On 15 July 2006, YouTube was little more than an ambitious video-sharing website. Twenty years later, it has become the world’s biggest music video platforms, capable of turning songs into global phenomena that transcend language, geography and traditional record industry boundaries. One milestone, more than any other, has come to define that success: one billion views.
The Billion Views Club is YouTube’s unofficial hall of fame. It recognises videos that have surpassed one billion views since they were uploaded, a figure that once seemed impossible but has since become one of music’s most coveted achievements. As of July 2026, hundreds of music videos have crossed the threshold, with a select group pushing beyond four, five and even eight billion views.
What began with one Korean pop sensation has become a global scoreboard for modern music.
How one billion became the industry’s new gold standard
For decades, artists measured success through record sales, radio airplay and chart positions. YouTube fundamentally altered that landscape by providing a single global platform where every play could be counted in real time.
When PSY’s Gangnam Style became the first YouTube video to reach one billion views in December 2012, the achievement was unprecedented. The video’s popularity grew so quickly that YouTube famously had to update its view counter after approaching the limits of a 32-bit integer.
For almost three years, Gangnam Style and Justin Bieber‘s Baby remained the only members of the Billion Views Club. By October 2015 there were ten. By 2024 there were more than 400. The club has continued to grow rapidly ever since, reflecting both YouTube’s global reach and the dominance of streaming as music’s primary discovery platform.
Today, reaching one billion views remains exceptionally difficult. It demands worldwide appeal, remarkable longevity and the ability to attract repeated viewing across multiple generations.
The all-time most viewed music videos
While rankings continue to evolve almost daily, several videos have established themselves as YouTube’s undisputed heavyweights.
| Rank | Video | Approximate views (July 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee – Despacito | 9.07 billion |
| 2 | Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth – See You Again | 7.03 billion |
| 3 | Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You | 6.76 billion |
| 4 | Crazy Frog – Axel F | 6.03 billion |
| 5 | PSY – Gangnam Style | 5.99 billion |
| 6 | Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk | 5.85 billion |
| 7 | El Chombo – Dame Tu Cosita | 5.54 billion |
| 8 | Shakira – Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) | 4.64 billion |
| 9 | OneRepublic – Counting Stars | 4.46 billion |
| 10 | Maroon 5 – Sugar | 4.40 billion |
What is perhaps most striking is the diversity. English-language pop certainly dominates, but Latin music, K-pop, dance music, novelty records and FIFA anthems all feature prominently, demonstrating that YouTube rewards worldwide cultural impact rather than traditional industry expectations.
Baby Shark rewrote every record
No discussion of YouTube milestones is complete without Baby Shark Dance.
The children’s song overtook Despacito as YouTube’s most viewed video in November 2020 and has continued extending its remarkable lead ever since. By June 2026 it had accumulated more than 17 billion views, becoming the first video to pass eight, nine and ten billion views before continuing into entirely uncharted territory.
Its success illustrates something unique about YouTube. Repeat viewing by young children transformed what might otherwise have been a novelty song into the most watched video in internet history.
The fastest videos to reach one billion views
Some songs spend years building an audience while others become global events almost overnight.
The quickest music videos to reach one billion views are:
| Rank | Video | Days |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adele – Hello | 87.4 |
| 2 | Luis Fonsi – Despacito | 96.5 |
| 3 | Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You | 97.4 |
| 4 | J Balvin & Willy William – Mi Gente | 102.7 |
| 5 | ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – APT. | 105.0 |
These numbers underline how dramatically music consumption has accelerated. A generation ago, selling one million physical copies in three months was extraordinary. Today, the world’s biggest releases can attract a billion plays in little over three months.
Historic milestones that shaped YouTube
The Billion Views Club is full of significant firsts.
Gangnam Style became the first video to reach one billion views in December 2012 before becoming the first to reach two billion in May 2014.
Despacito then rewrote expectations entirely, becoming the first video to reach three, four, five, six and seven billion views.
Several classic songs have also found entirely new audiences decades after their original release.
- November Rain became the first pre-YouTube music video to surpass one billion views in July 2018.
- Linkin Park’s Numb became the first music video from the 2000s, released before YouTube existed, to join the club in November 2018.
- Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody became the first song from the 1970s to pass one billion views in July 2019.
- Guns N’ Roses’ Sweet Child O’ Mine became the first video from the 1980s to achieve the milestone in October 2019.
- The Cranberries’ Zombie became the first female-fronted pre-2005 music video to surpass one billion views in April 2020.
- Madonna‘s La Isla Bonita reached one billion views in April 2025, giving her first entry into the Billion Views Club.
Latin music changed the rules
Perhaps the biggest story behind the Billion Views Club is the extraordinary rise of Latin music.
Despacito, Mi Gente, Bailando, Con Calma, China, Te Boté Remix, Ay Vamos, Chantaje, Calma and numerous others proved that English is no longer a prerequisite for worldwide commercial success.
Artists such as Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Bad Bunny, Karol G, Ozuna, Nicky Jam and Shakira have built audiences measured in billions without relying primarily on English-speaking markets.
More than just numbers
View counts alone cannot measure artistic quality, but they do provide an extraordinary snapshot of cultural reach.
The Billion Views Club reflects changing listening habits, the rise of smartphones, global internet access and a generation that increasingly discovers music through algorithms rather than radio playlists.
Rather than replacing traditional charts, YouTube has created another way of measuring cultural impact. One billion views has become the digital equivalent of a diamond record.
Membership of the Billion Views Club remains one of the clearest indicators that a song has become part of global popular culture.
Information correct at the time of publishing: 28 July 2026. YouTube view counts and rankings change continuously.
