#YouTubeRewind 2015: Asia’s top memes, spoofs, and songs

Dec 10, 2015

Gautam Anand

Director of Operations and Content, YouTube Asia Pacific

As we wind up the year, we look back at what captured audiences across Asia Pacific in 2015. This year, local YouTube creators dominated the trending lists in each country, showing that local creativity and culturally relevant videos are still what prompt viewers to press play. From wacky musical numbers to heartwarming stories of homecoming, here’s a glimpse at what had Asia glued to their smartphones this year.

Kids
Korea: [Pororo Sing Along Collection S2] Pororo Songs for Children

Pororo the Little Penguin is one of Korea’s beloved animated characters — so much so that he’s even earned the nickname “Pororo the President.” This 40-minute compilation of songs features Pororo and his friends singing 14 tracks and has kept millions of kids entertained.

Australia: Peppa Pig - 9 Episode Compilation 2! by theofficialpeppa

Popular kids’ animation Peppa Pig took the top spot this year in Australia’s trending videos list, proving how popular kids’ content is Down Under, as we saw during the recent launch of the YouTube Kids app there.

Parody songs
Vietnam: [Mì Gõ Đặc Biệt] Parody MV Vợ Người Ta - Phan Mạnh Quỳnh by Ghiền Mì Gõ

Remade from a popular song depicting a young man crying over his ex-girlfriend’s wedding, this Vietnamese creator spiced up the story of Vợ Người Ta with creative twists on characters — less dramatic and a bit more hilarious. It’s more addictive than you think: as of writing, the video Vợ Người Ta racked up watch times equivalent to 128 years.

Indonesia: SYAHRINI STICKER PARODI (edhozell + ekagustiwana) #parodisyahrini

Local YouTuber and comedian Edho Zell collaborated with musician Eka Gustiwana to create a video that went viral, clocking over 3.2 million views. Edho and Eka tapped into the country’s unabashed love of celebrity parody, and combined it with Indonesians’ favorite activity: chatting online with friends to create a song inspired by stickers.

India: AIB : Every Bollywood Party Song feat. Irrfan

Comedy kings AIB team up with Bollywood legend Irrfan Khan to send up archetypical Bollywood party songs (that often lack context in the film itself) — and the result is oh so catchy.

Eye-catching ads
Malaysia: Home - #lundangtonewcastle

Boy meets girl, over long distance: Malaysian Airlines made a heartwarming love story about a U.K.-born Malaysian boy who falls in love with a girl in Malaysia, based on real interviews with real people.

Philippines: For Our #1 Lolas | NIDO FORTIGROW | Nestlé PH

Get ready for a tear-jerker as this Nestlé ad reminds us of where sassy women get their strength from: their #1 lolas, aka grandmas.

New Zealand: Men In Black Safety Defenders #AirNZSafetyVideo

Air New Zealand does it again: their safety videos are already the stuff of legends. This time their viral video had stars from the All Blacks, New Zealand’s national rugby team, rapping in-flight safety tips to the “Men in Black” theme song.

Performances
Japan: Egusplosion - エグスプロージョン チャンネル

In this video, dance team Egusplosion comically explains a historical event called the “Honnoji Incident.” Their catchy rap tune and quirky dance moves have captured the hearts of Japanese students who’ve had to prepare for history exams. Check out thelive version they did at the recent YouTube FanFest with Japanese YouTube starHikakin. Egusplosion saw four more of their videos in this year’s top ten trending list for Japan.

Thailand: The Voice Thailand - หนอยแน่ - กลับไม่ได้ ไปไม่ถึง

Music-obsessed Thailand watched a lot of videos from hit talent-spotting show The Voice—this video “Noi Nae” alone was watched over 10 million times.

Unique tunes
Hong Kong: BOMBA - 音樂故事

Hong Kong creators and filmmaking collective BOMBA dominated Hong Kong’s trending video lists this year with six out of ten of the city’s most popular videos. Their modern musical, 音樂故事 or Music Story, strings together classic lines from Cantopop hits over the past few years to tell the story of an unrequited love. Real enthusiasts should try to take this on karaoke-style.

Taiwan: 驚喜合唱 民歌四十 Flash Mob Chorus at Ban Qiao Rail Station

A musical horde descends upon one of Taiwan’s busiest rail stations to sing some of Taiwan’s iconic “Campus Ballads,” a genre of music popular among Taiwanese from the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. No doubt this video prompted many memories — and singalongs — for Taiwanese viewers everywhere.

Singapore: Unbelievable - I so stunned like vegetable (Spouse For House 2 MV)

So popular that “stunned like vegetable” became a new Singlish phrase, this song was created to promote Mediacorp Channel 5’s sitcom Spouse For House. Singaporeans grooved so much to the humorous — and dare we say it — unbelievable lyrics and dance moves that this video shot to the top of the trending charts. Walau-eh!

These are just some of the top YouTube hits from 2015 in Asia Pacific. Check out ourYouTube Rewind channel for more of this year’s favorite videos from around the world, including a mashup of the top videos on YouTube — this time, featuring a look back at ten years’ worth of YouTube moments. You can also visit google.com/2015 next week for Google's annual look at the people, places and events that captured the world's attention.

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#YouTubeRewind 2015: Asia’s top memes, spoofs, and songs

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