From Baby Shark to Despacito, here are YouTube's most watched videos as site turns 20

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the first ever video being uploaded to YouTube, which was ‘Me at the Zoo - filmed by the site’s co-founder Jawed Karim.

The 19-second film is perhaps more noteworthy for its novelty than for its content (“elephants have really long trunks…that’s all there is to say”) but it has still amassed 355 million views.

Mr Karim has long since left the site he co-founded with Steve Chen and Chad Hurley. He now uses the description of Me at the Zoo as a personal blog to promote causes or state his opinions about the way that Google, now the site’s owner, is running YouTube.

The three co-founders could surely never have dreamed that their creation would have become the worldwide phenomenon that it has in the past two decades - with current chief executive Neal Mohan saying in February: “YouTube is the new television.”

As if to emphasise his point, Disney has started streaming Andor online, ITV has begun streaming shows on YouTube and some sports series - such as the Women’s Super League and British Touring Car Championship - now show events live on the site.

Even veteran broadcaster Piers Morgan has found YouTube to be profitable enough to leave his post on News UK to go all-in on his Uncensored channel.

According to The Social Shepherd, the site has 2.5 billion monthly active users with 500 hours of video uploaded every minute.

Of course, not every video is a hit and the median number of views per video is 35 - meaning for every Charlie Bit My Finger or Kersal Massive there are many more playing to empty rooms (virtual and not).

Many of the top 20 most seen videos are music which perhaps does not reflect the diversity and creativity on offer on the site. Nonetheless, here is the top 20 rundown.

Data correct as of Tuesday, April 22, 2025.

1. Baby Shark Dance - Pinkfong Baby Shark - Kids' Songs & Stories (15.65 billion views)

Watch at your own risk of having this stuck in your head... The song has now been on YouTube for eight years, meaning the toddlers who starred in it are now secondary-school age.

2. Despacito - Luis Fonsi (8.66 billion views)

Can we blame every pop star under the sun for wanting to embrace the Spanish market when this one did so well? Yes, we can.

3. Wheels on the Bus - Cocomelon - Nursery Rhymes (7.17 billion views)

Maybe one Boris Johnson could have done with watching as a 2019 election singalong at a petting zoo revealed he did not know the words...

4. Johny Johny Yes Papa - LooLoo Kids (7.02 billion views)

Sneaking in ahead of Bath Song, Loo Loo wins the battle of the bathroom wars - but this song does seem to have put years onto the ‘dad’ in the video.

5. Bath Song - Cocomelon - Nursery Rhymes (7.01 billion views)

Just as catchy and proof that you’re never too young to enjoy a nice bath.

6. See You Again - Wiz Khalifa (6.58 billion views)

From the Furious 7 soundtrack, Wiz and Charlie Puth pay tribute to Paul Walker - who passed before the film came out in 2015.

7. Shape of You - Ed Sheeran (6.42 billion views)

The club isn’t the best place to find a lover, but Sheeran’s fans know where to find him on YouTube.

8. Phonics Song with Two Words - ChuChu TV Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs (6.31 billion views)

Teaches children how to find the mute button if not learn the alphabet.

9. Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson (5.49 billion views)

Not quite nursery rhyme levels of success, but Mark and Bruno Mars know how to make a hit.

10. Gangnam Style - Psy (5.48 billion views)

No longer neither the most viewed nor the most annoying song on this list.

11. Learning Colors – Colorful Eggs on a Farm - Miroshka TV (5.23 billion views)

Aimed at children but good luck anyone understanding what’s going on here.

12. Axel F - Crazy Frog (5.06 billion views)

If you thought this song was not going to have had much success on YouTube, you were sadly wrong.

13. El Chombo, Dancing Green Alien - Dame Tu Cosita feat. Cutty Ranks (4.98 billion views)

A simple idea proving incredibly popular, the alien dances on in 2025.

14. Masha and the Bear – Recipe for Disaster - Get Movies (4.63 billion views)

Not the first video involving bears and porridge but this one is the most viewed.

15. Shree Hanuman Chalisa - T-Series Bhakti Sagar (4.40 billion views)

Top-ranking spiritual video. “Those who chant Hanuman Chalisa regularly with full devotion will definitely have very good health and wealth,” the notes say.

16. Baa Baa Black Sheep - Cocomelon - Nursery Rhymes (4.39 billion views)

It might be unfair to call Cocomelon the Ed Sheeran of nursery rhymes when it has more top 20 entries on YouTube.

17. Lakdi Ki Kathi - Jingle Toons (4.37 billion views)

The video cannot be shared here - so check out this link if you are keen - but if it was described as a Hindi version of much of the above nursery rhymes you’d be in the right ballpark.

18. Sugar - Maroon 5 (4.19 billion views)

It doesn’t have the all-star cast of the Girls Like You video but Sugar is memorable for Adam Levine and co-crashing “as many weddings in LA as we can”.

19. Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) - Shakira (4.17 billion views)

Doesn’t have the singalong quality of Three Lions but Shakira’s video has a cameo from Lionel Messi and a few clips of Fabian Barthez, so you choose your team...

20. Counting Stars - OneRepublic (4.13 billion views)

Ryan Tedder joked on his most recent UK tour that fans had only turned up to see his band play Wembley Arena because they’d not got into the nearby stadium to see Harry Styles.

But the songwriter supremo can count a credit here - unlike One Direction.