Skip to main content

What do yodeling and Kylie Jenner have in common? YouTube’s top 2018 videos

YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind | #YouTubeRewind

Where else can you watch kids yodeling in Walmart and bread perfectly tossed into a toaster? On YouTube and its top 10 videos of 2018. On Thursday, December 6, YouTube shared the top 10 trending videos on the platform, with the group reaching more than 673 million views.

Headlining the list is Kylie Jenner’s “To Our Daughter,” an 11-minute video on the star’s pregnancy, which was largely kept out of the limelight until after Stormi was born in February. The video has more than 75 million views.

To Our Daughter

Dude Perfect’s second video on Real Life Trick Shots took second on YouTube’s top list of trending videos for the year, as the stars of the channel toss picture frames onto the wall and slice tomatoes with a quick toss into a knife.

Real Life Trick Shots 2 | Dude Perfect

In third, YouTube Vloggers David Dobrik and Liza Koshy shared the news of their break-up in an emotional video with fans. The video had more than 46 million views.

we broke up

In a true nod to the variety found on YouTube, the fourth top trending video is of a kid in Walmart — yodeling. In the video, Mason Ramsey sings to Hank William’s Lovesick Blues with surprising ability, decked out in cowboy boots, a bowtie, and a belt buckle — in aisle 12. The initial video later led Ramsey to more than 300 million views across multiple videos. 

Walmart yodeling kid

The fifth most popular video answered “The Dress” question of 2018 — does that recording say Yanney or Laurel? The creators at AsapScience explain the science of why the internet was divided on that recording.

Do You Hear "Yanny" or "Laurel"? (SOLVED with SCIENCE)

The FIFA World Cup — which were also among the trending topics in 2018 for Facebook and Twitter — was the sixth most popular video, with Match 3 of Portugal versus Spain. YouTubers watched more than 300 million hours of the World Cup this year. 

A video from Primitive Survival Tool on building a swimming pool around an underground house was No. 6 on the list. The YouTube Original Cobra Kai episode one Ace Degenerate, which continues the Karate Kid saga was next on the list, followed by a video by comedian Amit Bhadana and a film from KhangProFilm.

YouTube also shared the list of the biggest music videos of the year — and eight of the 10 are by Latin artists. YouTube says the category has seen major growth after 2017’s release of the song Despacito. Artists on the list include Nio Garcia, Darell, Nicky Jam, Daddy Yankee, and Drake. Girls Like You by Maroon 5 with Cardi B was the No. 1 song globally for the summer. Korean pop band BTS had the biggest debut with the most views in the first 24 hours. The In My Feelings dance challenge, which was also Twitter’s No. 1 tweet, lead to more than 600 million views for the original song by Drake.

Outside the top 10 lists, YouTube also shared a handful of other trends. Fortnite was the second most watched video game globally and broke records for the most game uploaded videos in a single month in February. YouTube’s biggest livestream yet was the SpaceX launch with more than 2.3 million views at one time. That doesn’t top the 11 million views total over the course of one day for the royal wedding livestream, though.

Editors' Recommendations

Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
7 best YouTube videos of 2023
A man comforts two other men on Saturday Night Live.

Even as apps like TikTok dominate many people's screen time, YouTube has endured as a source for whatever it is that you might be interested in watching. Sports highlights? On YouTube. Clips from late-night shows? Same. Music videos? YouTube's got 'em.

Because YouTube has such a diverse array of options, it can be hard to narrow down our list to just seven to represent the entire year. Needless to say, there are plenty of videos that could have made this list, but didn't. For our money, though, these seven are some of the best ways you could've spent your time on YouTube this year.
Rihanna's Super Bowl Halftime Show
Rihanna’s FULL Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show

Read more
Max is now available to watch on YouTube Primetime Channels
Max on YouTube Primetime Channels as seen on an iPhone.

Max — the streaming service that houses all the shows and movies from the combined Warner Bros. Discovery universe — is now available to watch in full on YouTube. Or, rather, on YouTube Primetime Channels.

That's the somewhat clunky name for the scheme by which you can watch subscription services from within YouTube itself. It's exactly the same idea as what's going on with NFL Sunday Ticket. You subscribe and watch on YouTube and pay via your Google account. It's also pretty much the exact same thing as Max on Amazon Prime Channels. But unlike the Amazon options, only one flavor of Max is available on YouTube PrimeTime Channels. You'll get the full version, sans advertising, for $16 a month. (It rounds up to a little more than $18 a month after taxes.)

Read more
The best cooking videos on YouTube (December 2023)
Gordon Ramsay in the kitchen flipping something in a pan.

It’s easy to go down the rabbit hole of cooking videos on YouTube. From funny ones to useful videos, celebrity chefs, and amateurs, the best cooking videos on YouTube run the gamut. If you’re curious to learn the basics or improve your skills in the culinary arts, YouTube has you covered.

We have scoured the video-sharing site and found some of the best cooking videos you can watch on YouTube. Curl up with a cup of hot cocoa, a beer, or a glass of wine and prepare to be entertained. When you’re done and ready to invest more time, check out the best free movies on YouTube right now.
Gordon Ramsay’s Thanksgiving Recipe Guide
Gordon Ramsay's Thanksgiving Recipe Guide

Read more