What were the most-watched YouTube videos in Ireland in 2021?
Pic: Pexels
US streaming site YouTube this year turned sweet 16 and the service's Irish office has shared its top ten overall videos from 2021, as well as music video selections.
What might come as a shock to the unacquainted is that of the top ten videos viewed in Ireland, only one is of Irish origin: 19-year-old Northern Irish influencer and YouTuber Olivia Neil has clocked 1.1m views for 'baking my ex a cake to get him back', a Ronseal video title if ever there was one.
(In case you aren't able to make it through the video for one reason or another - she did.)
Otherwise, up and down the list is a who's-who of the platform's heavy-hitters on an international basis - topping the chart is stuntman and content creator MrBeast, whose 'If You Can Carry $1,000,000 You Keep It!' video has racked up 52 million views.
UK group The Sidemen continue their dominance of the casual entertainment space at #2, and while their schtick is familiar stuff at this stage for a generation, their Hot Tub Mukbang got the eyeballs, as the crew tucked into a huge dinner (in said hot tub) while chatting with their followers over the site's live chat function.
The fourth-most watched vid in Ireland saw YouTuber Lazerbeam upend various TikTokers while in action, documenting their reactions when offered money to have eggs cracked off their heads.
English soccer continues to drive consumption, between Sky Sports' official highlights and a vast network of fan channels offering reactions, discussion and even historic content. Charting at #3 in Ireland was a highlight video from Manchester United's 2-1 win over West Ham United, including a last-minute clincher from Jesse Lingard, and a missed penalty deep in injury time taken by 94th-minute sub Mark Noble.
Parlaying his status as one of Sky Sports' soccer pundits - and a Manchester United hero - into the world of YouTube, is retired defender Gary Neville, whose channel The Overlap is big business functions as a second space for the satellite broadcasting giant's longform soccer content. The channel's big Fan Debate, in advance of the 21/22 soccer season's kickoff, saw Neville and other soccer icons like Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane, take on some of YouTube's biggest soccer fans.
While pop music television as previous generations might have known it might has fallen by the wayside since its 2000s peak, the idea of three-minute vids to accompany the latest pop sensations has found a natural home on site.
Ireland's top of the pops was Ed Sheeran, which should come as no surprise, given the UK singer's mainstream saturation has reached 'getting slagged by kids on the Toy Show' levels. His first solo single in four years, 'Bad Habits', topped the video pop charts.
Further down the pop rankings were The Weeknd, having taken over the world in 2020 and charting twice with studio singles and live performances, Lil Nas X' racy clip for Montero (Call Me By Your Name), and US pop breakout Olivia Rodrigo, also charting twice with singles Drivers' Licence and Good 4 U.
