio into a means to promote music sales.

As for the effect of modern-day services like Pandora and Spotify, Hugo Vanessen notes in a Storify.com article (“The Effect of Spotify and Pandora on the Music Industry”, March 2013) that the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said sales actually saw a slight rise in 2012 after 14 years of decline. The article suggests the industry may owe the turn of fortune to Spotify and Pandora. Spotify founder Daniel Ek is quoted in the article as saying, “Old media are always afraid of new media… because when a new media appears on the scene you have to change in order to keep up.” In other words, if the industry would stop panicking and embrace progress, it would be much better off.

No one will buy music if they can listen and share for free.

This brings us to the dumbest move in the music business in recent memory. After Napster hit in 1999, peer-to-peer file sharing exploded. Convinced illegal downloading would bring the industry to its knees, record companies screamed bloody murder and got the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to take on the image-shattering move of suing everyday music fans. After all, if your customer is fleeing from your company, the best way to woo them back is to chase them down with a legal machete and mercilessly (and publicly) flog them, right?

image from news.cnet.com

As far back as the 1890s, the invention of the jukebox meant no one needed to buy music for their home ever again. At the height of its popularity in the ‘50s, the jukebox was a staple at diners and drive-ins. Teens could hang out with friends at the local burger joint and wait for someone else to drop a dime to listen to the latest rock ‘n’ roll chartbuster. Ah, that fateful day when the record companies announced they were closing up shop for good because no one was buying music, anymore.

Oh wait. That didn’t happen? Well, at least not until blank cassettes threatened to destroy the sale of the beloved LP. The record honchos got the 1909 Copyright Statute amended in 1971 so that those horrible teens who swapped albums with friends could be chased down with legal machetes and mercilessly (and publicly) flogged. Wait – is anyone else experiencing déjà vu?

image from theocmd.com

Don’t shed too many tears for those poor record execs. In the ‘80s, they pulled off a major coup: a percentage of the profits from the sale of every blank tape. Once again, they managed to weather the storm.

The availability of individual songs will kill the album.

In 1948, the 12” disc, better known as the LP, was introduced. Within three years, a 7” format – the single – hit the market. The funeral procession for the death of the music industry began immediately.

image from microcosmologist.com

Yeah, yeah. I think you see the pattern by now. The reality was that both formats stuck around for decades and gave customers choices. Of course, with billions of potential bucks to be made, the record company fat cats considered customer choice a negative factor on their bottom lines and set out to destroy the single.

In the ‘80s, blockbuster albums like Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A., and Prince’s Purple Rain generated hit after hit and sent fans to record stores in droves. By the ‘90s, record company execs made a concentrated effort to squash the single, often creating massive radio hits (No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak”, Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris”) which weren’t available as commercially available singles. Fans had no choice but to buy the more expensive album.

The CD Era: Death of the Single,
image from blogs.houstonpress.com

Think of it like this. If you go to the grocery store to buy potatoes, they are available individually or by the bag. In the digital age, the return of customer choice – and the ability to buy one song at a time – sent the music biz into a tizzy because it can no longer sell you a sack of potatoes when you only want one. Let the violins play.

* * *

I won’t deny that record companies have taken a hit in the 21st century. However, for all their finger-pointing, they may be pointing at the wrong culprits. In an ABC.net article (“The real reason why the music industry collapsed”, 25 May 2012), Nick Ross graphs the number of albums sold per person from 1973 to 2009. There’s an obvious spike in the ‘90s to more than five album purchases per person. The number peaked in 1994, so when Napster launched five years later, the numbers were already in decline. Numbers dipped back to pre-‘90s levels of two to four album purchases per person. The record industry didn’t so much tank as return to normalcy. 

Matthew Lasar acknowledges in an arstechnica.com article (“Did file-sharing cause recording industry collapse? Economists say no”, 23 March 2011) that global recorded music sales had dropped to about $15 billion in 2010 after being just shy of $27 billion in 2000. However, he argues, these numbers coincide with a global economic downturn in the ‘00s.

image from arstechnica.net

A graph at Ultimate-Guitar.com (“Why Music Industry Observations Suck”, 1 November 2011) looks at US sales dating back to 1999 up to projected sales for 2014. It suggests that since 2009, sales have practically leveled off to just shy of $6 billion a year.

Wake up, music industry folks. Technology and consumers are constantly evolving. Instead of fighting to derail technological advances in the music industry you are certain will destroy your livelihood. Figure out how to embrace change. Or don’t. It doesn’t matter. Music, and the way it is delivered and heard, will change whether you like it or not. If you want to blame anyone, though, I say it’s that evil Thomas Edison’s fault.

Thomas Edison with - an iPopd?,
image from farm4.staticflickr.com

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Monday, March 18, 2013

Anatomy of a Viral Smash: Bauuer's "Harlem Shake"

Originally published in my "Aural Fixation" column on PopMatters.com on March 18, 2013. See original post here.

image from popmatters.com

So are you ready to gouge out your eyes and slice off your ears if forced to endure one more version of “Harlem Shake”? With 700 million views and counting, someone’s paying attention. The question is: What made it into such a viral smash?

“I love these videos. They’re great.”

“What are they doing?”

“My side is hurting.”

“What? What, what, what?”

“This is horrifying.”

“I think they’re all yucky.”

“It was very weird. It was awkward.”

“I just don’t understand.”

These are a few of the responses captured in the Fine Brothers’ Kids React online series in which the under-18 set is asked for opinions on “Harlem Shake” (10 March 2013).

Anyone who has escaped seeing a dozen or so clips of the song either a) has no connection to the Internet or b) no interaction whatsoever with other human beings. In a viral explosion unheard of since, well, the days of Psy’s “Gangnam Style” mere months ago, the song has become the go-to favorite for office drones needing a 30-second reprieve from cubicle life.

In fact, the workplace is a popular setting for fans to create their silly but simple clips to accompany the irrepressible earworm. For those just returning from long, tech-free sabbaticals, the premise of the homemade videos is that onlookers ignore a sole dancer, generally wardrobed in a helmet or mask, for about 15 seconds before joining in after a jump cut with their own crazy gyrations and costumes.

Exactly how did this sensation start and why did it get so big? According to The Daily Beast’s Marlow Stern, amateur comedian Filthy Frank uploaded the first version to YouTube on February 2 (“Meet Baauer, the Man Behind the Harlem Shake”, 18 February 2013). The satirical blogger, known for performing video skits decked out in a pink body suit, created a clip of himself grooving wildly to the song with three cohorts.

Filthy Frank version

It was quickly replicated by five Australian teens who called themselves Sunny Coast Skate. They created the template of one person dancing while the others ignored him, only to jump into the fray after the beat drops. Kevin Allocca, YouTube’s trend manager, reported that in just over a week about 12,000 “Harlem Shake” videos were posted (“The Harlem Shake Has Exploded”, 12 February 2013). Since then, more than 700 million people around the world have seen one of the 100,000 versions of the song (The Independent, “A brief history of the Harlem Shake”, 3 March 2013).

Sunny Coast Skate version

Among the most popular are renditions from The Simpsons, Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, Playboy Playmates, the Norwegian Army, the University of Georgia swim team, and the Today show. Check out some of them here.  YouTube itself joined in the fun showing its logo dancing before the entire page busts a move (click here, and watch what happens to your screen). 

The explosion has been fueled by Billboard’s recent change in chart methodology. The immediate effect of the magazine’s decision to factor in YouTube plays alongside radio airplay, digital sales, and streaming was the song debuting at #1 on the Hot 100 chart (“Baauer’s ‘Harlem Shake’ Debuts Atop Revamped Hot 100”, 20 February 2013). Of course, the song’s digital sales were shaping up just fine by then as well – “Harlem Shake” was shown the love on Valentine’s Day when it nabbed the top slot on iTunes (TheVerge.com, “How the Harlem Shake went from viral sideshow to global phenomenon”, 18 February 2013). As of the March 23rd issue, the song had held on to the top spot on Billboard for four weeks.

The man behind the song is Harry Bauer Rodrigues. He was born in West Philadelphia, but his dad’s financial consultant job took him to Germany, London, and Connecticut before he went to New York for college. The now-23-year-old DJ/producer got signed last year to PR agency Biz3 who released the song as a free download in June (Billboard, “Movers and Shakers”, 2 March 2013).

Baauer's full version

Success hasn’t come without controversy. The New York Times’ James C. McKinley Jr. reported that “Harlem Shake” features unlicensed samples, including the famous “Do the Harlem Shake” admonition taken from rap group Plastic Little’s 2001 song “Miller Time” and the opening line “Con los terroristas” from Hector “El Father” Delgado’s 2006 single “Maldades.” Both are seeking compensation from Bauuer’s label, Mad Decent Records (“Surprise Hit Was a Shock for Artists Heard on It”, 10 March 2013).

A street interview with Harlem residents elicited strong responses that the dance associated with the song is not the Harlem Shake (“Harlem Reacts to ‘Harlem Shake’ Videos”, 18 February 2013).

Deadspin’s Emma Carmichael said the original dance “is really not much more than a little side-to-side shoulder shimmy” (TheBlaze.com, “If You’ve Been Hearing About the ‘Harlem Shake’ Video Craze, Here’s How It May Have All Started”, 14 February 2013). Here are instructions for the dance:

The New York Times reported that the dance originated in the ‘80s. Albert Leopold Boyce, aka Al B., performed it during streetball games in New York’s Rucker Park. The dance, which is much rawer and fluid than what is showcased in the videos, became known as the Harlem Shake when local teenagers started mimicking it. Specifically, the four-man dance crew Crazy Boyz, who used to hang out at Rucker Park and watch Al B., have been widely credited with taking the dance to the mainstream in the ‘90s (“It’s a Worldwide Dance Craze, but It’s Not the Real Harlem Shake”, 28 February 2013). In a documentary by Kien Quan, he goes so far as to call them the Original Harlem Shakers (26 February 2013).

How did “Harlem Shake” become so huge? In the Kids React series, kids said the videos were funny, easy to make, and made people want to be part of a new thing. StartUpNation.com’s Zeke Camusio says viral hits engage audiences, entertain or educate them, create memorable experiences, and are short and focused (“What Makes Videos Viral”, 2009).

Allocca did a TED talk identifying three reasons a video becomes a viral hit (“Why videos go viral,” November 2011). It takes off when a tastemaker, such as a talk show host or well-known blogger, picks it up. Next, the community participates by passing the video along or putting their own twist on it. Finally, video hits have unexpectedness – something which is unique and gets attention.

In dissecting why Psy’s “Gangnam Style” became the most-watched video in YouTube history with over a billion views, Chicago Tribune’s pop culture columnist Jae-Ha Kim said there was a kind of “freak-show mentality, where people are like, ‘This guy is funny’” (TheBlaze.com, “What the Heck Is This ‘Gangnam Style’ Video Craze You’re Hearing About? We Explain”, 19 September 2012).

In consolidating these criteria, several key elements emerge which explain the immense success of the “Harlem Shake” meme:

  1. The videos are funny and have a bit of freak-show element to them.
  2. They have a surprise element. Even though viewers know there will be an eruption of group dancing at the 15-second mark, they don’t know what to expect in the way of the crowd’s choice of costumes.
  3. Because the videos are short, they can be quickly viewed and passed on to others.
  4. When it starts to take hold with the general public, media stars will latch on to it as well, reporting about it and even mimicking it.
  5. Because of the ease in making the videos, the community actively participates by flooding the market with even more versions.
  6. In the end, whether people are making their own videos, passing them on to others, or just watching them endlessly on their own, they become part of the viral community.

Love Bauuer or hate him for inflicting “Harlem Shake” on the world, he has made a permanent stamp on pop culture. Of course, even if he’d been given this handy-dandy list prior to his song’s dominance, he couldn’t have manufactured such success. There’s an inexplicable X-factor behind unleashing a phenomenon. As one of the pre-teens in the Kids React video said, “I just don’t understand.” That’s okay. No matter how much science and analysis is applied to this phenomenon, I don’t understand, either.

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Friday, December 21, 2012

“Gangnam Style” passed 1 billion views on YouTube

Gangnam Style

Psy

Writer(s): Park Jae-Sang/ Yoo Gun-hyung (see lyrics here)

Released: July 15, 2012

First Charted: September 9, 2012

Peak: 2 US, 10 RR, 16 DG, 16 ST, 32 A40, 11 UK, 17 CN, 16 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 1.38 UK, 13.67 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 5279.33 video, 460.40 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

South Korean singer and rapper Park Jae-sang, better known as Psy, was no stranger to the music scene when “Gangnam Style” took over the world, landing at #1 in more than 30 countries. WK In the U.S., it peaked at #2 for 7 weeks behind Maroon 5’s “One More Night.” Psy had released five albums and 17 singles WK and become a big name in Korea, where his fans had huge expectations about his dancing. Psy told the New York Times he stayed up late about 30 nights to come up with the dance, testing animal-inspired moves with his choreographer before settling on what he called the “invisible horse dance” where he pretends to hold the reins of a horse, spin a lasso, and move his legs in a side-shuffling gallop. WK

Psy’s dance moves in the video became a phenomenon, driving multiple parodies and spawning a dance craze unlike anything seen since “Macarena” in the 1990s. It was so successful that it became the first YouTube video to reach a billion views. WK Deborah Netburn of the Los Angeles Times called it “one of the greatest videos ever to be uploaded to YouTube.” WK MTV’s James Montgomery said the song “is either the track we, as a culture needed right now, or the track we, as a culture, deserved.” WK The Washington Post’s Maura Judkis said Psy “has made an extraordinarily stupid-looking dance move suddenly cool.” WK Psy himself said the point of the dance is “to dress classy and dance cheesy” WK and that for the video the intent was “to be ridiculous as possible.” SF Even NASA weighed in, calling it “a dance-filled music video that has forever entered the hears and minds of millions of people.” WK

About.com’s Bill Lamb praised the song for “spreading smiles and pure fun around the world in record time.” WK He called Psy a “powerfully charismatic…showman.” WK Digital Spy’s Robert Copsey criticized the song for being monotonous and The Guardian’s Paul Lester knocked it as “generic ravey Euro dance with guitars.” WK The Village Voice’s Robert Myers dismissed the song as an “inspired piece of silliness.” WK Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, called the song the greatest cultural masterpiece of 2012. WK

“Gangnam Style” is a Korean phrase referring to a trendy and lavish lifestyle associated with Seoul’s Gangnam District. WK Psy compared the area to Beverly Hills in California. Psy said the video and song mock “the posers and wannabes that put on these airs and say that they are ‘Gangnam Style’ – so this song is actually poking fun at those kinds of people who are trying very hard to be something that they’re not.” WK

Resources:

Last updated 4/1/2024.

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