The YouTube Music Awards are making a return later this month, and they are coming back with a new format and some incredible exclusives.
This year, the company has announced the winners several weeks before the official date (March 23rd), rather than making people tune in to see who will go home with a trophy. Instead, YouTube is encouraging viewers to watch the award show’s pageon that day to catch brand new exclusive videos from some of the honorees. Nine acts—Cahoots, Charli XCX, Ed Sheeran, Martin Garrix, MAX, Migos, Megan Nicole, Nicky Jam, and Shamir—will all be releasing new clips simultaneously. Vice Media will be producing all nine videos, pairing the talented artists with some of the best directors working today.
The award show was created to honor those who are making waves on the Google-owned video site, which can mean anything from releasing groundbreaking visuals to racking up hundreds of millions of views. Some of those being recognized this year are viral sensations, while others are some of the biggest stars on the planet.
A screenshot from the announcement video from YouTube.
The YouTube Music Awards were founded in 2013 as a live ceremony in NYC. The company took 2014 off to reevaluate the way they were running the show, and this year marks their return and their second “ceremony”. While everybody likes watching celebrities walk on stage and collect an award (and we certainly don’t have enough opportunities to do that), YouTube is smart to change things up this year. YouTube is experienced online, and their award show should be as well.
Here is the full list of the 50 acts being honored by YouTube this year:
2NE1, Alt-J, Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Big Bang, Big Sean, Brad Paisley, Charli XCX, Dej Loaf, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Ella Henderson, Fifth Harmony, FKA Twigs, Florida Georgia Line, George Ezra, Hoodie Allen, Hozier, Hunter Hayes, J. Cole, Jason Derulo, Katy Perry, Kendrick Lamar, Kiesza, Kurt Hugo Schneider, Lady Gaga, Lindsey Stirling, Martin Garrix, MAX, Megan Nicole, Meghan Trainor, Migos, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Nicky Jam, OK GO, One Direction, Pentatonix, Pharrell Williams, Rihanna, Sam Smith, Sia, Snoop Dogg, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Tinashe, Tori Kelly, Tove Lo, Troye Sivan, and Tyler Ward.
The Most Subscribed-To YouTube Channels
Smosh
7 million
Smosh is now the most-subscribed to channel on YouTube with 7 million subscribers. Here is a look at the channel's competition. All numbers are from VidStatsX as of January 22nd.
Hugh McIntyre Contributor
I write about the music industry, from tech to charts and more.
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT 1,463 views
Katy Perry Was The Most-Watched Musician On YouTube Last Year, Accumulating 2.4 Billion Views
Katy Perry rocked plenty of charts last year (as she always does), including the one that measured the most-watched channels on YouTube. The pop singer came in third in total, but first among all musicians, collecting just under 2.4 billion views in 2014.
Though she didn’t release an album in 2014, the pop star spent most of the year riding high from the release of her fourth CD Prism the previous October.
Perry’s single “Dark Horse” (which features a guest verse from rapper Juicy J) really took off this past year, gunning to number one and staying there for quite a number of weeks. In fact, “Horse” ended up being the third best-selling song on iTunes, and it landed in second on the listof how songs charted on the Hot 100 tally.
The majority of her 2.39 billion watches came from the ancient Egyptian-themed “Dark Horse” clip, which has so far racked up an impressive 780 million views since it was released in February 2014. The two subsequent singles from Prism also helped raise that number, with “This Is How We Do” adding 219 million and the two “Birthday” videos adding a collective 120 million.
