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YouTube Releases 2022 Trending U.S. Videos, Creators: Technoblade, MrBeast Top Lists

Todd Spangler
·4 min read

The top-trending U.S. video on YouTube this year was late gaming creator Technoblade’s posthumous message to fans, while MrBeast scored as the YouTuber with the biggest subscriber gains in 2022.

YouTube on Thursday announced its year-end top 10 trending videos, creators and songs in the U.S., as well as the top ads globally.

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No. 1 on the top-trending videos list was “so long nerds,” the emotional clip shared on Technoblade’s channel in which the popular Minecraft content creator’s father announced that his son had died. Technoblade, whose name was Alex, died in June at age 23 one year after receiving a cancer diagnosis.

The video included a message from Technoblade, read by his father, which said, “Hello everyone, Technoblade here. If you’re watching this, I am dead. Thank you all for supporting my content over the years. If I had another hundred lives, I think I would choose to be Technoblade again every single time as those were the happiest years of my life.”

On Oct. 28, the YouTube Gaming team shared a video on the ninth anniversary of Technoblade’s channel, celebrating his legacy and impact on the platform through a trend-based exploration of his catchphrase “Technoblade never dies.” The video invited viewers to make donations to the Sarcoma Foundation of America in his honor. YouTube also launched a search Easter egg for the creator: When you type “Technoblade” in the YouTube search bar the “did you mean” prompt displays “Technoblade never dies.”

Also making YouTube’s 2022 top trending videos list were the Guardian’s uncensored clip of Will Smith smacking Chris Rock at the Oscars (No. 2), the face reveal by Minecraft creator Dream (No. 3), the NFL’s Super Bowl LVI halftime show (No. 4) and the Try Guys’ video explaining why they parted ways with former member Ned Fulmer after the revelation of Fulmer’s workplace affair (No. 9). YouTube’s trending videos ranking is based on in-country views of videos uploaded in 2022, excluding Shorts, music videos, trailers, and children’s videos. The list counts only one video per creator.

The top U.S. YouTube creators list is based on total in-country subscribers gained in 2022. MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, picked up more than 27 million new subscribers this year — standing currently at 114 million, making him the most-subscribed individual YouTube channel. He surpassed 100 million subs this July. MrBeast was is highest-earning YouTube creator ever, pulling in an estimated $54 million in 2021, per Forbes.

MrBeast — famous for extravagant stunts and big-money giveaways — also had the No. 5 trending U.S. YouTube video of the year with “I Built Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!”, featuring celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and other guests participating in stunts and challenges in a facsimile of the fictional candy-maker’s plant.

YouTube’s top 10 songs streamed in the U.S. on the platform for 2022 was led by “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Disney’s “Encanto” (see story).

Meanwhile, YouTube is no longer producing an annual Rewind mash-up video. Last year, the video platform announced the discontinuation of YouTube Rewind, saying that one single video can’t reflect “the full breadth” of its creator community.

YouTube U.S. Trending Videos

  1. Technoblade: so long nerds

  2. Guardian News: Will Smith smacks Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars, drops F-bomb

  3. Dream: hi, I’m Dream.

  4. NFL: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar & 50 Cent Pepsi SB LVI Halftime Show

  5. MrBeast: I Built Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!

  6. Mark Rober: Pranks Destroy Scam Callers – GlitterBomb Payback

  7. Jaiden Animations: Being Not Straight

  8. Kane Pixels: The Backrooms (Found Footage)

  9. The Try Guys: what happened.

  10. First We Feast: Millie Bobby Brown Needs a Milkshake

YouTube U.S. Top Creators

  1. MrBeast (114 million subscribers)

  2. NichLmao (18.7 million)

  3. Airrack (10.7 million)

  4. Ryan Trahan (11.1 million)

  5. Isaiah Photo (8 million)

  6. Brent Rivera (22.3 million)

  7. Dan Rhodes (18.8 million)

  8. Luke Davidson (9.31 million)

  9. CoryxKenshin (15 million)

  10. Ian Boggs (8.1 million)

YouTube also announced the year’s 10 “breakout creators,” who have channels that had more than tripled their subscriber counts in 2022 compared with subs gained in 2021. The list excludes artists, brands, media companies and children’s content.

YouTube Breakout Creators

  • NichLmao (18.7 million subscribers)

  • Airrack (10.7 million)

  • Jooj Natu ENG (6 million)

  • Shangerdanger (4 million)

  • David the Baker (2.5 million)

  • Kat (5.2 million)

  • Dayta (4.4 million)

  • Devin Caherly Shorts (3.6 million)

  • MDMotivator (4.2 million)

  • Charles Brockman III (TheOnly CB3) (2.4 million)

In addition, YouTube released its top ads of the year, as determined by an algorithm that factors in organic and paid views, watch time and audience retention as measured from Nov. 1, 2021-Oct. 31, 2022. Leading the pack was Amazon’s Super Bowl 2022 spot for Alexa featuring celebrity couple Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost.

YouTube Global Top Ads

  1. Amazon Super Bowl LVI Ad with Scarlett Johansson, Colin Jost (U.S.)

  2. Telecom Egypt Ramadan 2022 Announcement (Egypt)

  3. Clash of Clans: Clan Capital (U.S.)

  4. Apple: MacBook Air (U.S.)

  5. Hyundai Worldwide: Goal of the Century x BTS (U.S.)

  6. Imagine Your Korea (Korea)

  7. HBO Max: “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” trailer (U.S.)

  8. Netflix: “All of Us Are Dead” trailer (U.S.)

  9. Chevrolet Brasil: Zé & Zê – Feita Pra Mim (Brazil)

  10. Squarespace: Sally’s Seashells Super Bowl ad (U.S.)

VIP+ Special Report: Firing Up Fans to Be YouTube Creators

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