YouTube has emerged as the go-to platform for Music consumption for the last decade, with millions of users streaming their favorite songs and music videos every day. The platform which was launched on Valentine’s Day 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim was bought by Google and is now the second most visited website globally, with Google search in the lead. Since 2010, the platform has witnessed a plethora of music videos reaching staggering numbers of views, becoming viral sensations and cultural phenomenons.

More than 2.5 billion people use YouTube monthly and over one billion hours are recorded daily according to the platforms blog site.

With the launch on YouTube music the platform has paid out over 10 billion dollars between 2020 and 2022 according to the CEO, Lyor Cohen.

In this article, we take a journey through time, highlighting the most streamed music videos on YouTube each year since 2010, showcasing the evolution of music and the power of the digital era.

2010 – “Baby” by Justin Bieber ft. Ludacris

Kicking off the decade, the Canadian sensation Justin Bieber broke records with his infectious pop anthem “Baby.” Released in 2010, this music video earned 425 million views that year and later becoming his first to cross the one billion views mark. It solidified both Ludacris’ and Bieber’s status as a global superstars and marked a new era of viral music videos on YouTube.

(Read more on Justin Bieber selling his catalogue for $200 million )

2011 – “On The Floor” Jennifer Lopez ft. Putbill: 

2011 saw the rise of the party anthem “On The Floor by JLO and Pitbull dominating the airwaves and YouTube. With its catchy beats and energetic choreography, the music video quickly became a viral sensation, embodying the spirit of carefree fun. With a sample of French-Brazilian pop group Kaoma’s Lambada, that year “On The Floor” was viewed 460 million times on YouTube. It has now surpassed 2.1 billion views.

2012 – 2013 “Gangnam Style” by Psy:

No list of most streamed music videos on YouTube would be complete without mentioning “Gangnam Style” by South Korean artist Psy. This eccentric and humorous music video took the world by storm, becoming the first video to reach one billion views on YouTube in a year. Its infectious dance moves and catchy chorus made it a global sensation, transcending language barriers and introducing K-pop to the mainstream. The song went on to be the most streams song on YouTube in 2013 as well with 783,446,910 views that year.

2014 “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry ft. Juicy J:

In 2014, Katy Perry’s empowering anthem “Dark Horse” ft. down south rapper Juicy J dominated the charts and YouTube with 757,330,451 views. Beating tracks like Enrique Iglesias – Bailando ft. Descemer Bueno, Gente De Zona and OneRepublic’s “Counting Stars” for the top spot.

The music video showcased Perry’s evolution as an artist, combining ancient Egyptian aesthetics with modern pop elements, the video captivated viewers and solidified Perry’s status as a visionary artist. It also took Juicy J into pop music territory inspiring other artist to from rap music to take risk with pop sounds “Dark Horse” became a club banger and radio sing along and has since garnered 3.5 billion views on YouTube.

2015 – “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth:

2015 marked a poignant moment as “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth paid tribute to the late actor Paul Walker in the film “Furious 7.” The emotional resonance of the song, combined with the heartfelt visuals and Walker’s legacy, touched the hearts of many, propelling it to become YouTube’s most-streamed music video of the year with 1,303,777,135 views.

2016 – “Sorry” by Justin Bieber: Justin Bieber returned to claim the spotlight in 2016, this time with the dancehall single “Sorry”. An infectious dancehall-pop track that dominated charts and dance floors worldwide. It is one of four RIAA certified Diamond dancehall songs.

Sorry was certified Diamond on March 29, 2021 but Vulture called it “a Caribbean-flavored house beat over which Bieber flexes his best falsetto,” while the LA Times called it an “airy tropical-house banger,” and the RIAA labels it as Pop. However it is a dancehall song plain and simple.

Bieber did not appear in the Sorry music video, which currently the 11th most viewed video on YouTube with 3,626,928,607 views. It is and the 5th fasted to reach 3 billion views in YouTube history.

Parris Goebel and her dance crew, ReQuest took Justin’s place in the video and when asked by Rolling Stone about the origin of her dance movements, Goebel completely failed to acknowledge that she had used well-established Dancehall moves like Gully Creepa, Muscle Wine, and Cow Foot throughout the video’s routine. Goebel also told Cosmopolitan that as far as the moves, she didn’t overthink it. “The word that comes to mind is ‘spontaneous.’ Nothing was planned too much, not even the dancing. It was more like, ‘How do we feel on the spot?’” she said.

After she came under fire from Jamaicans for failing to credit the culture, the New Zealander defended herself on a Facebook post, saying that she had “huge respect and passion for [dancehall]”, according to Stuff.  “I also didn’t expect us to also be judged of the colour of our skin, because to my understanding, dance is one love and I believe it is what brings us together,” she added.

In the HuffPost article “Enjoy Dancehall Sounds, But Don’t Let Enjoyment Be Erasure”, Rasheena Fountain warns that Dancehall’s broad influence on popular music may result in a repeat of the “whitewashing” that happened to other black music genres. “While musical genres should be inclusive, the problem comes when progression and mainstream acceptance comes with erasure of the culture that created the music, lessening the authenticity.”

Bieber has never addressed the allegations of cultural appropriation or given a salute to Jamaica and Dancehall culture for its influence on his music.

The success of Sorry helped to reignite popular music’s interest in Dancehall and several Dancehall-influenced hits followed, including Drake’s Controlla, Rihanna’s Work, Ed Sheeran’s Shape Of You, and Tory Lanez’s LUV.

In an episode of DJ Khaled’s First One Podcast on Amazon Music, Bieber was asked whether he was directly inspired by Dancehall and Reggae in the making of Sorry. Khaled, in the interview, said that “the record ‘Sorry’ has that Dancehall feel, I love Jamaica, I love Reggae, I love Dancehall music, there wouldn’t be no DJ Khaled if Khaled didn’t break out of Dancehall, it’s part of my story and who I am.”

After which, he asked Justin, “what inspired you to make that record, are you inspired by Reggae music, Dancehall music?”

Justin further explained why he dabbled in other cultures, “When you put on that type of music if you are sad it uplifts your spirit and makes you feel good…I want to make music for the world, and for all ethnicities…(I want to make) music that uplifts your spirit and makes you feel good.”

2017 – “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee:

2017 witnessed the unstoppable reign of “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee as the video surpassed all previous yearly streaming records with 4,618,196,414 views. This Latin-infused mega hit which is currently the subject of a multi-million dollar lawsuit filed by dancehall producers Steely and Clevie shattered records, becoming the first video to surpass four billion views on YouTube. Its reggaeton vibes, infectious rhythm, and bilingual lyrics captivated listeners worldwide, showcasing the power of cross-cultural music collaborations.

Despacito is still the most viewed song on YouTube surpassing 8.1 billion views as of June 2023.

2018 – “Girls Like You” Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B

Cardi B had three songs in the top twenty most streamed music videos on YouTube in 2018: “I Like it” with Bad Bunny and Ozuna and she was featured on “Taki Taki” by DJ Snake featuring Selena Gomez and Ozuna. However, her top video of the year was her feature on the guitar heavy “Girls Like You” by Maroon 5. The collaboration became an instant hit although much of the video was shot in a simple studio with members of Maroon 5 playing a music session with girls dancing lip syncing . The David Dobkin video also featured cameos from Elen Degenreous, Jennifer Lopez, Tifanny Haddish, Camilla Cabello, Mary J Blige, Rota Ora, YouTube Lilly Singh and other female activist.

The video also doubled as a activist campaign with several slogans on T-Shirts. New York State Youth Leadership Council  member Angy Rivera wears a “Undocumented Unafraid Unapologetic” T-Shirt. Aly Raisman, US Olympic gymnast wore a T-shirt with the phrase “Always Speak Your Truth”. Jackie Fielder, founder of indigenous-led San Francisco Defund DAPL Coalition, wore a T-shirt with the words “Divest, Water is Life.”

2019 – “Con Calma” – Daddy Yankee and Snow

Con Calma samples Snow’s 1993 hit Infomer for an updated reggaeton version and it worked, clocking 1,654,819,842 views on 2019 alone. Now with total views: 2,682,183,137 the most views Con Calma gets in a day was 12,142,267 on March 23, 2029, exactly two months afters its release. The Marlon Peña directed music video was filmed in Los Angeles and Toronto where Snow is from and which features a Memoji of Daddy Yankee.

That song is certified 41x Latin Platinum by the Recording Industry Association Of America for selling more than 2.46 million units.

2020 – “Life Is Good” Future ft. Drake

Rap superstars Future and Drake are powerful forces in the music industry by themselves but together they are a unstoppable. Amidst the challenges of the global pandemic, “Life Is Good” released January 10, 2020 managed to stream more than 1,428,596,944 times on YouTube that year as fans saw the need for positive vibes more important than the global media blitz of a global crisis. The vibrant Director X music video, shot on location in December 2019 saw Drake and Future playing roles as everyday workers at garage, garbage truck, Apple Store, fast food severs and chefs, as they sing hardcore raps about spending millions of dollars and being “turnt up” . choreography, captured the hearts of fans globally, breaking records and dominating YouTube.

2021 -Lut Gaye (Full Song) Emraan Hashmi, Yukti | Jubin N, Tanishk B, Manoj M | Bhushan K | Radhika-Vinay

Romantic ballads set to the backdrop of traditional Indian music has become popular on YouTube and in 2021, Gulshan Kumar & T-Series presented Bhushan Kumar’s Lut Gaye; a romantic ballad composed by Tanishk Bagchi, penned by Manoj Muntashir and sung by Jubin Nautiyal featuring Emraan Hashmi, and Yukti Thareja. The Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru directed music video surpassed 1,080,291,177 in 2021 to take the to spot globally. It was the first time an Indian music video topped the chart. It is the 34th fastest video to surpass 1 billion views and the 8th highest streamed video by an Indian artist.

2022- श्री हनुमान चालीसा | Shree Hanuman Chalisa Original Video | | GULSHAN KUMAR | HARIHARAN

Last year more traditional Indian music made breakthroughs on YouTube although they didn’t become popular in western culture. The video for श्री हनुमान चालीसा which is a traditional Indian chant surpassed 703,892,794 views in 2022. The premise is that “Those who Chant Hanuman Chalisa Regularly with full devotion will definitely have very good Health & Wealth. Chanting the Hanuman Chalisa will relieve any kind of illness or adversity and bring Prosperity in one’s life.” Released on the T-Series Album Shree Hanuman Chalisa – Hanuman Ashtak, singer  Hariharan’s melodious voice repeats in praises and salutations infront of an Indian idol. The prosperity praise video is directed by Shambhu Gopal Doha has so far earned 3,212,913,638 YouTube views,.

2023- ?

So far this year Karol G and Shakira’s TQG (Te Quedó Grande) is the most viewed video on YouTube with more than 500 million views. Its the music video for the fifth single from Karol G’ fourth studio album Mañana Será Bonito (Tomorrow Will Be Pretty). With six months to go in the year, the music video is expected to hit 600,000,000 views on YouTube on June 15, 2023.