Sunday, January 03, 2010

Susan Boyle, Miley Cyrus most watched YouTube videos in 2009

In a decade that was defined by the emergence of YouTube, 2009 saw the development of international stars because of exposure on YouTube. According to YouTube's blog, 2009 was the biggest year yet for online video and for the first time, YouTube is sharing its "Most Watched" video list. Not surprisingly, Susan Boyle is at the top of it.



Susan Boyle

Susan Boyle's the 48-year old Scottish woman who first shocked Simon Cowell and the judges of Britains' Got Talent, and then the entire World after clips of her performance were liberally uploaded to YouTube for view. The result was a primal, rapid reaction to her voice, and over 120 million views generated. Of those, my video on Susan Boyle accounted for a tiny share of 2 million views:



What's amazing is the staying power of the search for Susan Boyle videos. Generally a good video search wave lasts up to 12 days in my experience; Susan Boyle's lasted almost two months. Part of the reason for this was the searches fueled by the weekly airing of Britains' Got Talent, because even when Boyle wasn't singing, the other groups were compared to her on YouTube for the World to judge. The other reason was Susan Boyle's story - of a common, kind, lonely woman who lost her parents and seemed to have been in a state of depression, making it big - resonated with the industrialized World.

The other YouTube videos were behind Susan Boyle, except Miley Cyrus


Susan Boyle's 120 million views dwarfs all other videos on YouTube. Here's the list of the Global Top Five Most Watched YouTube Videos according to YouTube:

Most Watched YouTube videos:
1. Susan Boyle - Britain's Got Talent (120+ million views)
2. David After Dentist (37+ million views)
3. JK Wedding Entrance Dance (33+ million views)
4. New Moon Movie Trailer (31+ million views)
5. Evian Roller Babies (27+ million views)

The second most popular video is a total howler: David After Dentist. It features 7 year old David who's father made this video in May of 2008, after their visit to the dentist to have his tooth removed:



Susan Boyle headed the most watched Global videos, but popular and controversial singer Miley Cyrus represented the number two and number three most watched videos on YouTube in 2009. Miley Cyrus 120 million-views for the two equals Susan Boyle's total for 2009. With a crack publicity team and her approving father Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley Cyrus was the young princess of New Media for 2009. Her pole dance at the Teen Choice Awards was the subject of massive Internet chatter, causing people who'd never heard of the star of Hanna Montana to listen to her music. The result: The Climb and Party in The USA were two of the five most watched YouTube music videos in 2009.

What will 2010 bring in online video?


As far as what 2010 will bring in video, that's question we will explore later in the week. But here's a preview: expect more videos created to showcase singing talent. If this will lead to a kind of online business is anyone's guess, but using Youtube or any online video distribution service to present musical talent is still an untapped resource with vast potential. Also, look for video to be used more and more as part of an event. I experimented with this concept at my Oakland YouTube Meetup at Lake Chalet in December. The proper use of the approach will change the face of event planning and online video.

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