YouTube in Rewind: What you were watching in 2012

It’s that time of year again to pause, rewind and remember the videos, the entertainers, and the moments that captivated you in 2012.

This year, Korean Pop music transcended boundaries and took the world by storm. Cover songs, parodies, and "do-it-yourself" music videos from all genres entertained us in countries near and far. And you participated in conversations at a global scale, uploading videos to share ideas on everything from nonprofit campaigns, to political satire, to new and surprising voices and talents. Plus, all over the world, you tuned in for the most up-to-date news footage of presidential elections, natural disasters and more.



2012 has been a big year for YouTube. You’ve been watching over 4 billion hours of video a month. Millions of creators are using YouTube channels to experiment with innovative forms of entertainment, explore their passions and interests, and take creativity and pop culture to new levels. 2012’s top trending videos showcase this creative ingenuity in ways we'd never before thought possible.

Check out the YouTube Rewind channel to explore the trending videos of the year in your country. Globally, here’s what we were all talking about in 2012: 

Top Trending YouTube Videos:  
  1. PSY - GANGNAM STYLE (강남스타일) M/V 
  2. Somebody That I Used to Know - Walk off the Earth (Gotye - Cover) 
  3. KONY 2012 
  4. "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen - Feat. Justin Bieber, Selena, Ashley Tisdale & MORE! 
  5. Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney. Epic Rap Battles Of History Season 2. 
  6. A DRAMATIC SURPRISE ON A QUIET SQUARE 
  7. WHY YOU ASKING ALL THEM QUESTIONS? .. #FCHW 
  8. Dubstep Violin- Lindsey Stirling- Crystallize 
  9. Facebook Parenting: For the troubled teen. 
  10. Felix Baumgartner's supersonic freefall from 128k' - Mission Highlights 
Kevin Allocca, YouTube trends manager, recently watched "Interactive Timeline: YouTube Rewind 2012"

A YouTube winner in Google’s top trending searches

Each year here at YouTube, we take a look back at the videos that captured our attention and our imagination during the year. We’ll be releasing the top trending videos of 2012 next week, but today our friends over at Google are taking a look at the year through the eyes of search.

Google’s 12th annual Zeitgeist Year-In-Review, a.k.a. a “spirit of the times,” reviews the people, places, and topics that captured the world’s attention this year. YouTube favorite “Gangnam Style” came in as the #2 global trending search term this year, and topped dozens of country’s charts. PSY’s smash hit also left a lasting impression on search, with questions like “How to Gangnam” popping up in Malaysia, and “Gangnam Style costume” coming in as the #4 trending Halloween Costume search in the U.S.

For a quick ride through 2012, check out the Zeitgeist video:


Make sure to check out the Google Zeitgeist site to see the hottest trends, people, and topics that were top of mind this year.

Kevin Allocca, YouTube trends manager, recently watched "Simon's Cat in 'Icecapade'"

What were we watching this year? Let’s rewind 2011.

One hundred years into the future, when our great-grandkids look back to what was capturing the world’s imagination on YouTube in 2011, what will they make of us? Will they still be delighted by babbling babies? Will they still be “so excited” about the weekend?  And will they be any closer to understanding the mystery of the space-traveling toaster pastry cat?



Check out YouTube.com/Rewind for a timeline of this year's most popular videos and events and to see what the world watched in 2011.

Today, we rewind through the videos and channels that absorbed our collective global attention this year. To compile these lists, we looked at global view counts of popular videos uploaded throughout this year, and, in some instances, we aggregated views across multiple versions of the same video. 2011 was a year of amazing new channels and new stars being discovered, awesome creativity, and of course, Rebecca Black. It was also a year of powerful news stories playing out on YouTube, as people witnessed and documented uprisings and natural disasters, touching personal moments and moments of protest.

In total, there were more than 1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) playbacks on YouTube this year (yep, count ‘em, 12 zeroes). That’s about 140 views for every person on the earth. More than twice as many stars as in the Milky Way. And if I had a penny for every … OK, you get my drift, it’s a big number.

So to all of you who picked up a guitar and sang a love song, held your camera phone high above a protesting crowd, danced along to “Friday” or just forgot the webcam was on, thank you. You make YouTube what it is, and we can’t wait to hear your stories next year.

Without further ado, your most-viewed videos of 2011.

Most viewed YouTube videos globally (excluding videos from major music labels)
(playlist)

  1. Rebecca Black - Friday (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
  2. Ultimate Dog Tease
  3. Jack Sparrow (feat. Michael Bolton)
  4. Talking Twin Babies - PART 2 - OFFICIAL VIDEO
  5. Nyan Cat [original]
  6. Look At Me Now - Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes (Cover by @KarminMusic)
  7. The Creep (feat. Nicki Minaj & John Waters)
  8. Maria Aragon - Born This Way (Cover) by Lady Gaga
  9. The Force: Volkswagen Commercial
  10. Cat mom hugs baby kitten
Most viewed YouTube channels globally (excluding channels from major music labels)
  1. machinima
  2. IGNentertainment
  3. RayWilliamJohnson
  4. expertvillage
  5. BlueXephos
  6. smosh
  7. realannoyingorange
  8. roosterteeth
  9. thelonelyisland
  10. barelypolitical
Most watched videos from major music labels globally 
(playlist)
  1. Jennifer Lopez - On The Floor ft. Pitbull
  2. LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem ft. Lauren Bennett, GoonRock
  3. Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song [Official Video]
  4. Nicki Minaj - Super Bass
  5. Pitbull - Give Me Everything ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack, Nayer
  6. Pitbull - Rain Over Me ft. Marc Anthony
  7. Jessie J - Price Tag ft. B.o.B.
  8. LMFAO - Sexy and I Know It
  9. Katy Perry - E.T. ft. Kanye West
  10. Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
Some highlights from other categories:
You can also check out the most-viewed videos of the year in fashion, beauty, sports, gaming, travel, fitness, food, science, tech reviews, family, pets, and wedding proposals.

Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched “Miracle on 42nd Street.