If the spat between YouTube and indie labels worldwide didn’t tip you off to the Google-owned video streaming site’s commercial leanings, then the rankings of the year’s most watched music videos certainly will.
Having passed 2014’s half-way mark, YouTube has released figures for the Top 10 most played videos on the hugely popular site so far this year.
As you might expect, pop music still takes the lion’s share of viewers on YouTube but there’s some other interesting things we can infer from the rankings – such as the influence the Brazil World Cup had, as well as the dominance of Spanish and Latin American music fans.
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Reigning at the #1 spot is Katy Perry for her single ‘Dark Horse’. The video, which stars the US pop singer as a colourful, super-powered version of Cleopatra, has reached nearly 500 million views since it was first uploaded in February.
Its view tally was no doubt boosted by the controversy stirred after the clip was labelled blasphemous by members in the Muslim community, as The Guardian reports, starting a petition to ban the video for its use of a pendant reportedly inscribed with the word Allah.
Colombian superstar Shakira comes in at both #2 and #3 on YouTube’s most watched list (“Shakira, Shakira!”). Her Rihanna-featuring single ‘Can’t Remember To Forget You’ has racked up just over 360 million views, while ‘La La La (Brazil 2014)’ – Shakira’s unofficial World Cup anthem – earned just over 267 million views.
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As well as her YouTube dominance, Shakira’s global popularity was cemented earlier this month when she became the most ‘Liked’ person on Facebook, reaching over 100 million followers; her momentum again cresting the wave of World Cup fever (one image reaching over 3.7 million ‘likes’ alone).
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Back on YouTube’s Top 10, The Official 2014 FIFA World Cup Song – ‘We Are One (Ole Ola)’ by Pitbull – was the fourth most watched clip of the year, while Enrique Iglesias rounded out the Top 5 with ‘Bailando (Español) ft. Descemer Bueno, Gente De Zona’, appearing again at #10, with ‘El Perdedor ft. Marco Antonio Solís.’
Australia also got a cut of the YouTube viewing action, with ‘our biggest hip hop export’ Iggy Azalea landing at #7 with her Beatles-equating hit ‘Fancy’, now at over 180 million views. The Mullumbimby-born, US-based Azalea was sandwiched between ‘#SELFIE’ (by American DJ duo The Chainsmokers, at #6 ) and ‘Let It Go’, the biggest tune from Disney’s Frozen soundtrack (the second best selling album of 2014).
The real staggering statistic, is that the combined views of all 10 videos only just trumps PSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’, which earlier this year became the first ever YouTube video to crack 2 billion views (and counting).
You can view the full Top 10, as well as playlist of all the clips, below.
YouTube’s Most Played Music Videos Of 2014 So Far
1. Katy Perry, “Dark Horse ft. Juicy J”
2. Shakira, “Can’t Remember to Forget You ft. Rihanna”
3. Shakira, “La La La (Brazil 2014) ft. Carlinhos Brown”
4. “We Are One (Ole Ola) [The Official 2014 FIFA World Cup Song] (Olodum Mix)”
5. Enrique Iglesias, “Bailando (Español) ft. Descemer Bueno, Gente De Zona”
6. The Chainsmokers, “#SELFIE”
7. Iggy Azalea, “Fancy ft. Charli XCX”
8. Frozen Soundtrack, “Let It Go”
9. Jason Derulo, “Wiggle ft. Snoop Dogg”
10. Enrique Iglesias, “El Perdedor ft. Marco Antonio Solís”
