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There’s something impressive about infectious music videos. The ones that you instantly hate, but then find yourself going back to over and over again. Many of the songs featured on these YouTube videos end up being buried in our brain for weeks against our will.
So, if you’re feeling masochistic or you just really want to get eight different songs stuck in your head at once, this is your chance. Here are the most infectious music videos of the decade, all in one place.
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8. Drake: “In My Feelings”
This is the originator of the KiKi Challenge, which had people jumping out of moving vehicles and failing miserably to get back in. The video is the right mix of catchy without being too long, and is a perfect earworm. The fact that people were crashing their cars to it only helped.
7. Pikotaro: “PPAP”
A pineapple pen is indeed a wondrous invention, and the song is insistent on letting you know. There are about seven words to the entire thing, but they are used to ruthlessly indoctrinate you into pineapple pen. So yeah, good luck digging that out of your head.
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6. Noisestorm: “Crab Rave”
There’s nothing like a group of animals on the beach getting down to techno-Caribbean rhythms. The digital dancing crustaceans help make for a mesmerizing video as they move in time with the stupidly-catchy beat. This was originally an April Fools’ prank, but the joke is on all of us.
5. “Nyan Cat”
A Pop Tart cat flying through space with a swirl of rainbows as a trail. Yeah, that about explains the internet. The song has no more lyrics than “nyan.” It sounds vaguely familiar and will bury itself so far into your head you’ll swear you were born with it playing in your head on a loop. There’s also a 10-hour version if you’re criminally insane.
4. Luis Fonsi: “Despacito” ft. Daddy Yankee
If summer had a theme song, we’re pretty sure this would be it. Like pure heat in music form, this may be the song you find yourself humming in your dreams. The combination of an incredibly catchy guitar riff and a tropical beat with some very smooth lyrics is too hard to pass up.
3. Ylvis: “The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?)”
The slow, earnest singing at the beginning doesn’t prepare you for the rest. Something about the stop-start chorus and then the incredibly nonsensical response just digs itself into your brain. Forever.
2. Psy: “Gangnam Style”
“Gangnam Style” combines one catchy song with an even better dance move. Nobody can look cool doing the “invisible horse dance” but that’s kind of the point. Now, Psy is less of a viral hit and more of a pop superstar. All kicked off by “Gangnam Style.”
1. “Baby Shark”
This song was engineered to be utterly inescapable, and it succeeded. Just hearing the first line will immediately embed this into your subconscious for all eternity. Good luck.
