Five years ago, South Korean singer-songwriter Psy’s “Oppa Gangnam Style” stormed YouTube and racked up so many views that YouTube had to rewrite its code to accommodate the video’s views, as the site was quite literally “broken.” It was the most-watched YouTube video until July 11, 2017 when Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s 2015 tribute ballad to Paul Walker, “See You Again” climbed to the top with 2,901,992,564 views as of this moment— about five and a half million more views than Psy’s Gangnam Style video. The number equates to 21,759 hours of streaming.
“See You Again” was written for the seventh installment of the mass favourite “Fast and Furious” movie series, “Furious 7,” which was released in 2015, nearly a year and a half after actor Paul Walker died in a car accident. The emotional video shows key scenes and glimpses of Paul Walker throughout the series, which centers around a group of illegal street racers undertaking high-stakes heists, all tied together with the theme of family and belonging. Walker was a consistent and beloved cast member of the series, playing confidant and best friend Brian O’Conner to real-life best friend Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto. Walker’s death came in the middle of filming “Furious 7” which was moved from a 2014 release to 2015 release to grasp the impact of Walker’s death on the series and cast members. The now-most-watched-YouTube video was released in 2015 around the same time as “Furious 7.” The year it released, it led Billboard’s “Hot 100” List for 11 weeks straight and also snagged the Billboard’s number one song of the summer the same year.
Charlie Puth posted an update on Twitter, expressing his amazement upon hearing the news.
Watch the video:
