Latin artists dominate YouTube in 2018

Nov 15, 2018 - Culture and Trends

In anticipation of the 2018 Latin Grammy Awards ceremony on Thursday, November 15th, YouTube is looking back on the music and artists that enjoyed incredible success and growth this year on the platform. Latin music and artists continued to dominate YouTube in 2018, building upon the genre’s explosive growth in 2017. At the start of 2017 there were 5 videos from Latin artists in YouTube’s Billion Views Club and today there are 41! More than half of the top 100 most-viewed music videos of 2018 are Latin and 8 of the top 10 most-viewed music videos of 2018 feature Latin artists.

Latin artists have become international superstars, reaching a receptive and excited global audience through YouTube. This year the top 3 most played artists globally on YouTube are all Latin Artists: Ozuna, J Balvin and Bad Bunny. Ozuna amassed over 8.7B views this year alone, J Balvin’s videos were viewed over 7.1B times, and the “Te Bote” remix hit 1 Billion views in only 119 days!

In 2017 “Despacito,” took over the globe and Reggaeton reigned as the most popular Latin Genre. In 2018, we saw more diversification of Latin music with many new artists, countries and genres represented in the most viewed Latin lists, including a new wave of artists like Anitta, Manuel Turizo, Sebastian Yatra and many more.

To demonstrate the continued explosive growth of Latin Music on YouTube in 2018, following are facts about how the genre crossed borders and reached a global audience.

Explosive Growth (in numbers) of Latin Music on YouTube in 2018:

Latin Artists dominate YouTube, holding top spots on the charts and represent 1/3 of artists in YouTube's Billion views club — their formidable growth show no signs of slowing down.

  • Top 3 most played artists globally on YouTube so far in 2018 are all Latin
  1. Ozuna (20M Subs)
  2. J Balvin (18M Subs)
  3. Bad Bunny (13M Subs)
  • Top 10 Most Viewed Latin Music Videos Released in 2018
  1. Te Bote Remix - Casper, Nio García, Darell, Nicky Jam, Bad Bunny, Ozuna | Video Oficial
  2. Nicky Jam x J. Balvin - X (EQUIS) | Video Oficial | Prod. Afro Bros & Jeon
  3. Daddy Yankee | Dura (Video Oficial)
  4. Ozuna x Romeo Santos - El Farsante (Remix) (Video Oficial)
  5. Becky G, Natti Natasha - Sin Pijama (Official Video)
  6. El Chombo - Dame Tu Cosita feat. Cutty Ranks (Official Video) [Ultra Music]
  7. Reik - Me Niego ft. Ozuna, Wisin
  8. Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin - I Like It [Official Music Video]
  9. Bad Bunny - Amorfoda | Video Oficial
  10. Vaina Loca - Ozuna x Manuel Turizo (Video Oficial)

Top global acts like Ozuna, J Balvin, Bad Bunny and Natti Natasha are paving the way for a new wave of diverse Latin musicians, with artists like Anitta, Manuel Turizo, Sebastian Yatra and more having a breakout 2018.

Sebastian Yatra

  • Sebastian Yatra has had 2.36B views globally across YouTube in 2018 alone, making him a top 50 artist for this year.

  • Released in January, his track “No Hay Nadie Más” has had over 579M views across YouTube.

  • His official artist channel has over 4.9M subscribers.
    Manuel Turizo

  • Manuel Turizo has had 1.87B views globally across YouTube in 2018 alone, making him a top 100 artist for this year.

  • He’s credited on two videos with over one billion views, both of which hit the milestone this year.

  • His official artist channel has over 4.1M subscribers.
    Anitta

  • Anitta has had 1.7B views globally across YouTube in 2018 alone, making her a top 100 artist for this year.

  • Her collaboration with J Balvin, “Downtown,” has amassed 486M views across YouTube in 2018.

  • Her official artist channel has over 10M subscribers.

Chart Topping Songs

Nicky Jam x J. Balvin - X (EQUIS) | Video Oficial | Prod. Afro Bros & Jeon

  • X” is the 3rd most played track globally across YouTube in 2018.

  • The music video hit one billion views July 4—125 days after its release—making it the sixth fastest video reach the milestone.

  • It charted in 31 countries on YouTube, including Denmark, Romania, and Serbia.
    Daddy Yankee | Dura (Video Oficial)

  • Dura” is the 4th most played track globally across YouTube in 2018.

  • The music video released in January this year and quickly crossed one billion views in August.

  • It charted in 28 countries on YouTube, including the Czech Republic, Ireland, and Sweden.
    Te Bote Remix - Casper, Nio García, Darell, Nicky Jam, Bad Bunny, Ozuna | Video Oficial

  • The “Te Bote” remix is the 5th most played track globally across YouTube in 2018.

  • The music video hit one billion views August 8—119 days after its release—making it the sixth fastest video reach the milestone.

  • It charted in 17 countries on YouTube, including Belgium, Switzerland, and France.
    Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin - I Like It [Official Music Video]

  • I Like It” is in the top 20 most played tracks globally across YouTube in 2018.

  • It was the most-viewed song in the US during the months of June, July, and August—making it YouTube’s official Song of the Summer.

  • It charted in 38 countries on YouTube, including Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Estonia.

About YouTube Music

YouTube Music is a new music streaming service made for music: official songs, albums, thousands of playlists and artist radio plus YouTube’s tremendous catalog of remixes, live performances, covers and music videos that you can’t find anywhere else — all simply organized and personalized. For the first time, all the ways music moves you can be found in one place.