From humble beginnings to viral sensations, join us as we explore the most influential uploads that shaped online video culture! These groundbreaking clips didn't just get views - they created trends, launched careers, and forever changed how we share content online. Which iconic video defined YouTube for you? Our countdown includes viral hits like "Charlie Bit My Finger," "Gangnam Style," "Evolution of Dance," plus groundbreaking moments that transformed online entertainment. From cute kids to music phenomenons, these videos made history!
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the YouTube
00:11videos that were viral hits, shattered records, and or help shape trends on the
00:15platform. Number 20, Me at the Zoo, Javed Kareem. Everything great has to start
00:27somewhere. This video features Javed Kareem at the San Diego Zoo, describing what's cool about
00:32elephants, their really long trunks apparently, for less than 20 seconds. It may not seem like
00:47anything special, but as the very first video uploaded to YouTube, Me at the Zoo set the stage
00:51for everything that came after it. In the wake of this clip, other users soon began uploading their
00:56own miniature home movies for the whole world to see. And that's pretty much all there is to say.
01:03Number 19, Lonely Girl 15 Series, Lonely Girl 15.
01:07It was kind of drab, and I watched it again, you know, hmm, whatever, so I have my fabulous boa.
01:17The short-form video format of YouTube effectively created a new method for storytelling. Although
01:22several creators slash creations became wildly popular through ongoing videos in the early days,
01:26like Fred, our pick goes to Lonely Girl 15. Initially presented as a vlog series following
01:31the daily life of a girl named Brie Avery, the video soon developed into a bizarre sci-fi thriller
01:36surrounding Brie's strange heritage and her parents' religion.
01:39The Order found us. I don't know how the hell it happened. My guess would be that she called
01:43him when she escaped. We tried to get away from him, drove all around. Ended up in this deserted area
01:48because we couldn't lose him, so we pulled over. While eventually exposed as a scripted series,
01:52with Brie played by actress Jessica Lee Rose, Lonely Girl 15 helped launch not only the popularity
01:57of vlogs on YouTube, but also that of web series on the platform.
02:01Brie!
02:02Brie!
02:03Hey!
02:04Hey!
02:05Open the door! Open their door!
02:06Hey! Get out of the car!
02:07Hey!
02:08Brie!
02:09Brie!
02:10Brie!
02:11Brie!
02:12Brie!
02:13Brie!
02:14Brie!
02:15Brie!
02:16Brie!
02:17Brie!
02:18Dude, get to the car! Do you have the keys?
02:19Get in the car!
02:20Number 18.
02:21Friday.
02:22Rebecca Black.
02:23Friday. Gotta get down on Friday.
02:26Something doesn't always have to be good to be a hit. An awkward music video to a song
02:30performed by then-high schooler Rebecca Black, Friday received quite a bit of hate upon its
02:34release. There were dislikes galore, parody videos, and YouTube comments usual amount of... tact.
02:40Partying, partying.
02:42Yes!
02:43Partying, partying!
02:44Yeah!
02:45Fun, fun, fun, fun!
02:47Looking forward to the weekend.
02:50And honestly, given its inane lyrics, frequent use of autotune,
02:53and the weird rap section, it's hard not to mock Friday.
02:56Whether you consider it famous or infamous,
02:58Friday became a major milestone in YouTube history,
03:01if only for popularizing hate watching and ironic enjoyment.
03:12Number 17.
03:13Keyboard Cat.
03:14Keyboard Cat.
03:15YouTube isn't just an opportunity to deliver new content. It has also seen plenty of videos
03:26from old formats uploaded to it, and this one took on a life of its own. Originally filmed in 1984,
03:32this short video was made by Charlie Schmidt of his cat, Fatso. Dressed in a dapper shade of blue,
03:38Fatso, controlled by Schmidt off-screen, appears to play the keyboard.
03:48Along with being popular in its own right, Keyboard Cat has also been included in other videos to play
03:53someone off after a mistake, like in old vaudeville routines. The internet loves cats and strange
03:58musical interludes, so it's no surprise this became one of YouTube's earliest memes.
04:02The internet loves cats and cats and cats and cats and cats and cats.
04:11Number 16.
04:12Dramatic Chipmunk.
04:14Magnus 99.
04:20Short and sweet, this viral clip is pretty self-explanatory.
04:23Dramatic music sting, zoom in on an animal making a funny expression,
04:27bing bang boom, it's memed lightning in a bottle.
04:29There is some surprising history behind the clip though. For one thing, it's not a chipmunk,
04:34it's a prairie dog. For another, the video is cut from Hello Morning, a Japanese morning show.
04:39Perhaps most surprising of all, is the origin of the music.
04:42The dramatic sting is actually from the Mel Brooks parody classic Young Frankenstein.
04:51What a funny world we live in. Or do we?
04:53Number 15.
04:59Numa Numa, Gary Brozma.
05:09Originally uploaded to Newgrounds in 2004, this viral video exploded all over the internet,
05:15including on YouTube. The video features American vlogger Gary Brozma lip-syncing to the song,
05:20Dragostad in Te, a Romanian pop song by the Moldovan group Ozone.
05:32Brozma's theatrical performance in time with the words and his flamboyant arm movements proved iconic.
05:37While he may have gotten the occasionally unwanted fame and attention, few videos have ever managed to
05:42capture the unrestrained joy we all feel pretending to sing a song and dancing by ourselves like this one.
05:56Number 14. Diet Coke plus Mentos. Chowy.
06:05Connecting with science can be difficult for kids, and many adults.
06:08However, this YouTube video took a viral science demonstration and positively went ham with it.
06:14Fritz Grobe and Steven Volz dress in lab coats and experiment with adding Mentos to Diet Cokes.
06:28While initially small in scale, their final experiment involves a single take of them creating
06:32what is essentially an elaborate fountain display using the two suites. The music,
06:37the intricate exhibition, and the comedic nature of the video helped ensure its overnight success.
06:42It just goes to show, even the silliest idea can be successful with enough effort and passion.
06:46The music, the music, and the music, and the music.
06:58Number 13. Leave Britney Alone. Cara Cunningham.
07:02Have we learned nothing from Anna Nicole Smith? I know it's hard to see Britney Spears as a human being,
07:07but trust me, she is.
07:09Hating on celebrities predates the internet, as does others championing them. In 2007, Cara Cunningham took it
07:16upon herself to stand up for Britney Spears after the singer received backlash for her VMA's
07:21performance. Her emotional plea to give Spears a break from the relentless criticism she received
07:25from journalists and media personalities went viral, though not in an entirely positive way.
07:39Parodies of her tearful, arguably performative request popped up everywhere online. Still,
07:44given the subsequent hashtag free Britney movement in late 2010s and early 2020s,
07:49Cunningham may have been ahead of her time. Leave Britney Spears alone right now. I mean it.
07:57Number 12. Here it goes again. OK Go.
08:07Music videos tend to do huge numbers on YouTube these days, but before it became accepted practice to put
08:12them on the platform, one band paved the way. The music video for OK Go's Here It Goes Again
08:18sees the four band members perform a complex bit of synchronized choreography on eight treadmills,
08:23all on a single take.
08:31The video catapulted the band to worldwide recognition and earned them a Grammy for short-form music video.
08:36Imitators all over the internet have tried to replicate his magic, but there's no reproducing the original.
08:47Number 11. Double Rainbow. Yosemite Bear 62.
08:51Double rainbow. Oh my god. It's a double rainbow all the way.
08:57Whoa, that's so intense.
09:00Sometimes the beauty of nature and someone's reaction to it can send a video into the viral
09:04hall of fame. Paul Bear Vazquez spotted a double rainbow outside his house near Yosemite
09:09National Park in California and decided to film it. His wholesome, possibly tearful reaction to the
09:14phenomenon, is pure magic.
09:28Oh my god, look at that.
09:31Vazquez's unique descriptions of double rainbows being full on and so intense live in our heads rent-free
09:36and are impossible not to quote when seeing double rainbows in real life. The video inspired parodies,
09:41references, and even songs. What does it mean? That's up to you.
09:59Oh my god. It's so intense.
10:03Number 10. Chocolate Rain. Tay Zunday.
10:06Chocolate Rain. Some stay dry and others feel the pain. Chocolate Rain.
10:14One of the earliest songs to go viral on YouTube, Chocolate Rain quickly became a veritable downpour
10:19online. The simple beat, repetition of the title, and surprisingly deep lyrics touching on racial
10:24inequality would probably be enough on their own to ensure a successful song. However,
10:28the video took it to another level entirely. Tay Zunday's deep voice contrasts sharply with his young
10:43appearance. Plus, his frequent turns from the microphone to breathe in are just the right level
10:48of quirky to ensure the video became iconic. It may have been spoofed plenty of times, but there's no
10:52denying its appeal.
11:02Number 9. Kony 2012. Invisible Children Incorporated.
11:07To level with you, this movie expires on December 31, 2012. And its only purpose is to stop the rebel group,
11:15the LRA, and their leader, Joseph Kony. Activism isn't generally the first thing that comes to mind
11:21with the biggest YouTube videos, but Kony 2012 is perhaps the biggest example on the platform to date.
11:26The half-hour documentary aimed to educate viewers on Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, with the aim of bringing
11:32him to justice. The video has been both lauded and criticized in equal measure, with its proponents
11:37praising its call to attention to a long under-reported situation, and its opponents calling it an
11:42oversimplification that inspired slacktivism.
11:45He's the bad guy?
11:46Yeah. Who's this?
11:50Jacob.
11:51Joseph Kony, he has, um, an army, okay? And what he does is he takes children from their parents.
12:01How effective the US-based activism and resulting congressional action were is also a matter of
12:05perspective. Regardless, Kony 2012 did illustrate the potential for YouTube to reach viewers on real-world
12:12issues.
12:12We've identified the 12 policy makers that could change the game regarding Kony, so we're targeting
12:18them. On our website, we've made it easy to write them directly, call them, meet with them, and get
12:25their attention.
12:26Number 8. Harlem Shake
12:28Bower and Filthy Frank
12:36Dance crazes can come out of nowhere. Bower's song, Harlem Shake, is used in a video starring Filthy Frank.
12:42Which uses the bass drop in the song to mark an abrupt jump cut and a major shift in how Frank and
12:46his friends dance.
12:53The simplicity of the video spawned thousands of imitators all over the world, each with their own
12:58spin on the idea. Although the success of the meme may have fallen off very quickly,
13:01its consequences were surprisingly long-lasting. Its overnight success helped push the billboard
13:06charts to start including data from YouTube when calculating a song's success.
13:18Number 7. Gundam Style
13:20Kpop is all the rage these days, but in 2012, the Korean wave had not yet reached its current
13:34heights. Enter Gundam Style. The elaborate music video, catchy beat, charismatic singer,
13:39and energetic dance moves set the entire world ablaze.
13:50Psy and Gundam Style became household names worldwide. Parodies and imitators spread the
13:54word further through memes. It's hard to understate the cultural impact. Perhaps most notably, the
13:59original music video became the first YouTube video to reach a billion views. A number it has surpassed
14:04several times over now, by the way.
14:14Number 6. The First Rick Roll, Unknown
14:25This is no joke. The internet's favorite prank is the bait and switch, and its favorite thing to switch
14:30is to the music video for Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley. The memetic gag has a number of
14:35possible origins, with 4chan being the most popularly cited. However, its YouTube debut led to an
14:41increase in its spread and its use, both on the site and elsewhere.
14:53Whether you love the song, or love to hate it, it's pretty clear that the internet is never gonna give,
14:58never gonna give, this prank up.
15:05Number 5. History of the entire world, I guess. Bill Wurtz.
15:10He says get the hell out of here, will you get the hell out of here if I give you 500 elephants?
15:13Okay, thanks, bye.
15:14Time to conquer all of India, or most of India.
15:21Education and fun are generally pretty separate, at least in the minds of many students. But Bill
15:26Wurtz's 20 minute video, History of the entire world, I guess, is both enlightening and wildly
15:31entertaining. Wurtz does exactly as promised, and manages to summarize billions of years of history,
15:37and the highlights of humanity's time on Earth, covering everything from religion, to conquest,
15:41to video games. And he does so with rapid-fire comedic delivery, simple animations, and musical
15:47breaks.
15:47R.I.P. Roman Empire, or actually just half of it. The other half is just fine, but it's not in Rome
15:51anymore, so let's give it a new name.
15:57Oh, and here's a huge city, population, everyone.
15:59While the blistering pace can feel overwhelming at first, it positively insists on multiple viewings.
16:04As cliche as it is to say, it really does make learning fun. The fact that every other line
16:08is meme-worthy, certainly doesn't hurt.
16:10The United States ran out of destiny to manifest, so they're looking for more.
16:15Wait, Spain controls Cuba. Well, blame something on them and go to war.
16:18What should we blame on Spain?
16:19Let's blame the Maine on Spain, so they blame the Maine on Spain.
16:22Now we're in business.
16:23Number 4. David After Dentist.
16:26Booba1234
16:28I didn't feel anything.
16:31Yeah.
16:34Uh, I feel sorry.
16:37Anyone who has had surgery can tell you that coming off of anesthetics can be weird.
16:42In this viral video, young David DeVore Jr. learns this firsthand after having a tooth removed.
16:47His spacey conversation with his father became a major viral hit.
16:51David's questions like, is this real life, and why is this happening to me,
16:55are both funny and surprisingly deep.
16:57Why is this happening to me?
17:00It's okay, bud. It's just from the medicine. Okay?
17:05Is this going to be forever?
17:07No. No, it won't be forever.
17:11While some have suggested the video is exploitative, David is apparently fine with it.
17:15And he and his family have used the success of the video to start and aid several charities.
17:19While the way David felt wasn't forever, his legacy on YouTube may as well be.
17:23Stay in your seat.
17:31Number 3.
17:32Lazy Sunday.
17:33Saturday Night Live.
17:34Lazy Sunday.
17:35Wake up in the late afternoon.
17:37Call Parnell just to see how he's doing.
17:40Hello, what up, pawns?
17:41Sandberg, what's cracking?
17:42In 2005, YouTube was still fairly homespun.
17:46Videos posted to the site were primarily done by the creators themselves.
17:49And then, SNL aired its second digital short.
17:52The Lonely Island music video features Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell
17:55rapping about a lazy Sunday afternoon seeing the Chronicles of Narnia and devouring cupcakes.
18:00The goofy premise and catchy tune proved immediately popular,
18:04and YouTube was soon drowning in unauthorized re-uploads of the video.
18:07This not only made the video the site's first true viral hit, it also led to a renaissance for SNL,
18:21and arguably led to YouTube's purchase by Google the next year,
18:24and the platform becoming the cultural force it is today.
18:27You might say YouTube plus Lazy Sunday equals crazy delicious.
18:39Number 2, Charlie Bit My Finger, HDCYT.
18:47Perhaps the biggest of the adorable kids genre of YouTube videos,
18:50Charlie Bit My Finger sees two young brothers, Harry and Charlie Davies' car, sitting in a chair.
18:56Harry repeatedly puts his finger in Charlie's mouth, and is then surprised when his infant
19:00brother bites him. While he's amused at first, he quickly and inevitably comes to regret his decision.
19:12Whether viewers found it funny or cute, this short clip took the site by storm,
19:16and inspired a ton of parodies, often with adults in place of the kids. It even managed to become the
19:20platform's most viewed video, surpassing our own top pick, as it happens. Ouch.
19:38Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about
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19:54Number 1, Evolution of Dance, Judson Lively.
19:58In this blurry video, motivational speaker Judson Lively dances on stage to close out one of his talks.
20:13His seamless and rapid transition from one famous dance style to another has to be seen to be believed.
20:19As wild as the crowd goes when watching it in the moment, viewers on YouTube loved it even more.
20:35The video became the most favorited and viewed video on the site, and one of its most discussed.
20:39Other videos may have surpassed it in views, but few YouTube videos are as universally appealing as this one.
20:44Is there a video you think of when you think of YouTube? Don't let us down. Tell us your favorites in the comments.
21:14Let us pause.
21:15Let's do this video
21:26We'll see the final one.
21:28What do you think of the videos on the mood?
21:29Yes, so please make sure, be sure that I'm happy to miss the way
21:34that you can mistake us anymore.
21:37We will answer the follow.
21:40If you're listening to at this video, maybe listen to me.