YouTube Reached Its Two Billion Views With Gangnam Style

In regards to YouTube, it’s hard to believe that a new landmark can be reached. Amongst all of the social media networks, YouTube has seemingly accomplished the most from a media standpoint, given the fact that videos are easily digestible. It’s because of this that YouTube attracts numbers. However, when you least expect it, the site can surprise you. Recently, the video-sharing network was able to share perhaps the most surprising statistic of all: two billion YouTube views.
 

YouTube reached two billion views with Gangnam Style

 
It was recently reported that Gangnam Style, the viral melody dating back to 2012, who became the first video ever to hit a billion views on YouTube, has reached a total of two billion views on YouTube. During 2012, it seemed as though South Korean pop sensation Psy was one of the most talked about celebrities in the world. People who loved “Gangnam Style” saw him as a musical mastermind. Others saw the song as an addictive melody that, no matter how much they tried, they could not get out of their heads. Much like other one-hit wonders, though, “Gangnam Style” faded until no one was talking about it in the mainstream.
 

 
At the risk of sounding older than I actually am, it’s easy to say that you had to be there during the peak of “Gangnam Style” to truly understand its popularity. Once Psy’s magnum opus reached everyone’s ears, it seemed like everything was up for grabs. People started to learn Psy’s dance moves until they were able to get the entire “Gangnam Style” routine down. Content creators on YouTube released parodies of their own in order to capitalize on the song’s massive popularity. As any online marketing firm can attest to, this song became a monster and it’d be easy to look at it as one of the defining melodies of 2012.
What’s important to note, though, is just because an entity loses steam on the Internet does not mean that it completely fades into obscurity. Yes, those who listened to the song during 2012 may claim that they wouldn’t mind if they never heard it again. What about those who are just being introduced to the Internet now? It’s likely that they have never been introduced to “Gangnam Style,” so it’s likely that they will listen to it, whether they are introduced to it or have stumbled upon the song in question.
How will someone who listens to “Gangnam Style” in 2022 react to it by comparison to someone who listened to it during its peak in 2012? Regardless, it’s still a view.
To me, it’s like watching a movie that you enjoyed as a child several years ago but a child today may not see as fondly. For example, even though the first “Toy Story” is heralded as an animated classic, it’s easy to see that it has aged in certain respects. Environments are tame, to some extent, and CG was still in its infancy as a concept. Today, a 30-year-old can see it as a classic despite its aging. Whether or not a boy or girl a third of that age will look at it the same is hard to determine. As stated before, though, a view was gained.
Even though Psy’s mainstream popularity has dwindled, his YouTube notoriety is still strong. Between the landmark success that was “Gangnam Style” and “Gentleman“, the latter standing at number 7 in terms of all-time most viewed YouTube videos, Psy’s work stands the chance of being exposed to other generations to come.
 
What is your opinion about “Gangnam Style” being the first YouTube video to attract two billion views? Please leave your thoughts below!

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See also:  ‘Gangnam Style’ became the most viewed YouTube Video of All Time