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Here are the top children’s videos on YouTube as of March 2021. These numbers are almost unbelievable, reaching worldwide audiences. But any parent or guardian, who has allowed their children to watch these videos, understands how they can rack up so many views. They get played over and over! The kids just love them and get hooked on their lyrics, visuals, and melody. I am not sure if the creators realized just how many views such videos could achieve, but they have certainly created a formula and following for continued success.
- Baby Shark 9.32 billion plays (Pinkfong)
- The Bath Song 4.5 billion plays (Cocomellon)
- Masha and the Bear 4.6 billion plays (Get Movies)
- Learning Colors 4.5 billion plays (Miroshka TV)
- Phonics Songs with Two Words 4.6 billion plays (ChuChu TV)
- Wheels on the Bus 3.26 billion plays (Cocomellon)
Why is Baby Shark So Popular?
Baby Shark by Pinkfong is the #1 played video on YouTube. Why? First, Baby Shark was not always globally popular. Baby Shark was a popular nursery rhyme and is in the public domain. It is not clear who actually first wrote Baby Shark. It was not uncommon for parents to change the words to the tune for added variety. It was not until Baby Shark was remixed by Pinkfong, a Seoul Korea-based production company that the song zoomed in popularity. Pinkfong covered the song, using Korean-American singer, Hope Segoine.
Pinkfong added bright visuals, repetitive motions, smiling kids, to the catchy tune and released the song on YouTube in 2016. Baby Shark’s repetitive lyrics talking about Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa are, pardon the pun, music to a child’s ear. Who doesn’t want to sing about mom and dad, grandma and grandpa? And coming in at just over 2-minutes the song starts and ends quickly, inviting a quick replay. Kids will watch the video over and over, much to their parent's and grandparents' dismay! but it makes the children happy! I have seen it personally while watching my 3 and 2-year old granddaughters enjoy the video singing and following along with the “shark” motions. Well done Pinkfong!
Baby Shark and Wheels on the Bus are Among the Top 20 Most Played Videos on YouTube
Ask any parent (or grandparent like me!) of young pre-school kids, what is the most popular video on YouTube© and they will probably guess Baby Shark or Wheels on the Bus. And they would be right! The top 20 videos on YouTube (as of March 2021) account for 89.7 billion plays and 6 preschool-focused videos account for a full third (33.8% or 30.34 billion plays). That’s amazing! Of the top-20 videos, 30% of them are children’s videos and the #1 most-played video on YouTube is Baby Shark with over 9 billion plays! For a platform that expressly states that it is not a children’s platform, YouTube has a huge following by children and their parents.
Cocomellon is the Most Subscribed To Channel on YouTube
While Baby Shark may be the #1 YouTube video, Cocomellon is the #1 most-subscribed channel on YouTube with over 118 million subscribers and has produced two of the Top-20 videos on YouTube: The Bath Song (4.5 billion plays) and Wheels on The Bus (3.26 billion plays). Cocomellon was formerly ABC Kids TV and prior to that, was named That’s Me on TV, and was recently acquired by Moonbug. According to their About statement on YouTube, collectively, Cocomellon has over 109 billion video views and they “produce beautiful 3D animation and toe-tapping songs to create a virtual world that centers on everyday experiences of young children. According to an article on The Verge, in one month Cocomellon generates more views than any other YouTube channel and generates more total monthly views than Netflix and Disney+.
Speaking from experience, I watch my grandchildren enjoy their videos. The images are simple, the songs are simple, fun, repetitive, and about everyday things that a child can understand. I believe kids see themselves in and through Cocomellon videos. Most importantly, the songs teach a lesson. Whether brushing your teeth, taking a bath, cleaning your room, or taking the bus, it's hard to not watch a Cocomellon video without learning a lesson. Kids just absorb the music and visuals and watch them over and over, driving those lessons home.
Where does ChuChu TV rank in YouTube popularity?
According to their About page, ChuChu TV Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs is the third most subscribed YouTube channel with 52 million subscribers and now over 33 billion video views. ChuChu TV specializes in 2D and 3D videos based on nursery rhymes and educational themes and is designed to teach moral values to young children. ChuChu TV was started by Vinoth Chandar, who is now CEO and Creative Director. The first video posted by ChuChu TV was “Chubby Cheeks” and was based on Chandar’s 3-year-old daughter named “ChuChu.”
ChuChu TV’s most popular video is Phonics Songs with Two Words with 4.1B videos. This is an amazingly simple video, showing and signing the alphabet displaying the lower and upper case of each letter, alongside a well-known visual for each letter sound, ex apple, ant, ball, bat, cat, cup, etc. All ChuChu TV songs and videos are easy to enjoy and understand for young viewers.
*Article Sources
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-viewed_YouTube_videos
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChuChu_TV