May 21, 2010

Most Watched YouTube Videos

By:

Hostway Team

By CC Pearce

With millions of users, seemingly infinite content, and a blend of professional and amateur video, it's no wonder why YouTube has become the phenomenon that it is. From mega-studio music videos to silly stunts on webcams, YouTube has hosted a plethora of viral videos. When you look at the most watched videos, it's clear that people visit YouTube to be entertained. As an owner, consider how you might make an entertaining video to draw attention to your business.

The most watched video of all time has only recently come into popularity. Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" music video with nearly 200 million views. This catapults her into the YouTube Hall of Fame and has escalated her music career to superstardom on an international level.

If you watch YouTube videos regularly, it would be hard to miss the classic "Charlie Bit My Finger" which has generated over 180 million views and has been remixed and satired ad infinitum. Two cute British brothers in diapers play as we witness the range of emotions that overtake small children.

Judson Laipply is not a household name, but chances are you've seen his five-minute performance to a 20th-century medley of music "The Evolution of Dance." Laipply reminds us of all the funky dance grooves we've experienced and expertly demonstrates each one as he dances through time.

Next up is Miley Cyrus and her "7 Things" music video followed by Pitbull's "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)."

We must also remember the first YouTube video of all time which is not one of the most viewed - although 2 million views is nothing to sneeze at - but launched the very idea of sharing video experiences in a public way. Without this video, there may not exist a concept of "viral video."

While many YouTubers may not see hundreds of millions of views on each video, many have accumulated enormous fan bases that subscribe to watch all the videos that a YouTuber puts out. Nigahiga, for example, is now the most subscribed channel of all time. With more than 2.1 million subscribers and new videos every week or so, he has generated 315 million views.

Other YouTube stars with similar success include Fred, Shane Dawson, and Smosh. With YouTube continuing to grow and more people spending greater time watching videos on the Internet, we will likely continue to see more and more people achieve celebrity status from their Web-based platform.

As new generations of independent filmmakers merge with big-budget productions and quick clips uploaded directly from their iPhones, there is no telling what the next big YouTube video will be. But we do know the audience is growing, and the records of the current videos are made to be broken.

About the Author

CC Pearce is a producer for the YouTube channel The Outside Joke. He is also a post-production coordinator at Michael Eisner's new media firm Tornante.

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