The top 10 most successful songs on YouTube

 10. "Katy Perry - Roar (Official)"

On number 10 is Katy Perry's hit song "Roar". The song, released on YouTube in 2013, has garnered a whopping 2.44 billion views. The colourful video sees the songstress befriending a host of different jungle animals, among them a majestic tiger.

 9. "Enrique Iglesias - Bailando (Español) ft. Descemer Bueno, Gente De Zona"

Who would have known? Enrique Iglesias' song "Bailando" comes in at 9 with 2.48 billion views. The song was released in 2014.

 8. "Taylor Swift - Shake It Off"

In 8th place comes a song that stormed the charts in the year 2014. "Shake it Off" by Taylor Swift was played up and down throughout the world's radio stations and at countless frat parties and managed to rack up an incredible total of 2.52 billion views. Critics targeted Swift's video and accused it of underlying racism, but Swift successfully managed to shake the accusations off.

 7. "Maroon 5 - Sugar"

Maroon 5's song "Sugar" comes in 7th place, attracting 2.53 billion views since its release in 2015. The music video certainly is sweet, showing the band making surprise appearances at a number of weddings.

 6. "Justin Bieber - Sorry (PURPOSE : The Movement)"

YouTube and Justin Bieber - these two are literally inseparable. The teen heartthrob, who started his career on the online video platform, comes in at number 6. The young Canadian singer's hit song "Sorry" reached almost 3 billion viewers to date.

 5. "Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk"

The musical dream team comprising Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson, the popular British music producer, is in 5th place on our list. In the music video, Bruno Mars shows off his dance prowess. The song's catchy tune and star-studded line-up drew in more than 3 billion viewers so far.

 4. "PSY - GANGNAM STYLE M/V"

2012 - the year of "Gangnam Style". You might think of Psy as a kooky one hit wonder but you probably can't resist shaking a leg to the catchy rhythm of his song. The South Korean, whose real name is Park Jae-sang, embodied the 2012 zeitgeist and created some of the very first viral dance-moves ever. "Gangnam Style" reached number one in over 20 countries, including Luxembourg, and managed to maintain the top position in YouTube's most viewed music video list for an astonishing five years. To date, it has been watched more than 3.13 billion times.

 3. "Ed Sheeran - Shape of You [Official Video]"

Cosy up for our number 3! The first song to make the podium is Ed Sheeran's dreamy number "Shape of you". The British singer-songwriter has been riding the wave of success for a number of years now, arguably reaching the peak of his success with his cameo role in HBO's Game of Thrones. The Brit's hit song "Shape of you" has attracted a grand total of more than 3.36 billion views.

 2. "Wiz Khalifa - See You Again ft. Charlie Puth [Official Video] Furious 7 Soundtrack" 

Our second place comes with a sad backstory. The song "See you again" is the title song of the 7th instalment of the successful film franchise "Fast & Furious" and is dedicated to the franchise's lead actor Paul Walker, who sadly passed away in the middle of filming. He died in a car crash on 30 November 2013 at the age of 40, leaving behind a young daughter.
"See you again" by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth have been viewed over 3.48 billion times.

 1. "Luis Fonsi - Despacito ft. Daddy Yankee"

Love it or hate it, but Luis Fonsi's "Despacito" is YouTube's number one most watched music video of all time... by far. Raking in an impressive 5 billion views since its release in January 2017, the song pushed the previous most watched video down to second place after reaching over 3 billion views in just seven months.