Today’s music lovers are flocking in ever-growing numbers to digital media to enjoy their favourite songs. While streaming services such as Spotify and Soundcloud boast billions of listens per day, YouTube remains the primary destination for many wanting to see the stars in action.
2018 saw Latin singers overtake their American and European counterparts for the first time, with eight of the top ten most viewed videos sung in Spanish. At pole position is the remixed version of Te Boté, which has had over 1.5 billion views since being released in April. The track features some of the biggest names in the Latin music world and dominated its charts this year.
On a personal level, it was a great year for Puerto Rican singer Ozuna, who appears on no less than four of YouTube’s top 10 most watched videos: Nos. 1, 5, 9 and 10. The latter track – Ozuna x Manuel Turizo –Vaina Loca– being the only one he leads on.
The highest-ranking English song is Maroon 5’s Girls Like You featuring Cardi B, which comes in at No. 3. The only other English-language song on YouTube’s 2018 Top 10 list is Drake’s God’s Plan, which ruled the US’s Hot 100 for months.
No. 1: Mabel Matiz – Öyle Kolaysa
The three best performing Turkish music videos on Google-owned platform were watched over half a billion times.
Mabel Matiz’s Öyle Kolaysa is the clear winner of 2018, after racking up more than 203 million views. The nostalgia-tinged pop track with 70s synthesiser is the second single from Matiz’s hit fourth album Maya.
In second place is teenage sensation Aleyna Tilki, with Yalnız Çiçek featuring Emrah Karaduman. The pair had first linked up two years earlier on Karaduman’s Cevapsız Çınlama, which with 425 million views is thought to be Turkey’s most watched YouTube music video of all time.
No.2: Aleyna Tilki – Yalnız Çiçek ft. Emrah Karaduman
Eighteen-year-old Tilki has garnered a huge following since, and her smash hit Yalnız Çiçek had been viewed over 182 million times in the seven months following its release in June 2018.
Making up the top three is İdo Tatlıses with Sen, which enjoyed more than 150 million views in 2018. The son of musical icon Ibrahim Tatlıses, İdo scored big with this love ditty that blends Turkish pop with reggae riffs.
