For the last several years, video has increasingly been a medium that inspired and fascinated Indians and also became the canvas for their imaginations. In the twelfth year of YouTube's journey in India, 2019 has proven to be a coming-of-age year in more ways than one.
While movies and music continued to rule the hearts and minds of India, with 'Rowdy Baby' from Dhanush-starrer Maari 2 making it to YouTube's global most viewed charts, breakout creators like Khandeshi Movies and their signature style of down-home comedy had us laughing with the rest of the country.
2019 was also the year when previously niche genres like farming, gaming and learning blossomed into categories worth reckoning, notching impressive reach and engagement. Across categories, women creators could be seen leading from the front. While 2016 had just 1 woman creator with a subscriber base of over 1 million, 2019 has seen that number climb to a whopping 120 women creators with over a million followers.
While the portfolio of categories widened to add new verticals like learning and farming, Indian languages continued their expansion across verticals, with languages like Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam turning into fast growing video ecosystems in their own right. From comedy to gaming to beauty, each of these languages today houses a full showcase of the range of content on YouTube, with millions of creators fuelling the growth, and advertisers leveraging it to reach their marketing objectives.
Here's a quick look at 2019 in video, and what made the top charts globally and in India.
YouTube Most viewed Music Videos Globally
- Daddy Yankee & Snow - Con Calma (Video Oficial)
- ROSALÍA, J Balvin - Con Altura (Official Video) ft. El Guincho
- Anuel AA, KAROL G - Secreto
- Anuel AA, Daddy Yankee, Karol G, Ozuna & J Balvin - China (Video Oficial)
- Jhay Cortez, J. Balvin, Bad Bunny - No Me Conoce (Remix)
- Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello - Señorita
- Maari 2 - Rowdy Baby (Video Song) | Dhanush, Sai Pallavi | Yuvan Shankar Raja | Balaji Mohan
- BLACKPINK - 'Kill This Love' M/V
- Billie Eilish - bad guy
- Ariana Grande - 7 rings
YouTube Top Trending Videos in India
- Khandeshi Movies - Chotu Ke Golgappe
- Jaipur The Pink City - New Arabic Mehndi Design by Sonia Goyal
- Team Naach - O Saki Saki | Batla House
- The Motor Mouth - When Kapil Sharma met Doraemon voice artist
- Satish Tech - How To Make Helicopter Matchbox Helicopter Toy DIY
- Animated Video Pro - लालची दूधवाली | जादुई इंजेक्शन
- Cricket.com - Kohli, Dhoni too good for the Aussies | Second Gillette ODI
- Discovery Channel India - Exclusive Sneak Peek| Man VS Wild with Bear Grylls and PM Modi
- Sarpmitra Akash Jadhav - Dangerous Rescue Operation | Rescue indian cobra snake in the well from Ahmednagar maharashtra
- Experiment King - Chewing gum vs Hot oil experiment
YouTube Top Trending Music Videos in India
- Rowdy Baby - Dhanush, Sai Pallavi | Yuvan Shankar Raja | Maari 2
- Vaaste - Dhvani Bhanushali, Tanishk Bagchi | Nikhil D | Bhushan Kumar | Radhika Rao, Vinay Sapru
- She Don't Know - Millind Gaba Song | Shabby
- Coca Cola - Kartik A, Kriti S | Tony Kakkar | Tanishk Bagchi | Neha Kakkar | Luka Chuppi
- Coka - Sukh-E Muzical Doctorz | Alankrita Sahai | Jaani | Arvindr Khaira
- Ve Maahi - Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra | Arijit Singh & Asees Kaur | Tanishk Bagchi | Kesari
- Dheeme Dheeme - Tony Kakkar ft. Neha Sharma
- Lehanga - Jass Manak, Satti Dhillon
- Pachtaoge - Arijit Singh | Vicky Kaushal, Nora Fatehi |Jaani, B Praak, Arvindr Khaira | Bhushan Kumar
- O Saki Saki - Nora Fatehi, Tanishk B, Neha K, Tulsi K, B Praak, Vishal-Shekhar | Batla House
With the massive depth and diversity of content on the platform, some of the country's most-loved brands have leveraged YouTube to tell some of the year's most compelling brand stories, the best of which form the YouTube Ads Leaderboard for 2019.
YouTube Ads Leaderboard India
- Kia Motors - Kia Motors India | Magical Inspirations | Stunning Designs
- Samsung - Samsung India Good Vibes App: Caring for the Possibilities
- Pepsi - Har Ghoont Mein Swag | Tiger Shroff | Disha Patani | Badshah | Ahmed Khan | Bhushan Kumar
- Mi Smart LED TV - Mi Smart LED TV sab ki sunega | Say It See It - Xiaomi India
- OPPO - OPPO F11 Pro | Features, Specs & Product Overview | Available Now
- Google Assistant - Pooche koi bhi sawaal Hindi mein (mausam ki jaankari) | Google Assistant
- Aditya Birla Group - Aditya Birla Group - Big in Your Life
- OnePlus - 90 Hz Smooth Moves | OnePlus x Robert Downey Jr
- Horlicks - #FearLessKota #BottleOfLove
- Vivo - All new vivo S1 with 32MP Selfie Camera | #ItsMyStyle | HDFC and Jio Offer
Our Rewind 2019 video compiles the top videos and creators that you liked and watched the most around the world, from the biggest games to must-watch beauty palettes and breakout stars.
For a deeper look at the year on YouTube and to see the top videos and trends in many other countries, head to this year's Rewind site.
Posted by Satya Raghavan, Director - YouTube Partnerships, India