It's that time of the year again. No, not Christmas. The time for the Youtube Rewind.
And like a gift that keeps on giving, YouTube Rewind continues last year's trend of being an absolute dud.
YouTube Rewind started as something special - it became a collaborative effort between the celebrated YouTubers on the platform, irrespective of who they were -- creators, actors, musicians, and more -- and the rewind would always be something that fans on the platform looked forward to, for summing up the best bits of YouTube in a single video. And to watch Lilly Singh dive into a pool of balls.
But Lilly Singh has now moved onto her own late-night show, and YouTube also seems to have moved on from making good quality videos. Last year's video was the most disliked video in the history of YouTube.
This year, YouTube may outdo itself. If you are into numbers, we're currently at 1.2 million dislikes at the time of writing this.
So what went wrong (read: again)?
YouTube Rewind 2019 is perhaps different for two reasons. One, it is nothing like what a YouTube Rewind is supposed to be.
The reason why YouTube Rewinds worked, was because they summarized what happened in that year. It was like watching a small highlight reel montage of everything good and wholesome. This year, it's just a countdown. Literally. The entire YouTube Rewind 2019 is just a 'Top Ten of...' of various sections.
Two, it's trying too hard for crowd appeasement. In trying to undo the damage by 'Last year, we made something you didn’t like,' and making something boring, bland and with the editing skills of an inbuilt iPhone app, YouTube seems to have set the bar lower than one could imagine.
In words of a fan on YouTube, 'I had zero expectations, and I'm still disappointed.'
But that's not all that fans had to say. People did not mince their words. None whatsoever.
Just like YouTube didn't mince its never-ending list of Top Tens (Did we really need so many countdowns?)
in 2018 we made something you didn't like... so in 2019... we made something so boring that there's no way for you to form any sort of opinion on it, which creates indifference, which means it CAN'T be hated.*** #YouTubeRewind https://t.co/sknrQ9RSNy— Andres Tagliaferro (@TrinityTags) December 5, 2019
loved the new WatchMojo top 10 video #YouTubeRewind2019 pic.twitter.com/uVKep21UBI— dxqn (@drexqn) December 5, 2019
So... all #YoutubeRewind this year was... counted down the MOST LIKED things on the platform. ...That's it? I expected nothing and I'm still let down somehow... the response to the terrible video last year was the equivalent to the Magic Conch telling them to do nothing https://t.co/iwsw0qvQj3— TRAFON (@RiseFallNick) December 5, 2019
.... we will make something even worse. #YouTubeRewind2019 pic.twitter.com/ZR7BqQW86V— rowan (@hcllqnds) December 5, 2019
I have inside sources telling me that the budget for #YouTubeRewind this year was $3.74, and it shows... pic.twitter.com/i6NvrJY0pW— TyBlue (@TyBlueNews) December 5, 2019
me watching #YouTubeRewind thinking i clicked on a top 10 video pic.twitter.com/Y3RyuOuuGp— wguto Sab 3 (@ffssabrina) December 5, 2019
It’s one thing to make a bad #YouTubeRewind2019, but this year they made a BORING oneBarely any production to it beyond being just a compilation of other videosYou know it’s bad when I could have edited it in less than a day— Salty (@saltydkdan) December 5, 2019
Ok let's talk about #YouTubeRewind2019 for a second.So this video? Wasn't bad at all. In fact, it was a really good, well edited video!But it wasn't a YouTube Rewind.This is a top ten list of achievements, and if youtube titled it anything else it would have been FINE https://t.co/Q4E7drExf7— Cess! ♥️ (@TheChaosSpirit) December 5, 2019
OOPS. #YouTubeRewind2019 pic.twitter.com/2qOYHlZCEi— Mr. Pasquale (@TheMrPasquale) December 5, 2019
youtube rewind had the same energy as this: #YouTubeRewind2019 #YoutubeRewind pic.twitter.com/urCrvSl82E— wguto erin (@ezzymcu) December 5, 2019
#YouTubeRewind2019 didn't expect anything from you and you still manage to disappoint me. pic.twitter.com/6vMsdr6dEk— Behellith´s (@BehellithS) December 5, 2019
YouTube Rewind started its video by saying, "You're better at this than we are."
That statement perhaps rings especially true. This video could have been created, and edited by anyone with a phone with an editing app on it. And they could probably have done a better job.
Will this year's video really make it the most disliked?
If not, there's always next year. Because unless YouTube stops pandering to audiences to be 'likeable.' YouTube has never been about being likeable. It's about being relatable. It's looking at a screen and seeing someone look like you, be as awkward as you are and still be appreciated. And watching a list of 'top ten' countdown just isn't relatable. We have MTV for that.
For now, here's WatchMojo's latest video.