Money and cultureViews when it took the record
Most-viewed YouTube video
7,046,700,000 views
- Record holder
- "Baby Shark Dance"
- Date
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How the record evolved
The last record set in each decade, up to the current record (highlighted).
| Year | Record | Holder |
|---|---|---|
| 7,046,700,000 views | "Baby Shark Dance" | |
| 2,993,700,000 views | "Despacito" | |
| 128,900,000 views | "Charlie Bit My Finger" |
What to remember
On November 2, 2020, a children's song overtook every music video on YouTube. "Baby Shark Dance", posted on June 17, 2016 by South Korean studio Pinkfong, had 7,046,700,000 views at that point, enough to become YouTube's most-viewed video. It got there 1600 days after upload.
The song itself is much older, going back to the late 20th century, and comes with a dance made of hand movements. Pinkfong's version went viral on social media, in online videos and on the radio. In January 2022 it became the first YouTube video to reach 10 billion views.
The record's history shows how fast the numbers grew. In 2009 the amateur clip "Charlie Bit My Finger" led with 128,900,000 views; in 2017 "Despacito" stood at 2,993,700,000. From the 2009 record to the 2020 one, the ratio is 54.67. Amateur clips gradually gave way to professional music: since Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" in April 2010, every video to reach the top has been a music video.
Related records
Sources and licences
- Value, holder and date: Wikipedia article “List of most-viewed YouTube videos” (revision used 1379157802). Data from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo: NOAA Photo Library, Photo licensed under CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
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