List of most-viewed YouTube videos

An early metric of a video's popularity was the so-called Billion View Club, videos which had succeeded in reaching over 1 billion views since their initial upload.[2]

In December 2012, "Gangnam Style" became the first video to reach one billion views.[3] By June 2015, only "Baby" had also managed to pass this threshold, but, by October 2015, a total of ten videos had done so,[2] and the number grew further to 100 in February 2018.[4] Considering older videos that pre-dated YouTube's creation in 2005 but were added later:

• "November Rain" by Guns N' Roses became the first video made prior to YouTube's creation to reach this threshold by July 2018.[5]
• "Numb" by Linkin Park was the first 2000s video predating YouTube to reach 1 billion views in November 2018.[6]
• "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen was the first 1970s video (and pre-1990s video) to reach 1 billion views in July 2019.[7]
• Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine" was the first 1980s video to reach 1 billion views in October 2019.[8]

With numerous videos readily clearing one billion views by 2018, more interest has been on two and three-billion views and higher metrics. In May 2014 "Gangnam Style" became the first video to exceed two billion views.[9] "Despacito" became the first video to reach three billion views in August 2017,[10] four billion in October 2017,[11] five billion in April 2018,[12] six billion in February 2019[13] and seven billion in October 2020.[14]

As of November 2020, sixteen videos have exceeded three billion views, seven of which exceed four billion views, three of which exceed five billion views, two of which exceed six and seven billion views. "See You Again" became the second video to reach three billion views in August 2017,[15] followed by "Gangnam Style" in November 2017.[16] "Shape of You" became the second video to reach four billion views in January 2019,[17] followed by "See You Again" in February 2019.[18] "Baby Shark Dance" became the second video to reach five billion views in April 2020,[19] followed by "Shape of You" in October 2020. "Baby Shark Dance" became the second video to reach six billion views in July 2020.

As of October 2020, the fastest videos to reach one billion views are "Hello" (87 days), "Despacito" (96 days) and "Shape of You" (97 days);[20] the fastest videos to reach two billion views are "Despacito" (154 days), "Shape of You" (187 days) and "Girls Like You" (293 days);[21] the fastest videos to reach three billion views are "Despacito" (203 days) and "Shape of You" (342 days);[22] the fastest videos to reach four billion views are "Despacito" (271 days) and "Shape of You" (708 days).[23]

The majority of these videos in the Billion View Club have been commercial music videos by popular artists, but the list has included oddities, typically programs aimed at children. Such videos include two episodes of the Russian animated cartoon Masha and the Bear, a version of "The Wheels on the Bus" by the British animation studio Little Baby Bum, and "Johny Johny Yes Papa" from Indian children's stations LooLoo Kids and ChuChu TV.[24] Various versions of the song "Baby Shark" in total amassed more than five billion views by January 2019, with the original version posted by Pinkfong having exceeded two billion views previously.[25] The original video by Pinkfong is now the most viewed video on the site. On October 29, 2020, Baby Shark surpassed 7 billion views, and on November 2, it passed Despacito to become the most viewed video on YouTube.

The following table lists the top 30 most-viewed videos on YouTube, with each total rounded to the nearest 10 million views, uploader and upload date.[upper-alpha 1]

The following table lists the current top 5 most viewed YouTube videos uploaded in each year, with each total rounded to the nearest 10 million views, uploader and upload date.[upper-alpha 10]

Ed Sheeran has the most appearances on the list with three. icanrockyourworld (2007), Linkin Park (2007), Queen (2008), Guns N' Roses (2009), Ed Sheeran (2017) and Cocomelon – Nursery Rhymes (2018) have two videos in the top 5 of a single year, with the English and Spanish versions of Gummibär's The Gummy Bear Song being in the top five videos of 2007.

The following table lists the videos that became YouTube's most-viewed video, from April 2005 to the present.

* The approximate number of views each video had when it became YouTube's most-viewed video.

Timeline of most viewed videos (Oct 2005 – Nov 2020)

No. 1 most viewed video (Oct 2005 – Jun 2006)

No. 1 most viewed video (Apr 2006 – Jan 2010)

No. 1 most viewed video (Oct 2009 – Jan 2013)

No. 1 most viewed video (Jan 2012 – Oct 2020)