‘Gangnam Style,’ Gotye and ‘Kony’: Top 10 Trending YouTube Videos of 2012 (Video)

Facebook, presidential candidates and daredevil Felix Baumgartner also were hot topics in the top-trending videos of the year

Psy's "Gangnam Style" topped the list of the most-talked about YouTube videos of the year.

The site released its top 10 trending videos of 2012 on Tuesday, which were determined by the number of views, shares, searches, parodies, remixes and responses each upload racked up.

Also read: 'Gangnam Style' Beats Justin Bieber's 'Baby' to Become Most-Viewed YouTube Video

While it was tough to match Psy's nearly a billion visitors in just six months — making it the most-watched video ever — a unique cover of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" by a group called Walk off the Earth was runner-up, attracting over 140 million pairs of eyes.

"Kony 2012," the longest and most serious of the viral bunch, not only made an African warlord as famous as Katy Perry or Britney Spears, but the short film ranked third on the list

Here's the complete top 10:

PSY, "Gangnam Style" (over 971 million views): This inexplicable music video for an undeniably catchy single shot the South Korean K-pop artist to international fame, while inspiring too many parodies to count. All this despite the fact that hardly anyone actually knows what he's singing about.

Walk off the Earth, "Somebody That I Used to Know" (over 140 million views): What do you get when five people play one guitar? A unique cover of Gotye's ubiquitous radio hit.

"Kony 2012" (over 94 million views): This short film from Invisible Children, Inc., inspired social-media users around the globe to stop posting pictures of their food and start demanding that Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony be brought to justice for his crimes against humanity. Proving there's always a price to pay for fame, the film's viral success also inspired director Jason Russell to wander naked through streets of San Diego while yelling incoherently at oncoming traffic.

Carly Rae Jepsen, "Call Me Maybe" feat. Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez and Ashley Tisdale (over 54 million views): It's hard not to sing along with Jepsen's infectious pop hit — and apparently, even harder not to film yourself doing so. A lot of other people had this bright idea, but they weren't as famous as Bieber, Gomez and Tisdale. It probably the only time either of the three famous friends wants to be caught lip-syncing.

"Epic Rap Battles of History" — Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney (over 45 million views): An Epic Rap Battle from a tense election campaign. And who doesn't love a good presidential impersonation? Well, Romney probably didn't appreciate it that much.

"A Dramatic Surprise on a Quiet Square" (over 39 million views): TNT knows drama. Thanks to this over-the-top marketing campaign, now a little town in Belgium does, too. After unsuspecting strangers pushed a button promising "To Add Drama" to a normally quiet square, onlookers were surprised with bumbling paramedics, fist fights, motorcycle-riding bikini babes and terrorists. 

"Why You Asking All Them Questions?" (over 39 million views): Uploaded last January, this rap video made 2012 a very good year for comedian Emmanuel Hudson.

Lindsey Stirling, "Crystalize (Dubstep Violin)" (over 38 million views): Skrillex popularized Dubstep in 2011. This year, Lindsey Stirling added a violin, choreographed dancing and beautiful images of Colorado's ice castles into the mix.

Facebook Parenting: For the Troubled Teen (over 35 million views): Tommy Jordan's contempt for his daughter's rebellious Facebook post proved to be a hot topic in 2012. Whether for or against his brand of tough love (which includes firing a full clip of exploding hollow-point rounds into her laptop), it sure had people talking. The video claimed 11 million views the first day it was uploaded last February and has since received over 300,000 comments debating Jordan's unconventional disciplinary action.

Felix Baumgartner's Supersonic Freefall From 128K – Mission Highlights (over 30 million views): This daredevil fell 128,100 feet at 833 miles per hour from the edge of outer space. There's not much else to say other than, "Woah!" Some 8 million people watched the record-breaking stunt live before millions of other views poured in and 14,000 other YouTube videos popped up mentioning "Felix Baumgartner."

Comments