Everyone on YouTube wants to buy YouTube views, or at least get more of them organically. “Wap,” a Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion single, has received more than 155 million YouTube views in just three weeks. This must be because of the indefinitely quotable lyrics of the track and the attention-grabbing and eye-popping visual of the music video. This rap video was able to invade pop culture. In addition, there is no doubt that the single will eventually make it to the list of the most viewed YouTube music videos of all time.
Ever since its inception in 2005, YouTube has witnessed a lot of rap videos reach the one billion-view milestone. Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again” featuring Charlie Puth, and Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna is only two of the music videos that sit near the top of the list.
Today, we are going to check out the rap videos that already made it to the said list.
Most Viewed YouTube Music Videos of All Time
8. Rawr – Katy Perry (3.2 billion views)
For a fact, there is not a single music enthusiast who has not seen Roar’s music video. Who was not thrilled seeing Katy Perry in her jungle along with wild animals?
Katy Perry released Roar as the lead single for her Prism album in 2013. The track’s lyrics focused on self-empowerment and became a huge success not long after. In addition to that, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified Roar as Diamond. This made Katy the very first artist who had three Diamond Awards.
Roar reached its one billion view milestone in July 2015. For this reason, Katy became the first singer who had two music videos reaching that milestone. Who knows how many views were purchased for this song alone!
7. Sugar – Maroon 5 (3.3 billion views)
Released on January 13, 2015, as a single, Sugar is a part of Maroon 5’s fifth album entitled “V.”
The track was able to get the second spot on the US Billboard 100. Maroon 5 worked with the well-known film director David Dobkin on the music video. Dobkin directed the movie called Wedding Crashers, which eventually became the inspiration of the music video.
In Sugar’s music video, Maroon 5 crashed weddings across Los Angeles. However, contrary to other people’s assumption that it was scripted, the video was not staged. Maroon 5 crashed weddings. However, the grooms were told before their weddings that an unnamed but very famous band would play at their weddings.
The surprise turned out well, and the fans loved the concept. For this reason, the music video garnered over three billion views.
6. Sorry – Justin Bieber (3.33 billion views)
Sorry is a part of Justin Bieber’s studio album Purpose. The single was released on October 23, 2015, and not long after, it topped the charts in 13 countries. On top of that, the song itself sold 10 million copies worldwide in 2016.
The music video for Sorry was a music video shot in New Zealand. It also features New Zealand dancer ReQuest Dance Crew. Besides, the choreographer Parris Goebel also came from New Zealand.
Sorry became the fastest video to reach a billion views. Also, it was the fourth fastest to get the two billion view milestone.
5. Gangnam Style – Psy (3.8 billion views)
Gangnam Style was not expected to become a mega-hit. Yet, it set records on YouTube that some people think would never be reached by anyone.
Psy uploaded the music video in his own official YouTube account on July 15, 2012. On November 24th of the same year, Gangnam Style stole Justin Beiber’s record and sat on the number one spot for a solid 1,689 days. It was also the first video to receive one billion views on YouTube in December 2012, two billion views in June 2015, and three billion views in January 2018. If this artist bought YouTube views on this video, it ended up saving his family’s company indirectly as well.
4. UpTown Funk – Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars (3.9 billion views)
Mark Ronson released the single “UpTown Funk” on November 10, 2014. It sat on the top spot on the US Billboard 100 for 14 consecutive weeks. Also, it won two Grammy awards, including the Record of the Year award.
3. See You Again – Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth (4.7 billion views)
This is the song that finally stole the reign of Gangnam Style. The main reason for its success is it was written as a tribute for the late actor Paul Walker, who was a fan favorite in the movie Fast & Furious.
See You Again held the record for the most-streamed song in just one day on Spotify in the US. Further, it has the record for the most number of streamers in a week for both worldwide and the UK. On top of that, the track was the best selling song in the world in the year 2015.
2. Shape of You – Ed Sheeran (4.9 billion views)
Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You sat on the number one spot on the singles charts of 44 countries. In 2017, it also topped the Year-End Hot 100 Singles. Additionally, Shape of You was nominated at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards as the Best Pop Solo Performance.
Ed and his team uploaded the track’s official music video on YouTube on January 30, 2017. Ninety-seven days after its release, it reached one billion views on May 8, 2017. It stole the fastest videos to get one billion views milestone from Psy’s Gangnam Style.
1. Despacito – Luis Fonti ft. Daddy Yankee (6.9 billion views)
There was a time when no one ever thought that a music video could overtake Gangnam Style. However, Despacito proved them wrong.
The song topped the music charts in 47 countries. Furthermore, it entered the Top 10 in 10 other countries. For the first time in 20 years, Despacito was the first Spanish song to top the Billboard 100.
Furthermore, Despacito was the first YouTube video ever to reach the milestones of both three and four billion views.