YouTube, the world’s largest video sharing platform, celebrated its 20th birthday last month. YouTube was not the world’s first streaming video platform, but its 2005 launch took the streaming paradigm, along with the idea of user-created content, into the mainstream. Its was a technological leap forward that went on to change broadcasting forever.
The first video ever uploaded to YouTube was by one of its co-founders Jawed Karim in 2005. Since then, more than two billion videos have been uploaded to the platform from users across the world. Karim’s video now has more than 357 million views.
TechCentral took a look at which YouTube videos are the most watched worldwide, gleaning some interesting insights about the type of content the world prefers to consume. Hint: it’s the kids who are really in charge.
Read: The most iconic Nokia phones ever made
All the videos featured in the top 10 most watched on YouTube have a musical flavour to them, and not all are even in English, showing just how important music is as a universal language.
Here, then, are the top 10 most watched YouTube videos of all time:
10. Uptown Funk: Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars – 5.5 billion views
Released in 2015, Uptown Funk is lead single on Mark Ronson’s fourth studio album, Uptown Special. With vocals by Bruno Mars, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 14 weeks straight, also winning two Grammys for album of the year and best pop duo performance in 2016.
9. Gangnam Style: Psy – 5.5 billion views
Gangnam Style is a 2012 single by Korean pop sensation Psy. The song is a satirical parody on the flashy, new-money lifestyle of the residents of the Gangnam District in Seoul, South Korea. Despite most of the lyrics being in Korean, the song topped the charts in more than 30 countries, helped by the catchy “donkey dance” in the music video. Gangnam Style was so popular that it broke YouTube’s view counter, which forced the platform to upgrade its system.
8. A for Apple: ChuChu TV Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs – 6.4 billion views
A for Apple is a basic alphabet-learning tune by ChuChu TV. ChuChu TV is a massively popular YouTube channel aimed at young children – mostly toddlers and preschoolers. The channel is known for its bright, colourful and catchy animated nursery rhymes and educational content. The topics covered span across the basics of numbers, letters and colours, to good manners, hygiene and other life lessons.
7. Shape of You: Ed Sheeran – 6.4 billion views
Released in 2017, Shape of You is blend of tropical house and pop and the number one single from Sheeran’s Divide album. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 12 weeks. The song remains Sheeran’s number one selling hit. The video is simple, following Sheeran and his love interest as they help each other train for boxing, with a twist ending where Sheeran ends up in a sumo wrestling match.
6. See You Again: Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth – 6.6 billion views
See You Again was released in March 2015 as a tribute to Fast and the Furious actor Paul Walker, who died in a car accident in 2013. The song was commissioned for the final scene of Furious 7 – a sendoff to Walker’s character, Brian O’Conner. Charlie Puth complements Kalifah’s rapping with a heartfelt chorus.
5. Johny Johny Yes Papa: LooLoo Kids Nursery Rhymes and Songs – 7 billion views
Similar to ChooChoo TV at number 8 above, LooLoo kids is a YouTube channel focused on children’s content, with a strong focus on animated versions of classic nursery rhymes. Johny is the central character in the LooLoo universe and Johny Johny Yes Papa is the most recognisable tune on the channel. LooLoo kids is based in Romania and created by Mora TV.
4. Bath Song: CoComelon Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs – 7 billion views
The top five is dominated by children’s content and CoComelon – also known as the king of kids – is one of the most popular children’s content channel on YouTube. Cocomelon’s content of animations, nursery rhymes and original songs is centred on a baby named JJ and his family. Originally launched as ThatsMeonTV in 2016, the CoComelon rebrand by the Carlifornia-based company took place in 2018.
3. Wheels on the Bus: CoComelon Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs – 7.4 billion
CoComelon has the unique honour of being the only content creator to feature more than once in YouTube’s top 10 most watched videos list. Unlike Bath Song at number four above, which is a CoComelon original, Wheels on the Bus is an animated rendition of a classic nursery rhyme.
2. Despacito: Louis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee – 8.7 billion views
The Despacito music video is the only video in the top five that is not targeted specifically at children. Like Gangnam Style at number nine, Despacito – which means “slowly” in Spanish – has little to no English in the song. Despacito was the first Spanish song after Macarena (1996) to reach the Billboard Hot 100 and was for many years the most-watched video on YouTube until it was overtaken by number one below.
1. Baby Shark Dance: Pinkfong Kids’ Songs and Stories – 15 billion views
With its number of views nearly double that of second placed Despacito, Baby Shark is the undisputed number one most-viewed video on YouTube. The kiddies’ tune kicks off with a slightly less ominous rendition of the bone-chilling Jaws theme that quickly morphs into a retro electro house jam, its simple lyrics introducing the shark family to the audience. Baby Shark’s creator, Pinkfong, is the English-language arm of Korean educational content specialist The Pinkfong Company. Pinkfong released the tune to YouTube in 2016, but its origins as a playful schoolyard chant can be traced to decades earlier. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
Don’t miss:
15 amazing inventions that came out of South Africa