Viral Music Videos

When looking at music videos I feel that it is important to research the videos with the highest views and those that have gone 'viral' to analyse why this is, what has made these videos so liked by the audience, and subsequently whether I should take inspiration from these and attempt to mimic certain elements within my own music video.

As can be seen from this screenshot the top 5 most viewed music videos on YouTube are;
1. Psy - Gangnam Style
2. Justin Bieber - Baby
3. Taylor Swift - Blank Space
4. Katy Perry - Dark Horse
5. Katy Perry - Roar

1. Gangam Style - Psy

The K-Pop song was published on Youtube in 2012 and has over 2 Billion  views. The song holds the Guiness World Record for the most liked video on Youtube and has become a part of popular culture. Gangnam Style is a showcase/ performance based music video which is massively popular for its unique and unusual nature and the dance sequence which is a big feature of the video is replicated by fans and flash mobs alike - even political leaders such as the UN secretary have confessed their love of the 'gangam style' dance.

2. Justin Bieber ft Ludacris - Baby 2010

Despite having 5 million dislikes as opposed to just 3 million likes, Justin Bieber's 'Baby' comes in second for the number of views with over 1 Billion Youtube views. The video is a representative of Bieber's explosive popularity, predominantly among teenage girl although a good number of those views are from his critics also. The video itself is a classic hybrid of performance and narrative, it conforms to numerous generic conventions of the genre. The video uses fast paced editing, cutting to the beat of the music and the lighting is fairly low key with strobe lighting to give the desired 'party' effect seen within various pop music videos.

3. Taylor Swift - Blank Space 2014

Taylor Swift is currently the top female artist in the charts, with her album 'Red'  going quadruple platinum and her current album '1989' has gone platinum already, her songs are frequently in the billboard top 10, if not number 1. Swift is known for her narrative music and correspondingly many of her music videos such as 'Blank Space' are narrative also. Blank Space has over a Billion views and although predominantly narrative and performance the video contains an elements of the showcase given the over exaggerated nature of swifts' reaction to her cheating love interest; including attacking his car, ripping portraits of him on with a knife and stabbing a cake which precedes to spurt blood. The showcase nature of this is an intentional decision by Swift and she is parodying her representation by the media of being heartbroken given many of her songs are written about past loves and relationships. The nature of the video, its content, cinematography and exotic location make it so interesting and has undoubtedly contributed to the large number of views.

4. Katy Perry - Dark Horse 2014

Katy Perry's Dark Horse is from her massively popular album, 'Prism'. The song reached number 1 in the United States and reached the Billboard top 10 in 20 countries. The video follows Perry's usual pattern regarding her music videos - many of Perrys' videos are narrative with performance elements, the video for 'Dark Horse' is consistent with this changing between a Cleopatra narrative and a performance sequence. The video has over a billion views and ultimately the mise-en-scene of the video is what makes it so spectacular. The video conforms to generic conventions of the genre in its use of lighting and CGI to create an effect. The video is marked by the audience by its use of colourful imagery, and the narrative is carried consistently by the use of costume, make up and set which all enhance the ancient Egyptian theme.

5. Katy Perry - Roar 2013

Impressively, Katy Perry's 'Roar' also is listed in the top 5 highest views of Youtube, the video has over a billion views and is also off of her album 'Prism' - highlighting its explosive popularity. The music video for 'Roar' is unique, it follows a strong narrative throughout and the creative elements of cartoon, animation and CGI all aid the appearance of a jungle story. The video centres around Perry learning to survive in the jungle following a plane crash and thrive on being independent which strongly relates to the lyrics of self empowerment "You're gonna hear me roar". The mise-en-scene of the video are vital in creating the scene, the mixture of low and high key lighting show Perry's transition and the set, costume, acting and make up all connect to the narrative of the video and follow the consistency of the the theme. It is the strength of the narrative, colourful set and CGI which make the video so appealing to the audience.      

Ultimately, after researching these viral videos and what has made them so popular I have found that attention to detail, consistency within a narrative music video and miss-en-scene are key components to focus on and make the video unique and entertaining. Therefore, when it comes to creating my own music video I will ensure that I look back on these videos and take inspiration from them to enhance my finished product.