It’s that time of year when the internet collectively looks back at the events of the past 365 days and compiles commemorative lists in order to make sense of a hectic year. YouTube recently dropped several such lists, including the top trending videos of 2022 in lieu of YouTube Rewind, which was discontinued last year. Some of the videos, such as one famous awards show slap, come as no surprise, while others are a little more unexpected.
Unlike with Rewind, YouTube specifically looked at videos that went viral in individual countries and compiled lists per those respective countries. We’re going to specifically talk about the trending videos from the U.S. in this article, but you can take a look at other countries’ lists on YouTube.
Now, let’s reflect on 2022 and the top-10 videos that we couldn’t stop watching this past year.
10. Millie Bobby Brown eats some spicy wings
Stranger Things. She had some of the best reactions any guest has had on the show. She starts off the interview giving very professional responses and by the end, Brown is just trying to survive. Plenty of viral moments came out of this interview, including a struggling Brown asking host Sean Evans, “Why did you do this to me? I’m only 18. I’m only small.” A surprise appearance from co-star Noah Schnapp rounds out the hilarious interview.
9. The Try Guys become the Tri Guys
In some of the most surprisingly gripping internet drama we’ve ever seen, the memes.
8. Creepypasta-inspired short film, ‘The Backrooms’
Sixteen-year-old director Kane Parsons (name: Kane Pixels) made a short film inspired by the “Backrooms horror film looks straight out of a VHS tape and accurately portrays the unsettling atmosphere of the original internet myth. The film’s protagonist lives out a scenario straight out of a nightmare, cursed to wander the fluorescent office halls for eternity or at least until the creature stalking him gets bored.
7. Jaiden Animations comes out as “aroace”
Popular YouTuber Jaiden Animation announced that she was aromantic-arosexual or “aroace” in her own signature story-driven style. The video quickly went viral and spurred conversation about asexuality and the aroace spectrum. Jaiden Animation rarely opens up about her personal life and says she has no plans to further discuss her sexuality, but the creator started an open discussion to bring more awareness and representation to the identities.
6. Mark Robers gets revenge on scam callers
YouTuber Mark Rober has gone viral in the past for finding creative ways to prevent package theft, and in 2022, he continued to fight crime via elaborate pranks. A former NASA engineer, Rober put his skills to the test and, with the help of other fraud fighters, enacted a prank that ends with a scam calling center covered in glitter, cockroaches, and a disgusting stench. It’s crazy to believe that Rober might not have created such insane pranks if not for some thieves stealing a package off his porch a few years ago.
5. MrBeast recreated Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory
popular YouTuber didn’t recreate the torturing children portion of the factory.
4. Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show
The Emmy award.
3. Dream revealed his face
One of the most popular currently facing, Dream might wish he stayed unknown.
2. Will Smith slaps Chris Rock at the Oscars
It was the slap heard around the world: celebrity reactions. If you’re like the rest of us, you’ve probably heard enough discourse about the slap by this point, but we can’t deny its lasting impact on us this past year
1. Technoblade’s farewell
The top trending video of 2022 is this farewell video posted on YouTuber Technoblade’s channel. In this touching video, the gamer’s father reads Technoblade’s last words to his audience after ing from stage-four cancer. In his letter, Technoblade thanks his fans for following along on his YouTube journey and says, “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.”
This year’s trending videos were a rollercoaster of ups and downs, much like this past year. As we enter 2023, we can reminisce on the good times and the challenges of 2022 and look forward to more moments that will be sure to grab our attention in the year to come.
YouTube’s full trending list can be found here.
Published: Dec 3, 2022 12:06 pm