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YouTube’s global Top Trending Videos list for 2018 was led by Kylie Jenner’s To Our Daughter, an 11-minute pregnancy and birth announcement that YouTube said had passed 53 million views by year’s end. YouTube published a separate ranking for music videos, so there is no single official list that combines every kind of popular video on the platform.
What “most popular” means here
This is YouTube’s historical, global year-end ranking—not a list of the videos with the highest lifetime view totals today, and not a ranking of every video uploaded during 2018. In its December 6, 2018 year-end coverage, YouTube separated Top Trending Videos, a mixed list of creator, celebrity, sports and entertainment videos, from Top Music Videos. The platform did not describe the trending list as a simple all-time or upload-year view-count chart, so its order is best understood as YouTube’s official account of the year’s major video trends.
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The distinction matters: a creator challenge, a World Cup match, a television-style premiere and a music video are different kinds of viewing. Combining them into one ranking would obscure what each list measures. YouTube also published country and regional coverage; this global list should not be treated as a ranking for every individual country. YouTube’s 2018 year-end post is the source for the rankings and the figures below.
YouTube’s global Top Trending Videos of 2018
YouTube said the ten videos below collectively drew more than 673 million views. The view figure for the leader is the number reported around the year-end announcement; views on YouTube can continue to change, so current totals should not be substituted for this historical ranking.
#1 Best Overall
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- To Our Daughter — Kylie Jenner. An intimate pregnancy and birth announcement that became a major celebrity-news event. YouTube named the 11-minute film its global No. 1 Top Trending Video and reported more than 53 million views at the time.
- Real Life Trick Shots 2 — Dude Perfect. A polished, sports-style creator spectacle built around elaborate trick shots.
- we broke up — Liza Koshy and David Dobrik. A personal relationship announcement that became a defining creator-culture moment for many viewers.
- Walmart yodeling kid — Mason Ramsey / Walmart performance. A performance that travelled from a real-world setting into a widely shared viral moment. The list identifies the moment rather than establishing a single original upload as its definitive source.
- Do You Hear “Yanny” or “Laurel”? (SOLVED with SCIENCE) — AsapSCIENCE. A science explainer responding to the viral audio illusion that split listeners over what they heard.
- Portugal v Spain — 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ — MATCH 3 — FIFA. World Cup footage from one of the year’s biggest international sporting events.
- Build Swimming Pool Around Underground House — creator video. A construction spectacle reflecting the appeal of ambitious building and transformation videos.
- Cobra Kai Ep 1 — “Ace Degenerate” — The Karate Kid Saga Continues — Cobra Kai / YouTube. A television-style series premiere distributed through YouTube, rather than a typical independent creator upload.
- Behan Bhai Ki School Life — Amit Bhadana. Hindi-language comedy highlighting the reach of Indian creator content in a global ranking.
- NGƯỜI TRONG GIANG HỒ PHẦN 6 … — Lâm Chấn Khang. A Vietnamese musical-comedy/film production. YouTube’s list preserved the original Vietnamese title, underscoring that the global chart was not an English-only snapshot.
The separate Top Music Videos ranking
YouTube’s music list captured a different side of the platform: major song and music-video viewing, especially the strength of Latin music. The ranking was:
- Te Bote Remix — Casper, Nio García, Darell, Nicky Jam, Bad Bunny and Ozuna.
- X (EQUIS) — Nicky Jam and J Balvin.
- Girls Like You — Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B.
- Dura — Daddy Yankee.
- El Farsante (Remix) — Ozuna and Romeo Santos.
- Sin Pijama — Becky G and Natti Natasha.
- Dame Tu Cosita — El Chombo featuring Cutty Ranks.
- God’s Plan — Drake.
- Me Niego — Reik featuring Ozuna and Wisin.
- Vaina Loca — Ozuna and Manuel Turizo.
YouTube said eight of the ten most-watched music videos were by Latin artists. Its year-end chart description also matters when interpreting the music ranking: the Top Songs methodology combined views from official music videos, official use of a song in user-generated content and lyric videos. That is broader than counting views on one specific official-video upload. See the December 2018 YouTube Blog archive for the chart-methodology description.
Rank #2
- Song Title: , Man In The Mirror (Video Version - For Audio Bed Under Main Menu) ( 0:10 ) , Program Start (PCM Stereo) ( 0:06 ) , Brace Yourself (PCM Stereo) ( 3:16 ) , Billie Jean (PCM Stereo) ( 4:59 ) , The Way You Make Me Feel (PCM Stereo) ( 0:30 ) , Black Or White (PCM Stereo) ( 0:11 ) , Rock With You (PCM Stereo) ( 3:25 ) , Bad (PCM Stereo
What the rankings reveal about YouTube in 2018
The trending list was not simply a contest among conventional YouTubers. It put creator-led entertainment—Dude Perfect, Liza Koshy, David Dobrik and AsapSCIENCE—alongside a celebrity announcement, a viral performance, FIFA footage and a premium scripted series. The platform’s most visible videos could originate with individual creators, public figures, sports organizations or professionally produced programming.
It was also unmistakably international. Hindi- and Vietnamese-language videos made the global Top 10, while the music chart was dominated by Latin artists and collaborations. Google India’s India year-end coverage offers a regional view, including local creators, music and film-related viewing; a global list cannot stand in for those country-level tastes.
Rank #3
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Music deserves its own lens. Its ranking reflects repeated listening and song use across formats, while the trending list records a broader mix of cultural moments and video types. The two together give a fuller picture than either list alone.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Rewind was a recap, not the No. 1 ranking
YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind was the platform’s annual recap, not the video that topped its Top Trending ranking. YouTube’s year-end list placed To Our Daughter first and Real Life Trick Shots 2 second. The Rewind 2018 site presented the year through videos, music, creators and trends rather than as a single ranked list. Other events and trends featured in year-end retrospectives should not be described as Top 10 entries unless they appear in the ranking above.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- Country Of Release: NLD
- Year Of Release: 2000
- Notes: Pal/Region 2, 23 Tracks + DVD Extra'S
How to read the list now
- Use the original category names. “Top Trending Videos” is more accurate than calling the list the ten most-viewed videos on YouTube.
- Keep the year-end snapshot separate from lifetime totals. Counts may have risen since 2018, and the ranking is not recalculated here.
- Keep global and regional rankings distinct. A global list cannot represent every country’s most popular videos.
- Expect some links or metadata to change. Titles, availability, thumbnails and channel branding can shift over time. Search links above help locate the named video when a historical upload’s URL or availability has changed.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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