Social media is no longer dependent on radio, newspaper or television. The social media is highly prevalent on our very own accounts on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. Web has taken over our lives like a storm and this, my dear readers, was just a glimpse of what twisted turns this is going to take in the coming years. For all the famous music artists around the globe, YouTube has proved to be an international home to everyone who wants to get their voice heard around. 2011 has amazed us with extraordinary talent of various artists making them jump on YouTube’s most viewed hits getting viral on all social networks.
10. Friday – Rebbecca Black
Rebbecca Black surprised us with high class entertainment by the name of ‘Friday’ being constantly repeated throughout the song and creating awareness of how many days are there in a week and by what name are they called. Also not to forget her confusion on which seat should she take in her friends car or what her daily routine is. Classic, no?
‘Friday’ got a whooping 22,166,537 hits on YouTube and it could have been more if YouTube hadn’t removed the video for a while. Who knows, even YouTube might’ve had ears to spare from Rebbecca Blacks killing voice. Since it got released Rebecca has earned enormous fan following who love her just like everyone loves Justin Beaver, but hey! I think anyone who entertains everyone in any way that might be, has a lot of guts to do so. So Rebbecca, keep spreading your serious humor!
9. Somebody That I Used to Know – Gotye ft. Kimbra
Somebody that I used to know proved to be one the most creative music videos of 2011 with a different concept of ‘breaking up’ and moving on. Released on July 6th 2011, this song has charted 26 on the U.S billboard hot 100 with over 78 Million views on YouTube up till today, picking up 200,000 views in its first two weeks, as well as receiving promotion on Twitter by actor Ashton Kutcher. The song got viral globally hitting many other charts, on the top.
8. E.T. (Extra Terrestrial) – Katy Perry ft. Kanye West
One of the best producers in the Hollywood music industry, Kanye West collaborated with Katy Perry to produce one of the most artistic music videos of 2011 E.T ‘Extra Terrestrial’. The whole concept of the video revolves around how the love of Katy’s man is so out of the world and alien, hence the music video shows an alien planet with Katy as one the creatures, with stunning graphics, editing and shots. The music video was indeed a piece of art and got hit almost instantly with it’s release on 30th March 2011 with above 150 Million hits on YouTube.
7. Last Friday Night – Katy Perry ft. Rebbecca Black
With Rebbecca Black’s instant hit ‘Friday’, Katy Perry decided to take this further by collaborating with her in the song ‘Last Friday Night’, the Friday connection is obvious! The video has a funky element to it throughout which is enlarged with the addition of the Legen..Wait for it..Dary Rebecca Black. The song was released on 12 June 2011 hitting views above 150 Million. The video is a portrayal of an innocent girl who gets drunk on a Friday night and wakes up next day to find everything she did online. Such videos attract a large group of young people who being the active members of social media helped this video get viral.
6. Someone Like You – Adele
One of my personal favorites, Adele took 2011 by storm with her voice and the stunning simplicity of her videos. Someone Like You was released on 29th September with over 110 Million views on YouTube. The song also topped the charts in Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Italy, France, Switzerland and has become Adele’s second number one in the United States. The video showed Adele in the streets of Paris, alone, with a sad look on her face which completely sinked in with the mood, tone and lyrics of the song. With her No.1 hit, ‘Rolling In The Deep’, Someone Like You became her second best hit of the year, getting viral with the help of true music lovers.
5. Sexy and I Know It – LMFAO
As the third single for their album, ‘Sexy and I Know It’ hit the boards on 16th September 2011 with a video that is restricted for children under 18 on YouTube, so you can imagine that the video is exactly what the name says, but still managing above 200 Million views! The song became the group’s second number one hit on the billboard hot 100 in the United States, making them the first duo to have two successive number-one singles. It managed to remain on the top 10 of most of the music charts globally. ‘Sexy and I Know It’ proved to be the voice of many perverts and ‘fun’ loving people. The video amazes you even more where LMFAO guys run around with their underwear on, and turning everything else on!!
4. Rolling in the Deep – Adele
Rolling In The Deep, though released in 2010, proved to be the song of 2011, grabbing a shiny Grammy on 12 Feb 2012 for ‘song of the year’, with over 240 Million hits on YouTube. Adele proved herself with taking home six Grammys and Rolling In The Deep being the major reason for her success. “Rolling in the Deep” was acclaimed by music critics and represented a commercial breakthrough for Adele, propelling her to international success. It reached number one in almost 11 countries and made it to top five in several others. The song clearly states the feeling of scorned lover, which a lot of musicians may have made but what Adele did with the composition and the lyrics blew everyone away.
3. The Lazy Song – Bruno Mars
Also nominated for the Grammys this year was Bruno Mars amazing album, ‘Doo-Wops & Hooligans’ with its major hits being ‘Grenade’ and ‘The lazy song’. The lazy song took the cake with it’s humor and the sheer truth of not only Bruno’s but the laziness of everyone around the world. Though it did not get the award but this track hit millions of home pages on Facebook and Twitter globally and acquiring over 275 Million hits on YouTube with its release on 15th April 2011. The songs lyrics and composition are simple but quite catchy. The video portrayed Bruno and five monkeys on the back, dancing, yeah, I know, it sounds SO lame but if you haven’t seen the video yet, go!
This video is my personal favorite because I have a huge crush on Bruno Mars and I think he has a rocking hot face with some amazing jawline.
2. Party Rock Anthem – LMFAO ft. Lauren Bennet, Goon Rock
Probably the most played track in every happening party, radios or T.V channels last year was the Party Rock Anthem. At one point I almost felt my ears bleed out when I heard it playing somewhere. The song hit more than 370 Million views on YouTube after it was released on 8th March 2011. The video sets in with the crazy song as crazy people are shown everywhere dancing on the song. This track sold over 6,000,000 Million digital downloads in USA in only 48 weeks overtaking ‘Rolling in the Deep’ which achieved it in 54 weeks.
1. On The Floor – J.Lo ft. Pitbull
Oh how can I forget this. Released on March 3 2011,Jennifer Lopez beat LMFAO and Adele when it came to a viral party song or just good music by her extremely catchy ‘on the floor’ contrasting a very glamorous music video. I think the video partly got viral due to the stunning J.Lo moves and body. Pitbull added spice to the song pushing it to over 480 Million views on YouTube. More than Imran Khans ‘Amplifier’ or LMFAO’s ‘Party Rock Anthem’, ‘On the Floor’ caught the attention of every kind of media and car decks, iPods, mP3, CD/DVD player. Although, not a personal favorite but the statistics and very much visible hype attached to it helped me place it on No.1 of 2011’s most viral music videos.
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