It’s officially year-in-review season, a time for listifying the major news events, cultural moments and people who shaped the previous 12 months. And what better way to reflect on the past year than unravelling our internet streaming.
Reddit has already released Recaps, which measures a user’s activities across the platform. Spotify Wrapped and Year on TikTok are expected any day now. And on Monday, YouTube published its list of the top trending topics and creators in Canada.
YouTube’s list of trending topics is based on analysis including the number of views, uploads and activity by other creators. Only topics that saw a spike in popularity this year, either because they’re new to 2024 or they experienced significant increases in viewer interest, were eligible. This explains why Taylor Swift, for example, didn’t make it on this year’s list: she’s popular every year.
This year’s list is a mix of gaming, niche animated series and big news stories, including the Paris Olympics and U.S. election. The only celebrity to make the list was pop star Sabrina Carpenter, who had a breakthrough with her single Espresso, and there was only one Hollywood blockbuster – Deadpool & Wolverine – illustrating how mainstream pop culture has become less influential online.
YouTube also flagged five Canadian creators to watch, who gained a significant number of subscribers in 2024: Jeenie Weenie, Hafu Go, Layla Roblox, Kalogeras Sisters and Willibed.
Here are four takeaways from the year in review
People love to watch other people play video games
Three videos games made the top trending topics: Brawl Stars, a fast-paced, battle royale-style mobile game set in an abandoned amusement park; Helldivers 2, the third-person shooter game for PlayStation and PC; and Dress to Impress, the online competition game where players design outfits based on themes ranging from ”gothic” and “royalty to “dark academia,” “galactic glam” and “office siren.”
A distinct ecosystem of gaming content exists on the platform says YouTube’s head of communications Zaitoon Murji. “It’s a combination of actually watching people gaming, reactions to watching people gaming, people recapping trying new games and people doing skits of different gaming characters,” she says.
While traditional video game content, such as playthroughs and live streams, still dominate on YouTube, lifestyle creators and other influencers are also jumping on board. One of the Kalogeras Sisters’ most viral videos of the year was a 30-minute video of them playing Dress to Impress.
YouTube proves to be a launchpad for original indie animation
The dark comedy adult animated series Hazbin Hotel and The Amazing Digital Circus, both on the 2024 list of trending topics, first found viral success on YouTube before being picked up by major streaming networks. Hazbin Hotel, about a hotel in hell that rehabilitates demons to combat overpopulation issues, premiered in January, 2024, on Amazon Prime, while The Amazing Digital Circus struck a deal with Netflix, with new episodes releasing on its platform and YouTube. Like the gaming videos, these two shows exist within a larger bubble that includes reviews, memes, fan-made art and commentary.
Free Time: What to read, watch and listen to this week
Creators jump on news events
YouTube is the leading social media network that Canadians watch for news, with 29 per cent saying they looked at the platform each week for news, according to Statista. So it’s not surprising that three big news stories made the trending list: The Paris Olympics, the U.S. presidential election and the Sean (Diddy) Combs sexual assault allegations and sex trafficking charges.
For the U.S. election specifically, Ms. Murji says much of the content was driven by podcast video recordings with the candidates, such as Donald Trump on The Joe Rogan Experience and Kamala Harris on Call Her Daddy. Mr. Trump’s appearance has more than 52 million views, the third most watched JRE episode.
Dance trends dominate the top Shorts songs
Although dance trends are the domain of TikTok, they’re omnipresent on YouTube Shorts too. Many of the top songs on Shorts this year are associated with viral dances, including Odetari’s Keep This Up, Tommy Richman’s Million Dollar Baby and Lay Bankz Tell Ur Girlfriend.
Two of the top songs are throwbacks, which were propelled back into our consciousness courtesy of Deadpool & Wolverine. Bobby Caldwell’s What You Won’t Do For Love has become the soundtrack of countless cute pet videos, and the original boy band choreography for Nsync’s Bye Bye Bye became popular among dance influencers.