On April 23 - 2005, the very first video was uploaded to YouTube. In the nine years that followed, the video-sharing website has launched careers, transformed lives, and given the opportunity of fame to anyone with just a video camera and an Internet connection.
Today, YouTube’s reach is astounding: users from around the world upload 100 hours of video every minute and 6 billion hours of video are watched each month (that’s 684,477 years!).
To commemorate YouTube’s ninth anniversary, we took a look back on some of the site’s best hits.
2005: “Me at the zoo”
It is the first video ever uploaded to YouTube by co-founder Jawed Karim and turned to be a piece of Internet history. The 20-second video has garnered more than 10.5 million views.
2006: “The Evolution of Dance”
This video depicts a hilarious trip through the history of popular dances, from the robot to the twist, as performed by comedian Jud Laipply. It was one of the first YouTube videos to go viral. The video has been seen more than 200 million times.
2006: “Sneezing Baby Panda”
This video depicts a panda mom and baby sitting peacefully for a few moments of suspense before the young one’s explosive sneeze. More than 150 million people have tuned in.
2007: “Charlie Bit My Finger”
A home movie of two British boys—one with a fondness for finger-biting and the other with a talent for vocalizing his pain—This video was the most-viewed video on YouTube in 2009.
2007: “Rickroll”
This video depicts a “Rickroll” prank, when someone sends you a link, promising something interesting, but instead you’re directed to Rick Astley performing “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
2007: “Keyboard Cat”
A simple, silly movie of a cat miming piano playing. It garnered 30 million views.
2007: “Miss Teen South Carolina”
This video depicts the epic reply of the Miss Teen USA contestant from South Carolina to an interview question about why a fifth of Americans can’t locate the United States on a map, and 57 million people have watched. “I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don’t have maps,” she said. “I believe that our education, such as South Africa and the Iraq … I believe that our education over here, in the U.S., should help the U.S., or should help South Africa, and should help Iraq.”
2009: “Auto Tune the News”
This hugely popular series of videos took Auto Tune—software used to correct audio pitch—to turn news reports into catchy R&B songs in the style of T-Pain.
2010: “Baby” by Justin Bieber
The teen star famously was discovered on YouTube, but it was the music video for his smash hit, “Baby” that broke records and catapulted him to stardom. Today, it’s the second most-viewed video with more than 850 million plays.
2011: “The Lazy Song” by Bruno Mars
The singer got creative with his music video for “The Lazy Song,” hiring dancers wearing gorilla masks to perform a routine that looks like it was captured on a webcam. It garnered over 360 million views.
2012: “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen
You couldn’t go anywhere last year without seeing the young singer’s breakout hit.
2012: “Gangnam Style” by Psy
Uploaded just last July, Psy’s Internet sensation still holds the record for the most views ever with 1.5 billion views and counting. This video launched the Korean rapper into international stardom.
2013: What Does the Fox Say?
Norwegian comedy group Ylvis launched themselves into international stardom with their music video about one of nature’s big mysteries: what sound does a fox make? The video has garnered more than 400 million views.