YouTube has been one of the leading forms of online entertainment and with approximately 500 hours of videos uploaded every minute its content well that’ll probably never dry up.
YouTube Rewind is a compilation of popular videos, channels, and celebrates some of the top content creators of the year.
It began in 2010 and became an annual tradition but it’s been on hiatus since 2020 due to the pandemic.
Initially, YouTube Rewind was a sort of recap of top videos in a calendar year but then it became more elaborate. Subsequent YouTube Rewind videos began featuring mainstream celebrities in different sketches relevant to various trends.
In this post, we are going to be REWINDing and ranking YouTube Rewind videos from the best to the worst.
The rankings are based on quality and how well the videos were received when they were released.
So, without further ado, let’s begin.
YouTube rewind – best to worst
Rewind YouTube Style – 2012
Rank: 1st
Reason: YouTube Rewind deviated from its original video structure. The main reason it gained popularity is that it completely revolutionized the video content in this series.
The video was created and produced by YouTube and Seedwell.
The title of the video referenced Psy’s “Gangnam Style” which was the very first video to cross a billion views on YouTube.
It also featured a mash-up of cultural highlights from the year. From Barack Obama’s re-election to the popularity of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe”.
Many YouTubers and celebrities also made appearances by engaging in memorable trends that went viral.
To date, it has been viewed 194 million times on YouTube.
YouTube Rewind: What Does 2013 Say? – 2013
Rank: 2nd
Reason: The video opened with Robby Novak AKA Kid President and as a cherry on top, the platform’s top creator, PewDiePie made his first YouTube Rewind appearance as well, which made the fans go gaga.
The title of the video refers to a viral song “What Does The Fox Say” by the Norwegian comedy duo, Ylvis.
Similar to 2012’s YouTube Rewind video, it was also a collection of viral trends and cultural events such as popular vines and horse masks.
DJ Earworm created a mash-up of six popular songs of the year for this video. They were performed as a skit by different celebrities including Jimmy Fallon and The Roots.
To date, it has been viewed 136 million times on YouTube.
YouTube Rewind: Turn Down for 2014 – 2014
Rank: 3rd
Reason: Music was an integral part of the YouTube Rewind series, but this edition paid tribute to movies, pop culture references, and memes.
The title of the video refers to a popular song by DJ Snake and Li’l Jon “Turn Down for What”.
The video was created and produced by YouTube and Portal A Interactive.
DJ Earworm also created a mash-up of up to 10 popular songs. They were performed with slick dance moves.
The video also made references to the well-known viral game Flappy Bird, along with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
To date, it has garnered over 135 million views on YouTube.
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YouTube Rewind: The Ultimate 2016 Challenge – 2016
Rank: 4th
Reason: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson bringing back his infamous fanny pack look.
The title of the video refers to the viral trend of challenges from the year.
The video was created and produced by YouTube and Portal A Interactive.
It also highlighted the growing trend of everyone partaking in different viral challenges such as running man and flip the bottle.
It was also brimming with pop culture events such as Hodor from Game of Thrones and Carpool Karaoke with James Corden.
So far, it has been viewed over 241 million views on YouTube.
YouTube Rewind: Now Watch Me 2015 – 2015
Rank: 5th
Reason: The last one for us that hit the target.
The title of the video refers to “Watch Me” by Silento. The song also contained two viral dance steps known as ‘Whip’ and ‘Nae Nae’.
It was also created and produced by YouTube and Portal A Interactive.
This was the first video to introduce the #YouTubeRewind hashtag. It also looked back at the decade worth of content owing to YouTube’s ten-year anniversary.
It was loaded with viral content such as Shia LaBeouf’s Just do it! And Five Nights at Freddy’s. For a throwback, it included a reference to Jean Claude Van Damm’s Epic Split.
It has crossed over 154 million views on YouTube.
YouTube Rewind 2010: Year in Review – 2010
Rank: 6th
Reason: Since it was the inception of this series, we hold a neutral position for this one.
It was a pretty straightforward video with mundane content. It contained a list of the top 10 most popular videos of the year.
From Old Spice’s commercial to a three-year-old girl crying while meeting teenage icon Justin Bieber, it does make us feel old now.
To date, it has been viewed over 6.7 million times on YouTube.
Also read: YouTube Banner Ideas and Tips to Get You Started
YouTube Rewind 2011 – 2011
Rank: 7th
Reason: Well, bringing in Rebecca Black as a host didn’t really help. The content of the video has nothing to write home about.
Just like the 2010’s edition, this video also showcased the top 10 videos of the year with the most views.
From Nyan Cat to the host’s viral song “Friday”, most of the year’s viral videos made the cut. At 2 minutes and 19 seconds, it’s also very short.
It has been viewed over 12 million times on YouTube.
YouTube Rewind: The Shape of 2017 – 2017
Rank: 8th
Reason: The beginning of YouTube Rewind’s downfall.
The title of the video refers to Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You”.
This video exhibited a shift in video structure. It relied previously on music, dance, and performances, but in this edition, it was all over the place.
Influencers such as Logan Paul, KSI, and David Dobrik couldn’t save the video from getting dislikes from the fans. It has over 2.3 million dislikes making it the 35th most disliked video.
Another reason for fans’ displeasure was the exclusion of PewDiePie (Felix) on the basis of controversies. Though, Felix Kjellberg himself was a good sport about it.
It has over 238 million views on YouTube.
YouTube Rewind 2019: For the Record – 2019
Rank: 9th
Reason: YouTube was seeking redemption for its 2018 disaster. And yet their 2019 attempt didn’t assuage the masses.
The platform tried returning to old ways with another top 10 compilation video. This did not fly with fans at all.
Viewers and creators believed it had no soul and it came off as lazy.
Fans also expressed dissatisfaction over how the video didn’t pay tribute to the site’s famous user Etika Amofah who passed away that year.
It has over 115 million views and 9.5 million dislikes on YouTube.
YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind – 2018
Rank: 10th
Reason: Where to begin.
It’s ironic that the most disliked video on YouTube was created by the platform itself.
The 2018 rewind edition was intended to let user comments control it. But with the inclusion of Fortnite references and K-pop, fans quickly pointed out that YouTube was out of touch.
The video structure was also distorted. It shifted gears from funny to serious in a blink of an eye leaving many viewers confused. That sums up why YouTube Rewind 2018 was a miss for us and the general audience on the platform as well.
The only good thing to come out of this video was Will Smith’s meme.
It has over 217 million views. To date and has accumulated around 19 million dislikes on YouTube.
Final thoughts
YouTube a social media platform and the second largest search engine is an influential force in online culture.
According to our survey, 54% of marketers picked YouTube as their favorite platform for sharing content
And although the platform is a behemoth, there’s always room for improvement.
We’re hoping that if and when the next YouTube Rewind debuts, it’ll be in line with what viewers love the platform for.
Video is a great medium to connect with viewers and, hopefully, YouTube will figure out what resonates with their audience.
As rightly said by YouTube itself in the 2012 rewind edition:
“Nothing is more powerful than a video whose time has come”
If you’re in the market for a video for your business and want to leave a memorable impression on your target audience, then feel free to give us a call, our video production junkies would love to help you win with video.