It’s become customary forYouTubetowrap up each yearwith a mashup of the best the platform and its creators had to offer during said year, and though not always a hit, it’s certainly an internet thing. So whenYouTubeannounced they’d be skipping Rewind 2020 altogether a lot of trigger-happy users who were eager to hit that dislike button were probably disappointed.
Instead what just came out are YouTube’s own Top Trending videos lists for the U.S., a ranking that’s established thanks to the company’s algorithms summing up a bunch of criteria such as views, likes, comments and searches. 2019’s champion was beauty influencer James Charles’ “No More Lies” video; while on the music front Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” killed any competition.
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This year the algorithm gods placed Dave Chappelle’s “8:46” video, posted on the Netflix is a Joke channel, where the comedian expresses his feelings after the death of George Floyd at the hands of an acting police officer. As the video itself states in its description, “8:46” is not like themany Chappelle specials available on Netflixand wasn’t even monetized, with the whole monologue sticking to a somber tone even when Chappelle manages to slip in a joke or two.
Other notable videos cracking the top 10 are Saturday Night Live’s take on the first presidential debate prior to 2020’s elections; MrBeast’s “I Bought The World’s Largest Firework ($600,000)”; the very real “Quarantine Stereotypes” by Dude Perfect, Ricky Gervais’ monologue at the 2020 Golden Globes; and of course, videos by beauty focused YouTubers like jefreestar and NikkieTutorials.
However, thoselooking to cheer themselves up in 2020will find much more joy in this year’s number 2 video, “Building the Perfect Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder” by Mark Rober which proves even a former NASA engineer can find it hard to outsmart his furry neighbors. Over in the music category, Drake is king with his “Life Is Good” at number 1 and “Laugh Now Cry Later” at number 8, while fellow rapper Lil Baby also shows up with two entries.
Unsurprisingly, MrBeast is credited as the top content creator on YouTube, which is just proper payoff for a manknown to spend millions making his videos. For Chappelle and Netflix it’s further proof that their working relationship continues to benefit both, even when the comedian isn’t trying to channel his funny side.
