While "Baby Shark Dance" is YouTube's most-viewed video overall, Luis Fonsi has the most-viewed music video with "Despacito," and Drake and The Weeknd often compete for the most billion-streamed songs on Spotify, with The Weeknd reportedly being the first artist with 30+ billion-streamed songs, but Bad Bunny also dominates Spotify's yearly charts.
The Weeknd is the first artist IN HISTORY to have 30 songs surpass 1 BILLION Spotify streams📈🤯
It became a global phenomenon, clocking up more than 16 billion views - YouTube's most watched video ever. That song was the incredibly catchy Baby Shark.
“Gangnam Style” by South Korean musician PSY became the first YouTube video to reach 1 billion views. By the end of 2012, the song had topped music charts in more than 30 countries around the world. #song4theweekend #PSY #GangnamStyle #musichistory #music.
The Minecraft community has crushed one trillion views on YouTube. Celebrate this huge milestone with a look back at some of the biggest moments in Minecraft history.
Globally, Elvis has sold over one billion records, more than any other artist. His American sales have earned him gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards for 150 different albums and singles.
The centerpiece of the YouTube Roblox Museum celebrates the incredible 1 trillion views milestone.
The richest YouTuber in the world is Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, with estimated net worths ranging from $500 million to over $1 billion and reported earnings exceeding $700 million in 2025, thanks to his massive YouTube presence, business ventures like Feastables, and ventures such as Beast Games on Amazon Prime. He leads a list of high earners that includes Jeffree Star, Logan Paul, and Anastasia Radzinskaya (Like Nastya), who also generate significant wealth from branding, merchandise, and other entertainment projects.
There's no single "number 1 artist of all time" as it's subjective, but Leonardo da Vinci often tops lists for visual art due to masterpieces like the Mona Lisa, while The Beatles are frequently cited as the best-selling music group ever, and Michael Jackson or Elvis Presley are often named as top solo music artists by sales and influence. Modern metrics like Spotify streams point to artists like Bad Bunny or Taylor Swift for recent dominance.
As of early January 2026, The Weeknd is generally considered #1 on Spotify for monthly listeners, but Taylor Swift is the most-streamed artist in Spotify's history and often leads overall popularity, with Bruno Mars recently hitting a historic 150 million monthly listeners. The #1 spot can change daily, but The Weeknd currently leads in recent monthly listeners, while Bad Bunny remains a top contender, and Taylor Swift dominates overall historical streams.
According to Guinness World Records, Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (1942) is the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies.
Taylor Swift's “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” has officially surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify, making it the longest song in history to achieve this milestone.
Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's “Despacito” video has established a new record. The clip reached 5 billion views on YouTube, making it the most watched video worldwide.
This is a crazy milestone making Blinding Lights the first song in history to reach 5 billion streams on Spotify.
The "most played song of all time" depends on the metric, but currently, The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" is the most-streamed song ever on Spotify (over 5.2 billion streams). For recorded sales before streaming, Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" holds the Guinness World Record for best-selling single, while older, widely covered songs like George Gershwin's "Summertime" might be the most recorded,"Roadie Music" says Roadie Music.
American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift is the most-streamed artist in Spotify's history. Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny is the most-streamed artist in Spotify's history. South Korean boy band BTS is the most-streamed group in Spotify's history.
The #1 YouTuber in the world by subscriber count is MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson), holding the top spot as an individual creator with over 450 million subscribers, surpassing the music label T-Series, which is the most-subscribed overall channel when including companies like T-Series, Cocomelon, and SET India. He's known for large-scale stunts, cash giveaways, and philanthropy, becoming the biggest individual personality on the platform in recent years.
If you are getting 100 million views on YouTube, you can make from $100,000 - $1,500,000 from ad revenue approximately. Understanding factors such as CPM, RPM, different monetization opportunities and audience engagement are going to become key to maximizing your potential earnings!
The "30-second rule" on YouTube refers to the critical first moments of a video, where creators must hook viewers within about 30 seconds to get them to keep watching, as YouTube registers meaningful engagement after this mark, impacting visibility and watch time. It's a key focus for audience retention, with strategies involving dynamic editing (B-roll, angles), emotional hooks, and clear value propositions, but it's distinct from copyright myths about using 30-second music clips.
Taylor Swift is the highest-grossing live music artist of all time, collecting $3 billion according to Pollstar. U2, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, and Elton John also passed two-billion mark in concert revenue.
Garth Brooks is the artist with nine diamond-certified albums, a record for album sales (10 million+ units each), though Drake now leads in total Diamond certifications (albums and singles combined) with over 10, followed by Post Malone for singles. Brooks' nine diamond albums include classics like Double Live, The Ultimate Hits, and In Pieces, making him the sole artist with this many album awards from the RIAA.
There's no single "number 1 artist of all time" as it's subjective, but Leonardo da Vinci often tops lists for visual art due to masterpieces like the Mona Lisa, while The Beatles are frequently cited as the best-selling music group ever, and Michael Jackson or Elvis Presley are often named as top solo music artists by sales and influence. Modern metrics like Spotify streams point to artists like Bad Bunny or Taylor Swift for recent dominance.