YouTube has revealed the UK’s top 10 most-watched music videos of 2023.
Earning the Number One spot on the annual list is Miley Cyrus‘ Grammy-nominated track ‘Flowers’. The video has 644 million views.
‘Flowers’ debuted at Number One on the UK Singles chart as well as the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Cyrus’ second Number One song toping the chart since 2013’s ‘Wrecking Ball’. It also debuted at number one on the Billboard Global 200 chart and stayed on top for thirteen non-consecutive weeks.The song was also the highest-earning song on Spotify in 2023.
Following ‘Flowers’ is Central Cee and Dave’s hit ‘Sprinter’. The video, which was shot in London and Monaco, and features Nigerian artist Slawn, has 154 million views.
The track debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, marking the biggest opening week of the year (per the Official Charts). ‘Sprinter’ opened with 108,200 chart units in its first tracking week alongside 13.4 million streams which marked the biggest week of streams for a rap single ever in UK history (per BBC News).
At the third spot is Libianca’s ‘People’. Check out the full list of the top 10 most viewed videos below.
YouTube UK’s top 10 most-watched music videos of 2023 are:
1. Miley Cyrus – ‘Flowers’
2. Central Cee x Dave – ‘Sprinter’
3. Libianca – ‘People’
4. PinkPantheress, Ice Spice – ‘Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2’
5. Jazzy – ‘Giving Me’
6. Lewis Capaldi – ‘Wish You The Best’
7. Switch Disco feat. Ella Henderson – ‘REACT’
8. Calvin Harris, Ellie Goulding – ‘Miracle’
9. Byron Messia – ‘Talibans’
10. Strandz feat. Digga D – ‘Us Against The World Remix’
The annual list highlighted musical diversity, with the most-viewed videos coming from a number of different genres, including pop, alt-pop, dancehall, UK rap and dance.
The list also showed that the British public gave equal air time to established pop icons such as Cyrus, as well as Lewis Capaldi who entered at number 6 with ‘Wish You The Best’, to rising stars including Byron Messia and Irish-Jamaican newcomer Jazzy, whose club-ready track ‘Giving Me’ introduced Irish house to the UK.
Elsewhere, Both ‘Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2’ and ‘Sprinter’ made it on to NME‘s 50 best songs of 2023 list.
At number 28, ‘Sprinter’ was called a “summer smasher”, with NME’s Thomas Smith adding that the track “would rule the charts for a whopping 10 weeks in the UK, taking the record as the longest-running rap Number One single. It showcased the duo at their best: sharp wordplay, a bright beat and a blockbuster creative partnership.”
‘Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2’ landed the eighth spot on the list with NME saying: “Two of this generation’s biggest viral sensations – PinkPantheress and Ice Spice – delivered the ultimate transatlantic link-up in January. Clocking in at a spritely two minutes, the Mura Masa-produced hit was inescapable; in July, their surprise live performance at Wireless was met with deafening screams. It’s easy to see how the infectious bop has since racked up more than 723 million streams on Spotify alone.”