Remembering Leonard Cohen's Legacy on YouTube

November 11, 2016

Following the announcement of Leonard Cohen’s death on November 10, “Hallelujah,” one of his most iconic songs, is today’s most-watched video on YouTube, with over 5.2 million views (as of 4pm EST).


Leonard Cohen - "Hallelujah"

Furthermore, today's increase in views for “Hallelujah” has far outpaced the view increases to other videos on Leonard Cohen's channel:



The resurgence of “Hallelujah” should come as no surprise. Since September 2014, it has been viewed over 35 million times, making it one of the most popular ‘80s songs on YouTube. Among Cohen’s catalogue, it’s his most popular track, with double the views of his second most-viewed song, “A Thousand Kisses Deep.”

Why is “Hallelujah” so unique? After all, when it was released in 1984, the song did not immediately become a commercial hit. Yet over the past 30 years, it has remained a core part of contemporary culture due to the high number of its covers by other artists. The most popular version on YouTube is Jeff Buckley’s rendition, which has been viewed over 75 million times since September 2014:


Jeff Buckley - "Hallelujah"

Yet famous covers are not the only source of timeless appeal for the song. YouTube creators have covered “Hallelujah” more than any other track release before 2010:



While Cohen may be gone, his music — particularly “Hallelujah” — has memorialized him as a once-in-a-generation talent.
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8 Years of U.S. Presidential Elections on YouTube: How They Compare

November 07, 2016

We’ve reported staggering numbers for the 2016 U.S. presidential election on YouTube. The final debate, for example, had an unprecedented 140 million election-related views.

Even more exceptional is how this U.S. presidential election cycle compares to those of 2012 and 2008. We examined the data for election years in 2016, 2012, and 2008, and determined that this year will likely break YouTube records for views and watch-time on Election Day, November 8.


Since January 1, overall views in 2016 for videos about candidates have been 5x larger than in 2012. Going back four more years to the 2008 election, this year has had 8x more views than 2008’s presidential race. This is a departure from the change in views from 2008 to 2012, which was only 1.65x larger.

In each case, Election Day was the most popular date: views historically increase 7-10x from the yearly average, as viewers tune into analyses of the results. When it comes to U.S. elections-related viewership, we expect November 8, 2016, to be one of the largest days ever in YouTube’s history.

The Significant YouTube Moments From Every Presidential Election Year 

 Each election season is marked by its own cultural milestones: there are the gaffes, the inspirational speeches, and the viral campaign moments. We’ve compiled a list of some of the biggest election-related moments on YouTube during the past three presidential races:


Here are some of the elections-related videos that provided sizable contributions to the viewership spikes in each of the three campaign cycles:

2016

2012

2008

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Celebrate National Cat Day With YouTube’s Most Popular Felines

October 28, 2016



October 29 is National Cat Day, which means it’s the perfect moment to reflect on one of the most important memes in YouTube’s canon. Who are the most popular cats on YouTube? Have YouTube viewers tired of watching cute kittens? Are cats more popular than dogs?

We’ve crunched the numbers to deliver answers to these momentous questions.

Have we achieved peak cat?

 Fans of felines can rest easy: according to figures dating back to 2007, cats are as popular as ever.


  • Weekly views of cat videos have grown by over 10,000% since early 2007 
  • Dec 2009 - “Surprised Kitty” video finds huge popularity online 
  • May 2011 - A video of a cat hugging her kitten goes viral 
  • May 2014 - Video of the family cat saving a boy from a dog is covered by media outlets across the world


The Most Popular Cat on YouTube is…

 To no surprise of YouTube’s cat enthusiasts, the most popular channel, by cat-related video views, is dedicated to Simon’s Cat. For years, creator Simon Tofield has illustrated a web series about his cat, inspired, in large part, by the real-life version of Simon’s cat, named Hugh. At the time of writing, the channel has amassed over 4 million subscribers.

Simon’s Cat in “Cat Man Do” has received over 58 million views
Here's the full list:

(Check out their channels here: Simon's Cat, mugumogu, ignoramusky, Talking Kitty Cat, かご猫 Ｂｌｏｇ)

Cats vs. Dogs

 There are few rivalries that can match that of cats vs. dogs. And, despite the popular belief that YouTube is only an archive of cat videos, dogs seem to be the more popular of the two on YouTube. Views over the past two years seem to suggest that this trend is going to continue.


As YouTube continues to grow as a destination for filmmakers, chefs, and educators, there is a simple joy that cat videos still provide in 2016.
Over the past 11 years, YouTube has given us the chance to melt over friendships like Oskar the blind cat and Klaus, develop existential crises from Henri’s life musings, and celebrate the personality of the late Colonel Meow, the 2014 Guinness World Record holder for the cat with the longest fur.
Though the future may soon be dog driven, both YouTube’s founding fathers — Grumpy Cat, Keyboard Cat, and Lil Bub — and their digital legacy will remain very much feline.


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Halloween ‘16: Clown Sightings, Harley Quinn Costumes, and Other Trends

October 26, 2016

Whether it’s decorations or costumes, YouTubers take Halloween very seriously. As big fans of the holiday, we’ve been closely watching the biggest Halloween trends of 2016.


Clown Sightings

Prior to this year, the fear of clowns was a relatively niche phobia that served more as a topic for humor than a widespread phenomenon. Yet this fall, we’ve observed a sudden increase in clown-related content on YouTube:




The impetus for this trend? Clown sightings. YouTubers have been uploading footage of solitary clowns frightening passersby in droves, and as news of these unnerving encounters has spread, so have views of clown-related videos.

Although bizarre clown sightings are reported as far back as 2014, their sharp increase only goes back to late August this year. The real peak, however, occurred on October 15th, after hundreds of news stories.


Harley Quinn, ‘The Purge,’ and Clown Costumes

As clowns have become prominent, so too have clown costumes: “clown” has become one of the most searched-for costumes on YouTube this October.





Suicide Squad’s Harley Quinn

  • Costumes inspired by this year’s video games, such as “Overwatch” (released in May ‘16) and “Five Nights At Freddy’s” (the latest installment of which was released this October), are also in the top 10.

Other Halloween 2016 Trends


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