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On June 17, 2016, Korean education brand Pinkfong released their video "Baby Shark Dance", and the rest is history. In January 2021, Baby Shark Dance became the first YouTube video to surpass 10 billion views, after snatching the crown of most-viewed YouTube video of all time from the former record holder "Despacito" one year before. "Baby Shark Dance" currently has over 16 billion lifetime views on YouTube. 

Music videos on YouTube

“Baby Shark Dance” might be the current record-holder in terms of total views, but Korean artist Psy’s “Gangnam Style” video remained in the top spot for the longest time (1,689 days, or 4.6 years) before ceding its spot to its successor. With figures like these, it comes as little surprise that the majority of the most popular videos on YouTube are music videos. Since 2010, all but one of the most-viewed videos on YouTube have been music videos, signifying the platform’s shift in focus from funny, viral videos to professionally produced content. 

Popular video content on YouTube

Music fans are also highly engaged audiences, and it is not uncommon for music videos to garner significant amounts of traffic within the first 24 hours of release. Other popular types of videos that generate lots of views after their first release are movie trailers, especially superhero movies related to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). The first official trailer for the upcoming film “Avengers: Endgame” generated 289 million views within the first 24 hours of release, while the movie trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home generated over 355 views on the first day of release, making it the most viral movie trailer.