# Try to guess the most viewed video on Youtube **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [October 30, 2022, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-guess-the-most-viewed-video-on-youtube/973998 "2022-10-30T00:46:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-guess-the-most-viewed-video-on-youtube/973998/1 "2022-10-30T00:46:46Z")
The game is: Think of a video that you believe has had the most views on Youtube. Go to Youtube and see the actual number of views and post the video and the number of views here. The highest number “wins”. Obviously this game is on the honor system. No doubt you could google “most watched video” or pull up the Youtube page and sort by views or something. If you do, you instantly lose 100 karma points and will be reincarnated as a banana slug. I’ll go first. [Meghan Trainor - All About That Bass](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PCkvCPvDXk) 2,546,161,824 views ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-guess-the-most-viewed-video-on-youtube/973998/2 "2022-10-30T01:07:17Z")
I’ll go with the song Alan Rickman requested to be played at his funeral: [Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk, ftg. Bruno Mars](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPf0YbXqDm0) - 4,730,737,396 views ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-guess-the-most-viewed-video-on-youtube/973998/3 "2022-10-30T01:13:18Z")
Does it count if I happen to have heard that statistic a while ago (though it might be outdated now)? Because the video I just checked on is at 11,586,471,032. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-guess-the-most-viewed-video-on-youtube/973998/4 "2022-10-30T01:20:01Z")
I thought it might be this one: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ) Not often you get to answer a thread AND Rickroll it. I guess it’s not technically a Rickroll though. Unfortunately, it’s not the winner. ‘Only’ 1.3 billion views. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-guess-the-most-viewed-video-on-youtube/973998/5 "2022-10-30T01:24:09Z")
I went in knowing that Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” single set a YouTube record for most views in its first 24 hours. Apparently, it did not sustain that success, as it “only” has 1.36 billion views now. ---
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-guess-the-most-viewed-video-on-youtube/973998/6 "2022-10-30T01:24:24Z")
I remember hearing a while back… quite a while back now, that the video for _Despacito_ was getting a lot of views, so that was my guess. It’s currently just shy of 8 billion views, less than whatever video Chronos is thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-guess-the-most-viewed-video-on-youtube/973998/7 "2022-10-30T01:26:29Z")
The problem with Rickroll is that a lot of folks made copies of the video, so victims wouldn’t recognize the link as being a “followed” one. Add all of them up, and it might be a contender. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-guess-the-most-viewed-video-on-youtube/973998/8 "2022-10-30T01:29:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Does it count if I happen to have heard that statistic a while ago (though it might be outdated now)? Because the video I just checked on is at 11,586,471,032. Sorry. This game is for amateurs only. You’ll have to join the professional circuit. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-guess-the-most-viewed-video-on-youtube/973998/9 "2022-10-30T01:30:31Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I thought it might be this one: > > [https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ](https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ) > > Not often you get to answer a thread AND Rickroll it. I guess it’s not technically a Rickroll though. > > Unfortunately, it’s not the winner. ‘Only’ 1.3 billion views. - That would take the “Most Unintended Views” award. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-guess-the-most-viewed-video-on-youtube/973998/10 "2022-10-30T01:40:34Z")
Gangnam Style only has 4.58 Bn views. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9bZkp7q19f0/maxresdefault.jpg "PSY - GANGNAM STYLE(강남스타일) M/V") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-guess-the-most-viewed-video-on-youtube/973998/11 "2022-10-30T01:52:02Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > That would take the “Most Unintended Views” award. Heh. Intended views: 138. Unintended: 1.3 billion. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-guess-the-most-viewed-video-on-youtube/973998/12 "2022-10-30T03:31:25Z")
My second guess was going to be Beyoncé’s “All the Single Ladies” but was shocked to find that it “only” had 885 million. ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2022, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-guess-the-most-viewed-video-on-youtube/973998/13 "2022-10-31T03:50:46Z")
I suspect there are multiple copies of that song on YouTube, however, and in aggregate they’d presumably rank higher. Not sure this counts, though it arguably might. ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2022, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-guess-the-most-viewed-video-on-youtube/973998/14 "2022-10-31T03:51:46Z")
Oops, I just basically said the same thing. I’m’a blame you, Chronos, for not replying to Sam\_Stone’s post directly 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2022, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-guess-the-most-viewed-video-on-youtube/973998/15 "2022-10-31T04:03:49Z")
I know the answer to this one, so I won’t play. But I will throw out there that the very first YouTube video uploaded is surprisingly not even anywhere near the running only clocking in at 12 million views. (I mean, it’s not that interesting of a video, so that explains the lack of views, but I would have expected it would be higher than it is after 17 years or so of existence.) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jNQXAC9IVRw/hqdefault.jpg "Me at the zoo") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw)