Rebecca Black, Cone-ing and Gotye: 2011 in review on YouTube


YouTube contains the largest and most diverse set of videos ever assembled, but in amongst the one trillion playbacks on YouTube this year, there are some videos that draw us all together. These videos capture the imagination as we watch them over and over and share them with our friends and family.

Today we reveal the top 10 videos watched by Australians on YouTube. The lists show that we were obsessed with Australian musician Gotye as his song became second most watched music video in 2011. Aussies were quite diverse with their musical tastes as Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars and Jennifer Lopez also made the cut.

Rebecca Black and her song Friday became a viral sensation over the year ensuring her song took out top spot for most watched YouTube community video in Australia this year.

A Melbourne prank called “cone-ing”, which involves ordering a soft serve cone at a fast food restaurant’s drive-through and then grabbing hold of the ice cream upside down, was amongst the most watched YouTube Community videos. Showing how YouTube can be the incubator of Aussie talent, Alki Stevens, the person behind the video has given up his day job to concentrate on his comedy career and YouTube Channel.

Also making the list: a short video by Network Ten in which a newsreader responds to an on-air comment about how “something so small can be so impressive”. Labelled “an awkward moment” the YouTube video has been watched more than 7 million times globally.

Australians also came to YouTube to keep informed on the latest news events. The top searches reveal we came online to find footage of the floods in Toowoomba and about Osama bin Laden’s death.

Bizarrely, Aussies were amongst some of the 52 million people who watched “Nyan Cat”, an animated video of a cat propelled across the sky by a rainbow.

To see more of the year’s most popular and influential YouTube videos from across the world, visit youtube.com/rewind.  And for more lists, see YouTube Trends and the YouTube blog.

Most Watched YouTube community videos in Australia:

  1. Rebecca Black - Friday (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
  2. Ultimate Dog Tease
  3. An Awkward Moment
  4. Jack Sparrow (feat. Michael Bolton)
  5. Songify This - Winning - a Song by Charlie Sheen
  6. Nyan Cat [original]
  7. The Creep (feat. Nicki Minaj & John Waters)
  8. Nice Guys
  9. CONE-ING IS THE NEW PLANKING!!!!! (AlkiStevens)
  10. Nicki Minaj - Super Bass By Sophia Grace Brownlee
Most Watched music videos on YouTube in Australia:
  1. LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem ft. Lauren Bennett, GoonRock
  2. Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra)
  3. Nicki Minaj - Super Bass
  4. Jennifer Lopez - On The Floor ft. Pitbull
  5. LMFAO - Sexy and I Know It
  6. Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song [Official Video]
  7. Jessie J - Price Tag ft. B.o.B.
  8. Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
  9. Adele - ''Someone Like You''
  10. LMFAO - Champagne Showers ft. Natalia Kills
Fastest Rising search terms on YouTube by month in Australia
Januarytoowoomba
Februaryborn this way
Marchfriday rebecca black
Aprilparty rock anthem
Maybin laden
Junee3
Julymoves like jagger
Augustit girl
Septemberstereo hearts
Octobermistletoe
Novemberskyrim
Decemberchristmas songs

Posted by Johnny Luu, Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Google Australia