Most people receive a few videos sent by friends or shared via things like Facebook or Twitter during the course of the average day, and a lot of us enjoy watching these often bizarre, funny and interesting YouTube films and passing them along. Viral videos tend to come and go very quickly, with things that are being watched and talked about by everyone you know one week forgotten the next, however some viral videos have a special impact and grow beyond a mere distraction and into a popular culture phenomenon.
Here are some of the videos that have been viewed and shared more than any others, and their impact on the world!
Psy – Gangnam Style:
Few people in the west had really thought of listening to Korean pop music, or K-Pop as it tends to be known, until Psy’s satire on Korean class culture and its hilarious video made their way on to the web. Whether it is down the fact the video is kitsch and funny or the catchiness of the tune, people could not stop playing this tune when it was launched in summer 2012, and Psy is now a household name, having appeared on just about every US talk show as well as on commercials for Wonderful Pistachios. It wasn’t just Psy’s stock that rose thanks to the Gangnam Style phenomenon either – interest in K-Pop as a genre has also grown as a result of the song’s popularity. At present, Gangnam Style has had over 1.5 billion views on YouTube.
Justin Bieber – Baby:
There was a time when nobody much had heard of Justin Bieber. Then this song, recorded with Ludacris, came out on YouTube, and stole the heart of a generation of little girls, who went on to talk about him endlessly on Twitter. Bieber is now a fully fledged pop star, but it all began with a viral video. Baby is the second most watched video on YouTube ever following Psy, with over 850 million views.
Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull – On The Floor:
The third most viewed video on YouTube ever is something of a surprise, as the song didn’t gain anywhere near as much publicity or wheedle its way into the zeitgeist to anywhere near the same extent as Bieber or Psy. Dance track On The Floor by Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull has been viewed, at the time of writing, nearly 665 million times.
Eminem ft. Rihanna – Love the Way You Lie:
If you thought that the most viewed videos on YouTube were all things like that kid who’d been to the dentist or evolution of Dance, you’d be wrong – the top four are actually all professionally made music videos with good production values created by proper video production companies. This one even has Megan Fox in it. The video for the Eminem and Rihanna collaboration Love The Way You Lie has had over 555 million views since it was first uploaded back in 2010.
So, there you have it – the most popular viral videos of all time are actually music videos, just like we all used to watch on MTV in the olden days. Perhaps the internet hasn’t changed things that much after all!
Really Cool videos. 🙂