As the year draws to a close, YouTube has released a list of trending topics for 2024 with the ICC T20 World Cup and the ‘Ambani wedding’ touted as some of the top “cultural moments” that emerged on the platform this year.
On YouTube, World Cup-related content has received more than seven billion views, while videos titled ‘Ambani’ and ‘Wedding’ have received more than 6.5 billion views in India, according to the company.
Audience engagement around the high-profile event included dissecting international artist works, analyzing fashion outfits, and discussing the star-studded guest list. “Fans were actively shaping these stories through their own creator contributions to turn significant trends into a superhit trend,” YouTube Asia-Pacific Regional Director Ajay Vidyasagar said at a virtual media briefing held on Thursday, December 5.
The list was compiled by YouTube’s culture and trends team after analyzing various signals, including views, uploads, and creator activity.
Vidyasagar further highlighted the ‘Moye Moye’ shorts on YouTube, which have amassed 4.5 billion views as an example of how Gen Z has influenced the vocabulary in India. “It shows how the trends on the platform don’t disappear, they are reinterpreted and reimagined to integrate them into our everyday language,” he explained.
This is not a ranked list, according to YouTube. (Image credit: YouTube)
The Alphabet-owned company also unveiled its list of top trend creators of 2024 in India, with Jimmy Donaldson, the American YouTuber known as ‘MrBeast’, at the top spot. His growing popularity and appeal to Indian users can be attributed to Hindi-dubbed versions of his videos as well as collaborations with local creators such as Ajay Nagar or ‘Karyminati’.
These rankings are based on subscribers received by YouTube channels in India in 2024. (Image credit: YouTube)
Additionally, YouTube revealed that videos related to stand-up comedian Samay Raina were viewed 1.5 billion times in 2024 while Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh’s videos were viewed over 3.9 billion times.
What else has made for great content on YouTube in India this year?
Content from hyperlocal creators like Malayalam YouTuber ‘KL Bro Biju’ and Marathi songs plain pink Used on three million shorts worldwide, this year’s YouTube trends indicate that they transcend geographic boundaries, the company said.
Creators posting on specific topics like ‘Box of Vengeance’, which reviews sports balls, have also emerged as fan-favorites this year.
YouTube’s list of hit songs of 2024. (Image credit: YouTube)
Fan communities on YouTube have played a major role in increasing the engagement of creator content. For example, Indian gaming streamer Total Gaming, also known as Ajjubhai, was able to grow its fan base with a face-revealing video for its 37-million-strong fan base “Ajjubhai Army” that garnered 35 million views. According to YouTube, his Herlong gameplay collected more than 900 million views in 2024.
Overall, YouTube emphasized that the content was trending by users who expressed interest in its top. “Indian fans were not just spectators; They were co-creators, shaping the stories and driving the conversation. They are not one-sided recipients of content that are limited to schedules,” said Vidyasagar, adding that Indian users of YouTube have become screen-agnostic, time-agnostic, and format-agnostic.