YouTube Rewind 2019: For the Record (also known simply as YouTube Rewind 2019) was a video that was uploaded to YouTube's official channel on the video-sharing website YouTube on December 5, 2019, as the tenth and final installment of the YouTube Rewind series. The video contains montages of the top videos and YouTubers of the year.
Although it was marked as an improvement over the previous installment, YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind, the video received negative reviews, with critics and the general audience finding the video uncreative in comparison to past Rewind videos.
For the Record amassed over 3.1 million dislikes within 24 hours of release and 5 million dislikes within 48 hours of release, more than those acquired by Everyone Controls Rewind in the same timeframes. It currently has over 9.6 million dislikes, making it the sixth most-disliked video on YouTube. YouTube forwent producing a Rewind installment for 2020 and later announced the discontinuation of the series the following year. In December 2025, For the Record along with the other Rewind videos were set to unlisted on YouTube before subsequently being made private in January 2026.
Overview The video begins with a 'rewind' of 2019's most viewed/liked videos on YouTube. It then cuts to a scene from YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind where Casey Neistat and the Merrell Twins suggest K-pop as one of the themes for the rewind. Following this, it cuts to multiple YouTubers' reactions to this scene where it has been labelled as awkward and YouTube themselves stating that "In 2018, we made something you didn't like. So in 2019, let's see what you DID like. Because you're better at this than we are", with the words on screen. A compilation of trending YouTube videos from 2019 is shown, then cuts to the words on screen, saying "You made these the MOST LIKED CREATOR VIDEOS of 2019, duh...", in the form of a 'top 10' list, with a short snippet of each video playing at their appropriate times.
+Most-liked creator videos#Video titleChannelNumber of likes1Make This Video The Most Liked Video On YouTubeMrBeast30 million2Marzia & Felix - WeddingPewDiePie5.4 million3ONE GUY, 54 VOICESBlack Gryph0n5.2 million4how to create billie eilish's "bad guy"SethEverman4.7 million5O DIA EM QUE ASSISTI BIRD BOXwhinderssonnunes4.1 million6ПОКУПАЮ ВСЁ ЧТО ТЫ МОЖЕШЬ УНЕСТИ ИЗ МАГАЗИНА !A44.1 million7My BIGGEST Flipbook EVERAndymation3.6 million7Minha slime deu certoNilson Izaias Papinho Oficial3.5 million9No More LiesJames Charles2.6 million10Conspiracy Theories with Shane DawsonShane Dawson2 million
The video then proceeds to show the "Most Liked Music Videos", again in the form of a 'top 10' list with a short snippet of each video playing at their appropriate times.
+Most-liked music videos#Music video titleChannelNumber of likes1"Señorita"Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello13.5 million2"Boy With Luv" feat. HalseyBTS12.8 million3"Kill This Love"Blackpink10.8 million4"Bad Guy"Billie Eilish10.3 million5"Old Town Road"Lil Nas X9.6 million6"7 rings"Ariana Grande9 million7"Earth"Lil Dicky8.2 million8"Con Calma"Daddy Yankee, Snow7.5 million9"Chicken Noodle Soup" (feat. Becky G)j-hope5.8 million10"Vaaste"T-Series5.5 million
The video then proceeds to show the "Most Liked Dance Videos" in the form of a 'top 5' list with a short snippet of each video playing at their appropriate times. +Most-liked dance videos#Dance video titleChannelNumber of likes1Con Calma ChoreographyChapkisDanceUSA965,0002O SAKI SAKI ChoreographyAwez Darbar897,0003gogobebe(고고베베) - MAMAMOO(마마무)1MILLION Dance Studio830,0004O SAKI SAKI ChoreographyTeam Naach683,0005Bury a Friend Choreography ft. Maddie Ziegler, Charlize GlassGalen Hooks525,000
The video proceeds to show the "Most Viewed Video Games" in the form of a 'top 5' list with a short snippet of game-play at their appropriate times.
+Most-viewed video games#Video gameNumber of views1Minecraft100.2 billion2Fortnite60.9 billion3Grand Theft Auto36.9 billion4Garena Free Fire29.9 billion5Roblox29.6 billion
The video proceeds to show the "Most Liked Beauty Videos" in the form of a 'top 5' list with a short snippet of each video at their appropriate times.
+Most-liked beauty videos#Beauty video titleChannelNumber of likes1Makeup Tutorial en EspañolJames Charles 1.6 million2The Beautiful World of Jeffree StarShane Dawson1.4 million3A Day in the LifeKylie Jenner1.3 million4Kylie Skin Review with Shane Dawsonjeffreestar1.1 million57 Life Saving HACKS for Perfect SKIN & HAIRAnaysa540,000
The video cuts to another tape 'rewind' with the words on-screen: "You helped these New Creators Break Out", then proceeds to show YouTube channels with the most subscribers which first uploaded in 2019 in the form of a 'top 10' list with a short snippet of videos from each creator at their appropriate times.
+2019 'Break-Out' YouTubers#ChannelCountryFirst upload dateNumber of subscribers1LOUD BrazilFebruary 28, 20193.4 million2워크맨-WorkmanSouth KoreaAugust 16, 20193.2 million3백종원의 요리비책 Paik's CuisineSouth KoreaJune 10, 20192.9 million4Magnet WorldUSAJanuary 30, 20192.7 million5Noah SchnappUSAJune 11, 20192.1 million6Jennelle ElianaUSAJune 26, 20192 million7하루한끼 one meal a daySouth KoreaJanuary 7, 20191.9 million8LOUD CoringaBrazilJanuary 29, 20191.8 million9LOUD BabiBrazilApril 10, 20191.7 million10Shoaib AkhtarPakistanFebruary 11, 20191.6 million
The video cuts to another tape rewind, with the words on-screen: "You made these the Most Watched Creators", then proceeds to show the most viewed creators of 2019 in the form of a 'top 10' list with short snippets of videos from each creator at their appropriate times.
+Most-viewed creators#ChannelNumber of Views1PewDiePie4 billion2Felipe Neto2.8 billion3Pencilmation2.8 billion4Jelly2.5 billion5David Dobrik2.4 billion6Dude Perfect2.3 billion7MrBeast2.2 billion8LazarBeam2 billion9Fischer's1.9 billion10Azzyland1.9 billion
The video cuts to the words onscreen: "You liked, disliked, watched, subscribed, commented, shared, uploaded, played, listened, saved, created. Thank you for a record breaking 2019." It then proceeds to show multiple channels and their achievements in 2019 with appropriate videos.
+YouTubers' achievements in 2019ChannelAchievementKaykai SalaiderThe first Thai creator to hit 10 million subscribersBadabunBecame the largest Spanish speaking channelAya Nakamura2019's most watched female artist in FranceNoor StarsThe first Middle Eastern creator to hit 10 million subscribersKurzgesagtThe first German creator to pass 10 million subscribersAtta HalilintarThe first Indonesian creator to hit 20 million subscribersT-SeriesThe first channel to hit 100 million subscribersF2FreestylersThe first European sports channel to hit 10 million subscribersRosaliaPassed 1 billion views with a single videoEnes BaturThe first Turkish creator to hit 10 million subscribersBTSThe biggest 24 hour debut in YouTube history
It then cuts to a short time-lapsed compilation of 2019's trending videos being 'sucked' into the middle. The video ends with a shot from Lil Dicky's music video of his song "Earth".
Production The 2019 edition returned to a format more reminiscent of the 2010 and 2011 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, which ran from 2012 to 2018, to "authentically represent" the community's overall experience.
Cast Below is a list of channels featured in the top lists in YouTube Rewind 2019, derived from the video's description:
1MILLION Dance Studio A4 Anaysa Andymation Ariana Grande Awez Darbar Aya Nakamura Azzyland Badabun Billie Eilish Black Gryph0n Blackpink BTS ChapkisDanceUSA Daddy Yankee David Dobrik Dude Perfect F2Freestylers Felipe Neto Fischer's- フィッシャーズ Galen Hooks HYBE LABELS James Charles Jeffree Star Jelly Kaykai Salaider Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell Kylie Jenner Lazarbeam Lil Dicky Lil Nas X LOUD LOUD Babi LOUD Coringa Magnet World MrBeast Nilson Izaias Papinho Oficial Noah Schnapp Noor Stars 백종원의 요리비책 Paik's Cuisine Pencilmation PewDiePie Rosalia Seth Everman Shane Dawson Shawn Mendes Team Naach T-Series whinderssonnunes 워크맨-Workman 하루한끼 one meal a day
Below is a list of channels whose footage was included in YouTube Rewind 2019, but were not featured in the top lists of YouTube Rewind 2019:
Angie Velasco Atta Halilintar Badabun Big Marvel Blanco Brown Brooklyn and Bailey Casey Neistat Connor Franta Emma Chamberlain Free Fire - Brasil GamingWithKev Garena Free Fire Indonesia h3h3Productions Hongyu ASMR 홍유 HunniBee ASMR IAMLXGEND ItsFunneh Jenna Marbles Jennelle Eliana Lachlan mrfreshasian NikkieTutorials PlayHard RiceGum ROSALÍA Shoaib Akhtar Sidemen Simone Giertz SQUEEZIE Suzy Lu Tati The Try Guys TheDonato Pac-12 Networks VEGETTA777
Soundtrack YouTube Rewind 2019 contains the following songs (timestamps in brackets refer to when the song appears in the Rewind video): "7 Rings" by Ariana Grande (0:22–1:34) "Tokyo Drifting" by Glass Animals and Denzel Curry (1:35–2:27) "Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish (2:29–3:15) "Don't Start Now" by Dua Lipa (3:17–5:23)
Reception Despite being seen as an improvement over the previous year's Everyone Controls Rewind, For the Record received negative reviews, with many viewers disappointed that it did not have the same level of production as previous installments in the series, and noting it as being akin to WatchMojo videos. Many also felt the new format lacked "ambition, energy and a soul", and that it showed that YouTube was being openly more corporate and uncaring towards their creators. Others have also noted the omission of PewDiePie's "Congratulations" from the list of most liked music videos of the year, despite YouTube's listing standards which prevent geo-restricted content from being included in For the Record. Another PewDiePie-related criticism was how none of his accomplishments were included in the "YouTubers' Achievements in 2019" segment, yet it included T-Series (the first channel to hit 100 million subscribers, despite PewDiePie becoming the first youtuber to do so) and Enes Batur (a youtuber from Turkey who came under fire for copying PewDiePie, and abusing the copyright system against fellow creator JT after he called Batur out on said copying.) Similarly to last year, some viewers criticized the video for its complete lack of tributes to YouTubers that had died before December, such as Desmond "Etika" Amofah. However, viewers saw improvement with casting choices in some areas, particularly with the inclusion of PewDiePie, who was absent in the last two installments. For the Record won the 2020 Webby Award for Entertainment in the category Web.
Despite being included in the video, PewDiePie, along with FlyingKitty, Party In Backyard, Grandayy and Dolan Dark, created their take of it on December 29, 2019, titled "YouTube Rewind 2019, but it's actually good", which focused on the notable memes of 2019 and also paid homage to various recently deceased creators, including Dillon the Hacker, Etika and Grant Thompson.
, For the Record currently has over 117 million views and over 9.5 million dislikes, making it the sixth most-disliked YouTube video and the third most-disliked non-music YouTube video of all time after Everyone Controls Rewind and the trailer for Sadak 2. It was peaked as the third most-disliked video at the time before being surpassed by the Sadak 2 trailer within three days.
See also List of most-disliked YouTube videos
References
External links
The creators, music and moments as featured in REWIND 2019 (playlist)