SHAKIRA || BZRP Music Sessions #53 YouTube
SHAKIRA || BZRP Music Sessions #53 YouTubeFace it: No matter how many hours a day you spend watching videos on YouTube, there will never be a way to see everything that comes out every day, let alone all the videos that come out in a year. Of course, there will always be someone who sees what you missed, and at the end of the year, the count of the most viewed videos may give us a clue that it was the most important thing to come to YouTube in 2023.
The fact that they have more views doesn't necessarily mean they're the best, but popularity after a year isn't just a coincidence. Almost all of them are music videos and, best of all for us, almost all of them are in Spanish or are part of Latin American music, which shows us the weight our language and culture currently have in the world. Without further ado, here is a roundup of the seven most popular videos of the year on YouTube
7. Flower, Jisoo – 439 million views
JISOO – '꽃(FLOWER)' M/V
Aside from Latin music, the other defining trend of 2023 was the obsession with K-pop, and BLACKPINK's Jisoo was the best example of this. Flower, her mid-paced dance track, effortlessly blends traditional Korean melodies with more contemporary pop and was a huge hit on the streamer this year. “Flower” was Jisoo's first top 10 hit, but given its massive success, it's unlikely the song will be her last.
6. She Dances Alone, Armed Eslabon and Featherweight – 449 million views
Ella Baila Sola – (Official Video) – Eslabon Armado y Peso Pluma – DEL Records 2023
Ella Baila Sola, the first regional Mexican song to enter Billboard's Top 10, owes much of its success to TikTok, as the song originally went viral there.
The song's virality arose largely because it is so catchy and because its story about two friends noticing a woman dancing alone captivated many. Armado and Pluma are up-and-coming artists, but given the massive success of this song, they could have a pretty bright future ahead of them.
5. UN X100TO, Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny – 637 million views
Grupo Frontera x Bad Bunny – UN X100TO (Official Video)
Bad Bunny was just surpassed by Taylor Swift as the most-streamed artist of 2023, so it makes sense that this song was an ultra-viral hit.
Another song with a lot of regional Mexican influence (sports and commerce from Grupo Frontera) combined with the skill and popularity of Bad Bunny to create one of the biggest songs of the year. Bad Bunny has spoken of his love for regional Mexican music before, but UN X100TO marked the first time he appeared on a song in that genre.
4. Flowers, Miley Cyrus – 652 million views
Miley Cyrus – Flowers (Official Video)
The only song by an American artist on this list, “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, was one of the biggest hits of the year and went viral on YouTube, in part because it seemed to offer so many explicit details about her relationship with Liam Hemsworth.
Among other things, the video makes it clear that Miley is convinced that Liam had an affair with Jennifer Lawrence. Whether these accusations are true or not (Lawrence has denied them), they certainly contributed to the song's enormous success.
3. Shakira || BZRP Music Sessions #53 – 661 million views
SHAKIRA || BZRP Music Sessions #53
Shakira was the most dominant artist of the year on YouTube, and her No. 53 sessions with BZRP “broke the internet” and became one of the most popular songs of the year. The song is directly and almost explicitly aimed at her ex Gerard Piqué and at the same time functions as a hymn to female empowerment.
It was Shakira's first Billboard top 10 hit since 2007 and was number one in 16 other countries. Additionally, the song appears to have had a notable impact on the sales of the brands mentioned in the song.
2. La Bebe (Remix), Yng Lvcas & Peso Pluma – 704 million views
Yng Lvcas & Peso Pluma – La Bebe (Remix) [Video Oficial]
Originally released in 2021, Yng Lvcas' song found new life in 2023 thanks to two things: a remix and some virality on TikTok. This remix of the song featuring Peso Pluma has been viewed more than 700 million times this year, and that's in addition to all the listens it's garnered on other platforms.
The remix received just as positive a critical reception as the original song, but most importantly, the remix came at the right time to capitalize on the success the song was already having thanks to TikTok.
1. TQG, Shakira & Karol G – 899 million views
KAROL G, Shakira – TQG (Official Video)
That's right: Shakira is ranked third and first in 2023. TQG brings her forward with Karol G, and it was by far the most viewed video of the year, much closer to a billion views than any other video released in 2023.
The track, which means “Te Quedó Grande,” is a mix of empowerment and distortion, drawing on the influence of reggaetón that has been so popular on the charts this year.
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