For many people, YouTube is the easiest way to quickly listen to a song, even though it isn’t specifically a music-focused platform. For example, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s mega-hit “Despacito” has a little over a billion streams on Spotify (nearly 2.4 billion total if you count the Justin Bieber remix), but the song’s music video on YouTube has over 6.5 billion views. With that in mind, it’s worth looking through YouTube’s just-revealed list of the most-viewed music videos of the past decade and seeing which songs came out on top.
Top honors go to “Despacito” (not the one featuring Justin Bieber), which was the most-viewed music video on YouTube of the 2010s. It is also the outright most-viewed video in YouTube history. Right behind in second is Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” video, with 4.5 billion views (the second-most ever on YouTube). Sheeran is also the only artist with more than one entry on the 2010s list, as the videos for “Shape Of You” and “Thinking Out Loud” are both included.
Other songs on the list include Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again,” Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk,” Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” Bieber’s “Sorry,” Maroon 5’s “Sugar,” Katy Perry’s “Roar,” and OneRepublic’s “Counting Stars.”
It is vital to note that these rankings do not include the viral “Baby Shark” video, which was uploaded in 2016 and has over 4.1 billion views. It is the fifth-most-viewed video in YouTube history, and would rank fourth on the list of most-viewed music videos of the 2010s. Also narrowly missing the cut is “Johny Johny Yes Papa,” another kids’ music banger that has racked up 2.4 billion views since being uploaded in October 2016.
Find the full top ten lists of the most-viewed music videos of the 2010s, 2000s, 1990s, and 1980s below.
2010s
1. Luis Fonsi – Despacito ft. Daddy Yankee (6,558,078,465 views)
2. Ed Sheeran – Shape of You [Official Video] (4,517,718,066 views)
3. Wiz Khalifa – See You Again ft. Charlie Puth [Official Video] Furious 7 Soundtrack (4,320,523,808 views)
4. Mark Ronson – Uptown Funk (Official Video) ft. Bruno Mars (3,732,564,526 views)
5. PSY – GANGNAM STYLE(강남스타일) M/V (3,471,161,219 views)
6. Justin Bieber – Sorry (PURPOSE : The Movement) (3,225,301,301 views)
7. Maroon 5 – Sugar (Official Music Video) (3,086,744,534 views)
8. Katy Perry – Roar (Official) (2,968,228,909 views)
9. OneRepublic – Counting Stars (Official Music Video) (2,883,120,697 views)
10. Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud [Official Video] (2,864,887,373 views)
2000s
1. Crazy Frog – Axel F (Official Video) (1,894,959,380 views)
2. Numb (Official Video) – Linkin Park (1,283,779,857 views)
3. Lady Gaga – Bad Romance (Official Music Video) (1,139,998,193 views)
4. Taylor Swift – You Belong With Me (1,012,792,172 views)
5. Beyoncé – Halo (961,272,647 views)
6. Katy Perry – Hot N Cold (Official) (936,937,685 views)
7. Chris Brown – Loyal (Explicit) ft. Lil Wayne, Tyga (936,098,974 views)
8. System Of A Down – Chop Suey! (918,069,015 views)
9. In The End (Official Video) – Linkin Park (892,237,348 views)
10. 50 Cent – In Da Club (Int’l Version) [Official Video] (859,564,859 views)
1990s
1. Guns N’ Roses – November Rain (1,275,474,139 views)
2. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit (Official Music Video) (990,292,925 views)
3. The Cranberries – Zombie (Official Music Video) (976,606,183 views)
4. Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You (883,325,731 views)
5. 4 Non Blondes – What’s Up (Official Video) (780,419,277 views)
6. Scorpions – Wind Of Change (Official Music Video) (732,217,020 views)
7. No Doubt – Don’t Speak (Official Music Video) (718,398,582 views)
8. Backstreet Boys – I Want It That Way (709,804,092 views)
9. Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg – Still D.R.E. (Official Video) (688,413,212 views)
10. Aqua – Barbie Girl (Official Video) (685,104,561 views)
1980s
1. Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine (Official Music Video) (1,026,321,298 views)
2. a-ha – Take On Me (Official Music Video) (966,018,153 views)
3. Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have Fun (Official Video) (797,474,019 views)
4. Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (Official Music Video) (717,041,719 views)
5. The Police – Every Breath You Take (Official Music Video) (716,451,277 views)
6. Europe – The Final Countdown (Official Video) (711,308,154 views)
7. Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse of the Heart (Video) (659,549,359 views)
8. Bon Jovi – Livin’ On A Prayer (635,999,230 views)
9. Michael Jackson – Thriller (Official Video) (635,482,194 views)
10. Rick Astley – Never Gonna Give You Up (Video) (628,591,927 views)
Some artists mentioned are Warner Music artists. .
