ENTERTAINMENT

Sea lions and Bieber and Jedi, oh my: YouTube reveals Canada's top videos of 2017

Published Wednesday, December 6, 2017 12:50PM EST

Text:

Canadians lost their minds for aggressive animals, adorable kids and superhero movie trailers in 2017, according to YouTube’s annual list of the top videos of the year.

The list, which takes a look at Canada-specific viewing patterns, is broken down into the top clips, music videos and trailers of the year, as of Dec. 1.

YouTube spokesperson Nicole Bell says shareability is the top factor for determining whether a video will rocket to the top of charts. That shareability often involves a number of factors, such as humour, emotion, spectacle and surprise.

“Those are the elements that really vault a video into the next category,” she told CTV News Channel on Wednesday.

Top videos

An unforgettably bold sea lion in B.C. topped the charts for Canadian views on YouTube this year, after the animal was captured on video dragging a young girl into the water.

The video, which was published on May 20, has received more than 30 million views worldwide. The girl in the video was treated for superficial wounds after her encounter with the animal, but was otherwise unharmed.

“It’s just one of those moments that you can’t believe you’re actually see this and you can’t believe somebody actually caught it on tape,” Bell said.

Other animal-related videos on the list included footage of a moose fighting a wolf, and a live-streamed video of a giraffe giving birth at the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, N.Y. That “birth watch” went on for weeks, racking up millions of views for the video from the small park where it occurred.

Prince Harry also made the list for his response to an adorable child who stole his popcorn in the stands at the Invictus Games in Toronto.

“He reacted in this really warm and wonderful way,” Bell said.

The full list includes:

Top music videos

The song of the summer was ultimately the song of the year, as Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” topped the charts in Canada on its way to racking up more than 4 billion views worldwide.

Bell says Bieber’s remix of the song was especially popular in Canada, eclipsing the original and dominating as the most-viewed music video in the country for 2017.

“Unsurprisingly, Canada preferred the Justin Bieber version,” she said.

Bieber also appeared in the No. 3 spot on the list with “I’m the One,” a team-up with DJ Khaled.

Canada’s The Weeknd (“Reminder”), Alessia Cara (“Stay”) and Shawn Mendes (“There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back”) also placed in the top 10 on the list.

Top movie trailers

The first trailer for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” was officially the top movie teaser of 2017, accumulating nearly 43 million views worldwide since it debuted on Apr. 14.

Bell says fans couldn’t get enough of their first glimpse at the next installment of the Skywalker saga, which includes an ominous voiceover from an older, embittered version of Luke (Mark Hamill).

“I only know one truth,” Luke says at the end of the trailer. “It’s time for the Jedi… to end.”

The trailer for the Canadian-shot film “IT” was a surprise at No. 2 on the list, according to Bell.

“We don’t normally see horror movies go that high up the list, which really speaks to the fact that this was a year where horror movies were hugely popular in Canada.”

She added that Google searches for Pennywise the clown spiked around Halloween this year, suggesting that the film had a tremendous impact on pop culture.

The rock-and-roll first trailer for “Thor: Ragnarok” smashed into the third spot on the list, followed by trailers for other superhero films including “Black Panther,” “Deadpool 2,” “Justice League” and “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”

However, Marvel’s record-setting “Avengers: Infinity War” trailer appears to have debuted too late to make the list, despite setting a single-day record for worldwide views when it hit on Nov. 29. YouTube says its 2017 list is up-to-date as of Dec. 1.