Jeffrey Sabin-Matsumoto and Finley Wise (2013–2017)
Running time
1–8 minutes
Production companies
Portal A Interactive (2011, 2013–2019)
Seedwell (2012)
YouTube
Original release
Network
YouTube
Release
December 12, 2010 (December 12, 2010)[2] – December 5, 2019 (December 5, 2019)
YouTube Rewind (stylized as YouTube ЯEWIND) was an annual video series that was produced by YouTube and Portal A Interactive from 2010 to 2019. The videos were summaries of each year's viral videos, events, trends, and music.[8] The series' annual installments were uploaded onto YouTube's official channel.
The series' 2018 and 2019 installments (Everyone Controls Rewind and For the Record) were received poorly, with the former becoming the most-disliked video of all time on the platform. YouTube opted to not produce a Rewind video in 2020, before announcing the series' cancellation the following year.
History
The first Rewind video was created by YouTube in 2010 and featured a list of the 50 most popular YouTube videos of that year. In 2010, YouTube began creating and producing Rewind videos with the help of Seedwell and Portal A Interactive.[3][9][10] From 2011 onwards, the Rewind videos have only been uploaded to the YouTube Spotlight channel, now known as just YouTube, with additional behind-the-scenes content.[10]
2010
On December 12–13, 2010, the first YouTube Rewind was uploaded, titled 2010 YouTube Rewind: Year in Review and featured the top ten most popular videos of the year on YouTube. It was uploaded on two channels: YouTube Trends on the first day,[2] and YouTube Spotlight on the second.[1]
2011
On December 20, 2011, YouTube Rewind 2011 was uploaded.[9][7] It was created and produced by YouTube and Portal A Interactive,[9] and features Rebecca Black, whose music video of her song "Friday" had gone viral in March of that year, as the host.[9][11] Like in 2010, it featured another top-ten most-popular videos of the year on YouTube.[10]
2012
In 2012, YouTube's Rewind videos changed to featuring several popular YouTubers; the most popular music videos, and videos; breaking news; and internet memes from the year. Rewind YouTube Style 2012, referencing Psy's "Gangnam Style", was released on December 17, 2012.[12] It was created and produced by YouTube and Seedwell.[3]
The video starts with the text "Nothing is more powerful than a video whose time has come"; the final two words change to "is 2012.", with an accompanying string instrument sound that resembled the musical introduction to Kony 2012, a viraldocumentary film aired earlier that year.
2013
The YouTube Rewind button with the ⏪ symbol was introduced in 2013.
On December 11, 2013, YouTube Rewind: What Does 2013 Say?, referencing Ylvis' "The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)", was released.[4] The video also made prominent use of Psy's "Gentleman", however, following a copyright claim from the artist, the video was amended in 2015 to remove the song. The video was created and produced by YouTube and Portal A Interactive.[4] This was the first year that the YouTube Rewind Button was used; otherwise, the video was stylistically similar to the 2012 video. DJ Earworm served as the music producer for the video, mashing up six popular songs of the year. Jimmy Fallon and The Roots from The Tonight Show made guest appearances.[4] It also marked the first appearance of PewDiePie in the Rewind series.
What Does 2013 Say? was dedicated to fellow YouTuber Talia Castellano, who died on July 16, five months prior to the release of the video.
2014
On December 9, 2014,[5]YouTube Rewind: Turn Down for 2014, referencing DJ Snake and Lil Jon's "Turn Down for What", was released. It was again created and produced by YouTube and Portal A Interactive. Over 10 songs were mashed-up by DJ Earworm[5][13] for the video.[5] The video was not structured around songs, as in previous years, but with more Internet memes and trends used alongside the music. Its main feature was the YouTube Rewind Button flag, with which YouTubers and other notable personalities run throughout the video. The flag was run through the sets of The Colbert Report by Big Bird; Conan by host Conan O'Brien himself, with Freddie Wong acting as substitute host; and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver by Kid President. The actual Rewind Button was not shown until the end of the video.[13]
2015
On December 9, 2015,[6]YouTube Rewind: Now Watch Me 2015, referencing Silentó's "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)", was released. It was again created and produced by YouTube and Portal A Interactive, and was the first one to feature a hashtag, in this case #YouTubeRewind.[6][10] The video heavily incorporated references to previous years of YouTube, due to 2015 being the year of the website's tenth anniversary.[14] The music mashup was produced by The Hood Internet and included songs such as Major Lazer and DJ Snake's "Lean On", the Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face", and Justin Bieber's "What Do You Mean?". Additionally, Avicii produced an original remix of "Broken Arrows" for the video.[6][10] The video featured more gaming personalities than in previous years, including Markiplier, CaptainSparklez, MatPat, and Smosh Games, with a segment set up to resemble Five Nights at Freddy's. PewDiePie and Zoella make an appearance halfway through the video, where they are shown next to a scoreboard with two dates of December 9, 2015, a reference to Back to the Future Part II, which is set in 2015. Zoella changes one scoreboard date back to February 14, 2005, leaving the other at December 9, 2015. Afterwards, PewDiePie "brofists" the Rewind button, triggering the video to show past viral videos and memes from 2015 back to 2005. After the credits, the Fine Brothers are shown arguing about whether PewDiePie is actually in the video.[10]
2016
On December 7, 2016,[15]YouTube Rewind: The Ultimate 2016 Challenge, referencing the increasing number of Internet challenges in 2016, was released. It was again created and produced by YouTube and Portal A Interactive. The Hood Internet returned to produce the music mashup for the video, with Major Lazer contributing an original remix of their own. The video begins with Dwayne Johnson showing a miniature Rewind button, and YouTube personalities hunting for Rewind symbols in the style of Pokémon Go. The video also references objects being crushed by a hydraulic press, Hodor from Game of Thrones, the water-bottle flip challenge, "PPAP (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen)" (with Pikotaro himself appearing), and the dabbing dance move. The video also references some of the most popular songs of 2016, including Fifth Harmony's "Work from Home", the Chainsmokers' "Closer", and Beyoncé's "Hold Up". The video ends with James Corden and other personalities in a car, re-enacting the Carpool Karaoke segments from The Late Late Show.
2017
On December 6, 2017, YouTube Rewind: The Shape of 2017, referencing Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You", was released. The video received mixed reviews from critics, YouTubers,[16] and viewers alike following its release. Some of the various criticisms were directed at its overuse of memes,[17] and the notable exclusion of PewDiePie for controversies earlier in the year.[18][19][20][21] To date, it has received over 4.6 million likes. It also received significantly more dislikes than those from the previous years (excluding 2011), at over 2.3 million dislikes (as of 2020[update]), making it the 35th most-disliked YouTube video of all time.
On December 6, 2018, YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind was released. Upon its release, the video was overwhelmingly panned, receiving extensive backlash from critics, YouTubers, and viewers alike. Many YouTubers deemed it the "worst Rewind ever".
Everyone Controls Rewind incorporated user-comment suggestions as a part of the video, although many viewers stated that the trends that the video included (such as Fortnite and K-pop) were unpopular with the majority of the community, calling YouTube "out of touch" with its viewers and their interests. Julia Alexander, writing for The Verge, suggested that YouTube had intentionally left out the biggest moments on the platform in 2018 in an attempt to appease worried advertisers over controversies that had plagued the platform over the past two years: "it's [...] increasingly apparent, however, that YouTube is trying to sell a culture that's different from the one millions of people come to the platform for, and that's getting harder for both creators and fans to swallow".[30] Meira Gebel of Business Insider shared a similar sentiment, saying that "The video appears to be an attempt for the company to keep advertisers on its side following a rather rocky 2018."[31] In a newsletter, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki spoke on the poor reception of the 2018 video and mentioned that "even my kids called it 'cringey'."[32]
Everyone Controls Rewind was panned by the YouTube community, surpassing the music video for "Baby" by Justin Bieber to become the most-disliked YouTube video of all time.[33] It subsequently became the first YouTube video to receive over ten million dislikes and accumulated over 20 million dislikes by late 2021, when YouTube disabled dislikes from being publicly viewable.[34]
On December 5, 2019, YouTube Rewind 2019: For the Record was released. The 2019 edition returned to a format reminiscent of the first two iterations of the series, featuring a montage of the top videos of 2019, divided into several themed countdowns based on statistics and trends. Kevin Allocca, YouTube's head of culture and trends, explained that the video was intended to be more reflective of the year's trends, acknowledging that it was becoming more difficult for the previous format to "authentically represent" the community's overall experience.[35] The video has been criticized as coming off as "passive-aggressive" towards consumers, or "lazy", as it does not have the same level of production as the previous editions and was noted for being akin to WatchMojo videos. Many also felt the new format lacked energy and a "soul", saying that it showed that YouTube was being openly more corporate.[36][37] However, many saw improvement with casting choices in some areas, particularly with the inclusion of PewDiePie, who was absent in previous Rewinds.[35] Similarly to the previous year, the video was criticized for lacking tributes to personalities who had died in the year, most notably Desmond "Etika" Amofah and Cameron Boyce.[38][39]
Cancellation and replacement efforts
On November 12, 2020, YouTube announced that there would be no Rewind for the year, stating that "2020 has been different, And it doesn't feel right to carry on as if it weren't."[40][41][42][43] While the events of the year, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the George Floyd protests, were strongly suggested as the reasons behind the decision, many believed that this was due to the poor reception of the last three installments of the series, leading to speculation that YouTube would cancel the series entirely.[44] With the absence of a 2020 Rewind video, popular YouTube creators, such as Michelle Khare and MrBeast, released their own Rewind-style videos. Khare's video was set to private viewing after it received some backlash over the inclusion of a lookalike of Jenna Marbles, who went on indefinite hiatus from YouTube in June of that year due to controversies related to her earlier videos.[45] MrBeast's video included many popular YouTubers of that year and was positively received.[46]
On October 7, 2021, YouTube announced that Rewind would be discontinued, expressing hope that its creators would fill in the gap.[47] Instead, a 24-hour interactive livestream titled Escape2021 was broadcast on December 16 as a replacement, including a live performance by BTS on Minecraft produced by the Noxcrew and also featuring Minecraft YouTubers Dream, GeorgeNotFound, Aphmau, PrestonPlayz, BriannaPlayz, and BeckBroJack.[48][49][50] There has not been an official YouTube year-in-review event or video since.
December 12, 2010 (2010-12-12)(Trends) December 13, 2010 (2010-12-13)(Spotlight)
6.96
The first video in the series, "YouTube Rewind 2010: Year in Review", was uploaded by the YouTube Trends channel on December 12, 2010. The official Spotlight channel uploaded the same video the next day, subsequently gaining more views. The video for "Bed Intruder Song", by Antoine Dodson and The Gregory Brothers, was revealed to be the #1 video of 2010.
2
2
"YouTube Rewind 2011"
2:20
December 20, 2011 (2011-12-20)
12.79
In 2011, Rebecca Black was the featured performer of the video, presenting the video, and having her music video for "Friday" be revealed as the #1 YouTube video of 2011. The video also features Avicii's "Levels".
3
3
"Rewind YouTube Style 2012"
4:15
December 17, 2012 (2012-12-17)
194.69
In 2012, YouTube released the third YouTube Rewind video on December 17 via YouTube Spotlight. It was directed by Peter Furia, who also produced it alongside Michael Rucker and Beau Lewis.[69]
The 2013 YouTube Rewind was the fourth video release of the series. It was released on December 11, 2013, via YouTube's official channel, YouTube Spotlight. It was directed by Kai Hasson and produced by Nate Houghteling, Zach Blume, Jeffrey Sabin-Matsumoto, and David Iain Johnson. It was produced by the Portal A studio.[4]
Vice-producer Sparks Hopes helped draft the music and sync it with the video, helping incorporate many of the YouTube personalities and guests.[74]
5
5
"YouTube Rewind: Turn Down for 2014"
6:36
December 9, 2014 (2014-12-09)
135.35
On December 9, 2014, YouTube Spotlight released "Turn Down for 2014" (a reference to DJ Snake and Lil Jon's song "Turn Down for What") as the series' fifth installment. It was directed by Kai Hasson and shot in the Portal A studio.[5]
The video includes notable events and chart hits of 2014, featuring references to the Ice Bucket Challenge; The First Kiss viral video; The Devil Baby; Spider Dog; Minecraft; Disney's film Frozen; the music videos for "Turn Down for What" (DJ Snake and Lil Jon), "#Selfie" (The Chainsmokers), "Happy" (Pharrell Williams), "Fancy" (Iggy Azalea, featuring Charli XCX), "All About That Bass" (Meghan Trainor), "Anaconda" (Nicki Minaj) and "Dark Horse" (Katy Perry); and the game of the year, Flappy Bird.
On December 9, 2015, YouTube Spotlight released "Now Watch Me 2015". The title refers to Silentó's song "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)". The video featured celebrities from 129 YouTube channels.
On December 7, 2016, this video included references to events, headlining topics, viral videos and challenges of 2016. "YouTube Rewind: The Ultimate 2016 Challenge" became the fastest video to reach 100 million views on YouTube, just 3.2 days after its release.
On December 5, 2019, "YouTube Rewind 2019: For the Record" was uploaded to the "YouTube" YouTube channel. The video is a mash-up of the best videos and creators in certain categories, including "most viewed" and "video games". The video starts off with creators reacting to the failure of YouTube Rewind 2018, followed by the text, "In 2018, we made something you didn't like. For Rewind 2019, let's see what you DID like." Viewers have stated that although the video does show popular creators, it does not actually feature them.[79]
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