YouTube's Most-Viewed Music Videos of 2026: Despacito Leads with 9.1 Billion Views
YouTube's most-viewed music videos ranking for 2026 reveals a diverse list spanning reggaeton, K-pop, and novelty tracks. Despacito by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee tops the list with over 9.1 billion views, filmed in La Perla, Puerto Rico. See You Again by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth follows with 7 billion views, a tribute to Paul Walker. Ed Sheeran's Shape of You and Perfect both appear, along with Psy's Gangnam Style, which broke YouTube's view counter in 2014. The list includes international hits like Shree Hanuman Chalisa from India and Dame Tu Cosita from Panama, reflecting global music consumption. Videos like Uptown Funk and Thinking Out Loud won Grammys, while others like Dark Horse survived copyright lawsuits. The ranking highlights how music crosses language barriers and sustains viewership over time, with all entries surpassing 3.9 billion views.
Key facts
- Despacito is the most-viewed music video with over 9.1 billion views.
- See You Again has over 7 billion views.
- Shape of You has over 6.7 billion views.
- Gangnam Style broke YouTube's view counter in 2014.
- Shree Hanuman Chalisa is the most-viewed video from India.
- Dame Tu Cosita went viral 20 years after recording.
- Uptown Funk won the Grammy for record of the year.
- All videos on the list have passed 3.9 billion views.
Entities
Artists
- Luis Fonsi
- Daddy Yankee
- Justin Bieber
- Wiz Khalifa
- Charlie Puth
- Ed Sheeran
- Psy
- Mark Ronson
- Bruno Mars
- Hariharan
- El Chombo
- Cutty Ranks
- Shakira
- Freshlyground
- OneRepublic
- Ryan Tedder
- Maroon 5
- Adam Levine
- Katy Perry
- Juicy J
- Passenger
- Mike Rosenberg
- Cardi B
- Alan Walker
- Iselin Solheim
- Gummibar
- Christian Schneider
- Zoey Deutch
- Parris Goebel
- Jason Koenig
- James Lees
- David Dobkin
- Amy Wadge
- Steve Mac
- Johnny McDaid
- Kandi Burruss
- Tameka 'Tiny' Cottle
- Harold Faltermeyer
- Yamamotoyama Ryuta
- Jennie Pegouskie
- Gal Gadot
- Camila Cabello
- Millie Bobby Brown
- Ellen DeGeneres
- Sarah Silverman
- Aly Raisman
- Mary J. Blige
- Jennifer Lopez
- Shahab Salehi
- Rikkard Haggbom
- Tobias Haggbom
- Zolani Mahola
- John Hill
- Marcus Gray
- Christina Snyder
- Gulshan Kumar
- Bhushan Kumar
- Lalit Sen
- Rodney Clark
- ArtNoux
- Cherry Seaborn
- Paul Walker
Institutions
- YouTube
- Billboard
- Grammy Awards
- Brit Awards
- MTV Video Music Awards
- T-Series
- NoCopyrightSounds
- Ultra Records
- Jamba
- FIFA
- League of Legends World Championship
- Ivor Novello Awards
- Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
- U.S. District Court
- Budweiser
Locations
- Panama
- Puerto Rico
- Old San Juan
- La Perla
- La Factoria
- Seattle
- New Orleans
- Louisiana
- Los Angeles
- Auckland
- New Zealand
- Penrose
- Hintertux
- Austria
- Norway
- Bergen
- Germany
- Hungary
- India
- Mumbai
- South Africa
- Johannesburg
- Brazil
- Seoul
- Gangnam
- Suffolk
- England
- U.S.
- U.K.
- Canada
- France
Sources
- Quartz —