The Top Pop Music Videos of All Time

A countdown of the top pop music videos of all time, including hits from Madonna, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, and more.

Introduction

Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form in the United States and United Kingdom during the mid-1950s. The terms “popular music” and “pop music” are often used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular and includes many different styles.

Music videos are a relatively new phenomenon, having only gained widespread popularity in the 1980s with the advent of MTV. While not all pop songs have accompanying music videos, many do, and these videos often become iconic and representative of the artist or song.

In this list, we’ll be taking a look at some of the most iconic and popular pop music videos of all time. These are videos that have achieved widespread popularity and acclaim, and which have helped to shape the genre as we know it today.

“Thriller” by Michael Jackson

“Thriller” is a song recorded by American singer Michael Jackson, composed by Rod Temperton, and produced by Quincy Jones. It is the seventh and final single from his 1982 album Thriller. A 14-minute horror-themed music video was directed by John Landis, which features Jackson in a attributed to zombies. In the video, he becomes one of the undead himself as he dances with a horde of zombies in agraveyard during a thunderstorm.

The “Thriller” video is credited with transforming the music video into an art form and inspiring other artists to push the boundaries of story telling in their music videos. The video won three awards at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards: Best Overall Performance in a Music Video, Best Choreography in a Video, and Best Conceptualized Video. In 2009 it was inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”. In 2008, “Thriller” was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry among sound recordings that “reflects life in the United States at some point in time”.

“Gangnam Style” by Psy

“Gangnam Style” is a 2012 single by the South Korean rapper Psy. The song, which features a mix of electronic and hip-hop music, was released on July 15, 2012, and has been a massive global success, becoming the first YouTube video to reach one billion views.

The music video for “Gangnam Style” was directed by Cho Soo-hyun and features Psy performing a mix of horse riding and dance moves in various locations around Seoul, South Korea. The video went viral upon its release, garnering millions of views within days and becoming a worldwide sensation.

“Gangnam Style” has been praised for its catchy beat and catchyhook, as well as Psy’s humorous performance in the music video. The song has been credited with helping to bring Korean pop music (also known as K-pop) to a global audience.

“Baby” by Justin Bieber

“Baby” is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was released as the lead single from his debut album, My World 2.0, on January 18, 2010. The song features American rapper Ludacris. It was produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart. The music video features footage of Bieber in various settings including a bowling alley, an indoor putt-putt golf course, and a music studio with several other young performers dancing around him. Bieber performed the song for the first time at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. The music video won the award for Best Pop Video at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.

“Dark Horse” by Katy Perry

“Dark Horse” is a song recorded by American singer Katy Perry featuring rapper Juicy J. It was originally released on September 17, 2013, by Capitol Records as the first promotional single from Perry’s fourth studio album, Prism (2013). Three weeks later, it was released as the album’s third official single. The song was written by Perry, Max Martin, Cirkut, and Dr. Luke; while production was handled by the latter two and additional production provided by Benny Blanco. It is a techno-pop and hip hop track containing elements of trap music with a minimal production. Thehip hop influences on “Dark Horse” were considered controversial given Perry’s pop music status; however, many critics praised Juicy J’s involvement in the single.

The song became a massive commercial success worldwide, reaching number one in multiple countries including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United States. It also became Perry’s second consecutive record to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart after “Roar”. To date it has sold over 10 million copies worldwide making it one of Katy Perry’s highest selling singles of all time and is currently her third most viewed music video on YouTube with 1.19 billion views as of September 2020.

“Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars

“Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars has been one of the most popular videos on YouTube since it was uploaded in November 2014. The video has amassed over 2.6 billion views and is the site’s ninth-most-watched video of all time.

The music video for “Uptown Funk” was directed by Bruno Mars and Thomas Clayton, and features cameos from a number of celebrities, including Mars’ sister Jamie Lynn, basketball player Kobe Bryant, model Naomi Campbell, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and comedian Jeff Goldblum.

The video received positive reviews from critics, who praised its retro feel and the chemistry between Mars and Ronson. “Uptown Funk” won three Grammy Awards in 2015, including Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

“Work” by Rihanna ft. Drake

“Work” is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her eighth studio album, Anti (2016), featuring Canadian rapper Drake, who co-wrote the song with its producers, Boi-1da, and Sean “Hardy” Moman. “Work” was released as the lead single from Anti on January 27, 2016. The critics were positive towards “Work”, calling it a “catchy club track”. Commercially, it peaked at number one in several countries including Canada, France and the United Kingdom; as well as number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100. The music video for the song was released on February 22, 2016 and has since received over 1.3 billion views on YouTube, becoming Rihanna’s second video to do so after “Diamonds”.

“Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran

“Shape of You” is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released as a digital download on 6 January 2017 as one of the double lead singles from his third studio album ÷ (2017), along with “Castle on the Hill”. The dancehall-infused pop track samples an old Jamaican song called “No Lie”, which was written by Fuse ODG and Holidaygyal Mizanin. It was produced by Steve Mac and co-written by Mac, Ed Sheeran, John McDaid and Kandi Burrus.

The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, giving Sheeran his fourth UK chart topper and breaking several streaming records. In the US, “Shape of You” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Sheeran’s first US chart topper and giving him his second consecutive number one in that country following “Castle on the Hill”. Globally, it was 2016’s most streamed song on Spotify and 2017’s most streamed song on Spotify worldwide. As of July 2019, it has amassed 2.6 billion streams globally across all major streaming platforms.

The accompanying music video was directed by Jason Koenig and released on 30 January 2017. The video depicts various couples in love while they lip sync to the lyrics of the song.

“Despacito” by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee

With over 6.3 billion views, “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee is the most-viewed YouTube video of all time. The music video was uploaded on January 12, 2017 and features the Puerto Rican singer and songwriter singing the Spanish-language song in various locations around his hometown of San Juan. “Despacito” has been a huge success, spending a record-breaking 56 consecutive weeks at the top of Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart and becoming the first Spanish-language single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.

“Thank U, Next” by Ariana Grande

“Thank U, Next” is a song recorded by American singer Ariana Grande. The song was released on November 3, 2018, as the lead single from Grande’s fifth studio album of the same name. “Thank U, Next” peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became Grande’s first number-one single in the country. The music video for “Thank U, Next” was directed by Hannah Lux Davis and released on November 30, 2018. It features cameos from Kris Jenner, Troye Sivan, Gabi DeMartino, Colleen Ballinger, Jennifer Coolidge, Jonathan Bennett and Stefanie Scott. The video broke the record for the most views in 24 hours on YouTube, with 55.4 million views. As of December 2018, the music video has received over 360 million views on YouTube.