YouTube unveils top videos of the year

YouTube has unveiled lists ranking the top trending videos, music videos, Shorts, and creators in South Africa for 2022.

This year’s lists are reflective of the most talked about moments to unfold in on and offline this year, such as the NFL halftime show, the moment actor Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars, a dancing Pretoria school teacher, and top South African musical talent like Wanitwa Mos.

“Every year, the YouTube End-of-Year Top lists give us in South Africa a valuable glimpse into what people in South Africa were most curious about,” says Zeph Masote, YouTube lead for South Africa. .”YouTube is the place where everyone comes to see what is happening in the world, while participating in today’s culture. Whether it’s Shorts creators fascinating millions such as the daring antics of Hingaflips, or iconic events such as that Will Smith slap, 2022 was an important year for us all and we cannot wait to see what the next year has in store for us.”

This year, YouTube released five lists in South Africa

1. Top Shorts (NEW): A list ranking the most viewed Shorts in 2022. 
2. Top Trending Videos: A list ranking the most viewed Trending videos  in 2022. 
3. Top Music Videos: A list ranking the most viewed music videos  in 2022. 
4. Top Creators: Based on subscribers gained in 2022. This list includes long form, Shorts, and multiformat Creators.
5. Breakout Creators: Based on subscribers gained in 2022 and channel tripling in size when compared to 2021 (+200% year-over- year growth). This list includes long form, Shorts, and multiformat creators.

The Top Trending Videos list is based on a range of factors – beyond just views – that indicate how “trending” a video really is. The YouTube Culture & Trends team also considers engagement and looks at signals like shares and likes of a certain video. 

YouTube recently announced that YouTube Shorts has over 1.5B logged-in viewers every month and is averaging over 30 billion daily views. The company also announced that YouTube paid more than 50 Billion (USD) to creators, artists, and media companies in the 3 years before June 2022.

More than two million people participate in YouTube’s partnerships program around the world. YouTube’s subscription services, YouTube Premium and YouTube Music, now have more than 80 million users, including trailers, around the world. 

Below are the full End of Year lists for South Africa:

Top Shorts
Video Title	Channel	URL
Diver Cracks Egg at 45 ft Deep #Shorts	Shangerdanger	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeCn3or0XWs
Sarah Trust Challenges	Hingaflips	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IatQYVPRZFU
Social experiment | What would you do?	ILYA BORZOV	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UBIqFwsDKY
She used witchcraft to take our money (Baby almost cried)	Tov Family	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a5liv1d-GE
Power Tools Racing Is INTENSE!!	How Ridiculous	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nus7MfF2ytw
This Magic Trick EXPLAINED (America’s Got Talent)	Zack D. Films	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeuTYc8j3eE
Rihanna Rude Boy – Public Dance	Esosa Ogbebor	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0T6D3Q_Its
He got his daddy back #shorts	Bam and Bri Nation	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbJYDz8TTUM
amapiano groovist @koketsokhunong	Mzansi Fresh Dancers	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSUHT-GhYsY
Welcome to the stomach #shorts	Adrian Bliss	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yG4wWeRMBA