Trending This Week: Sam Smith Ties the Knot; Jimmy Fallon Can't Lose!

February 06, 2015

Trending this week: oldies but goodies, fresh jams, and one really heavy log. Here's a look at four of the top trending videos of the week - and more on our playlist here!

Jimmy Fallon Went to Bayside High with "Saved By The Bell" Cast


Fallon's tribute to one of the most beloved after-school sitcoms of the 90s saw the long-awaited reunion of the old gang (minus Lisa and Screech) - a nostalgia trip that racked up more than 18m views in two days. The throwback was the cherry on top of a winning week for the late night king (lip dub - the gift that just keeps on giving!), Fallon's channel receiving 73m+ views since Sunday, a ~180% increase from the week before.

Sam Smith - Lay Me Down


The much buzzed-about video for Sam Smith's "Lay Me Down" was released yesterday, depicting the first ever (according to Smith) same-sex marriage in an English church. The video - which has garnered 850k+ views within its first 24 hours - shows the musical artist tying the knot with another man, a union deemed illegal in the churches of Smith's home country, England. Smith hopes that through his video, he is helping spread a message of hope and equality, and that "one day gay men and women and transgendered men and women all over the world..will be able to get married under any roof, in any city, in any town, in any village, in any country."

〈獨家〉復興客機墜河/高架橋上目擊民航機墜河畫面 (TVBS) [Transasia Airways DashCam Crash Footage]


On Wednesday morning (UTC+8 time), TransAsia Airways Flight 235 tragically crash landed into the Keelung River near Taipei, killing at least 35 people. Within hours, dashcam footage of the accident taken by drivers on a nearby highway began appearing on YouTube, and quickly became among the top trending videos online (3 of the top 10 most viewed videos for February 4 were related to the crash). Local news network TVBS's capture of the dramatic accident is now the most popular YouTube coverage from the accident, with more than 6m views.


Hafthór Björnsson Thor new world record 2015


Hafthór Björnsson, best known for his role as The Mountain on "Game of Thrones," demolished a 1,000 year old weightlifting record this week, carrying a 1,433 lbs. log on his back five grueling steps. The Norwegian weightlifter dethroned the legendary Icelandic muscleman Ormur Stórólfsson, who - according to Viking lore - is said to have carried a 1,250 lbs. ship mast on his back for 3 steps before his back gave out. (Loser!) The video of Björnsson's momentous achievement (and the various guttural sounds that accompanied it) was one of the top viewed videos of the week, earning an easy 4m+ views in five days.

-- Christine Huang

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