Top 10 Rock Music Videos of All Time (2023)

There was a time when the success of a single depended on its music video. With innovative and imaginative musical episodes, one song is almost guaranteed to make it to MTV while the rest, as they say, is history. what will it beReinaofI want to be free, for example, if notFreddie MercuryVacuum in a miniskirt?

The trend for making music videos has dwindled over the years, but your appetite for watching them doesn't seem to lessen. andGuns N Rosesbroke the world record twice with his music videos, andslipknotAlmost every video they release breaks their own records, with more views on the most rock videos in the world than your average phone number.

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Vevo has put together the definitive list of the world's most-watched rock music videos, and we've compiled them below.

About how the data was compiled: The following list is the 10 most viewed rock videos in the world. That means the data is for everyone, but only those songs count as "rock." These views come from the artist's YouTube Vevo channel. The source used here is Vevo's internal analysis, US Viewing Metrics 2019, which they have shared with us.

10. Europe - The Final Countdown (1986)

Global perspective:695 metros

the final Countdownit is one of the most famous notes in popular music, so common that the Queen is likely to hum it when asked. As a result, the total views of her videos are about twice the total US population. Not bad for a small band from Sweden.

With a flimsy space age concept (the band was being watched on monitors in some sort of spaceship, as if they were traveling to Venus), he helped the band slip into a violent turn and eventually make them household names.

9. Cops - Every Time You Breathe (1983)

Global view: 701 meters

Directed by 10ccKevin Godleyand Lol Creme, whose biggest influence is arguably the more than 50 videos they directed in the MTV-dominated '80s, based on the 1944 short film by Gjon Mili.Jammin' The Blues。

Acclaimed for its arty aesthetic and abstract storytelling, it has become a hotspot for music video photography in the '80s. It also highlights the usefulness of great video, with A&M co-founder Jeff Ayeroff commenting after its success that "with great video, the return on investment is incredible."

8. Scorpion - Winds of Change (1991)

Global perspective:721 metros

scorpionThe greatest hits are variously calledstairway to Heaven, Sufree birdand their albatrosses. Inspired by the Scorpions inMoscow Peace Festival 1989, which did well enough to see German hard rock through the next explosion of grunge. Documenting the building and fall of the Berlin Wall, interspersed with footage from German history (and the obligatory band footage), the moving video doesn't detract from their success.

Singer Klaus Meine told Classic Rock in 2016: "Almost every show we did in the '80s was killed. If the album flopped, we could easily be screwed."ChangesHelp us survive. "

7. Bon Jovi - This is my life (2000)

Global perspective:786 metros

from the albumsmash, the track is almost revivedbon joviUpbeat '80s philosophy. With the help of Britney Spears collaborator Max Martin, Jovi references the characters Tommy and Gina.live in prayer– the video only got 625 million views, de facto fans – andrico samboraBring back the talking box.

It all leads to an unexpected burst of heady pop/rock, backed by dramatic, storytelling video and a fluid splicing of live footage; In short, it shows a band that continues its best moment in the 21st century.

6. Crash System - Chop Suey! (2001)

Global perspective:904 metros

Within days of the release of their 2001 albumtoxicity,System of a Downstart playing this songoffal!However, almost as soon as it was picked up, radio stations dropped it and found that its lyrics referenced "self-righteous suicide" and dying angels on the brink of collapse after 9/11.

Not that it does any harm to the video. A raucous and fan-packed event, it becameIt isThe video that defined the new era of MTV metal.

5. Blueberries - Zombies (1994)

Global perspective:964 metros

Irish alternative rock group The Cranberries found success with their sweet ballads, but this left-turning storm,both- an angry, incendiary track on the Northern Ireland bombings - makes them huge. This is greatly helped by the accompanying video, in which the late singerDolores OledanIt is painted gold and surrounded by cherubs painted silver. It is intertwined with documentary footage of soldiers and children on the streets of Northern Ireland, made by director Samuel Bayer, who also wrote forNirvanaofsmells like Teen Spirit- interesting considering what's next on this list.

"I actually thought the director was pretty brave," O'Riordan said at the time. "When he came back, he was so excited, with a lot of adrenaline pumping through him. He told me how nervous he was and how shocked he was about the whole thing. He made kids jump from building to building. He got a lot of shots from the military. He's a very good director."

4. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)

Global perspective:971 million

This infamous video is almost as famous as its accompanying song, and it has something to say. Shot at studios in Culver City, California on August 17, 1991, the video introduces fans to a show the band played at The Roxy in West Hollywood two days earlier. There they handed out flyers inviting everyone to come. But the climactic destruction at the end of the video was not orchestrated: fans were outraged and fed up at the end of filming, which took more than 12 hours, and were allowed to go wild and destroy the scene.

This video was partially inspired by the 1979 movie.on the border, Cobain's favourite, the cheerleaders were hired at a local strip club.

3. Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine (1987)

Global perspective:1 billion

This isn't the first Guns N' Roses video to hit a billion views; you can find more information below: 1987 hitSweet Child O' Mine has set its own recordit became the first video from the '80s to pass the big money point. Low-key in nature, blending black-and-white footage of live performances with candid behind-the-scenes footage, it reveals a more thoughtful GN'R than we're used to. At least on the surface.

As of this writing, the video has a whopping 1,003,493,902 views, averaging close to 600,000 views per day. desert.

2. Imagine Dragons - Creyente (2017)

Global perspective:1.2 billion

In fact, it's the only song and video released in nearly a decade, which speaks to the enormous global appeal of American rock band Imagine Dragons.

Many of the best Imagine Dragons songs are based on hits. Here, a simple clapping rhythm acts as the launching pad for a stadium-sized anthem, with a drop-and-release chorus thumping like an industrial hammer. The video is also very beautiful, all psychedelic light displays and lasers, reflecting their live performances and a carefully curated visual aesthetic.

1. Guns N' Roses - November Rain (1992)

Global perspective:1.2 billion

It turns out that GN'R has something of a monopoly on old music videos. In 1992, Guns N' Roses released their epicnovember rain videosIt was the most expensive promotion at the time, costing $1.5 million. Geffen had to shell out $150,000 just to build the white church in the desert. Considering the budget for helicopter aerial shots, Axl Rose's velvet coat, and the cost of a lavish wedding with a fake storm, it's not surprising how a band can burn so much cheddar cheese in a nine-minute mini-movie.

It turned out to be a worthwhile investment as nearly 30 years of video broke records like theFirst video to reach a billion views in the 90sIt remains the most viewed rock music video of all.