‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ becomes first ‘80s video to hit 1bn YouTube views

Guns ‘N Roses’ No. 1 single Sweet Child O’ Mine is now officially the first music video from the ‘80s to rock its way into YouTube’s billion views club.

This is according to global record company Universal Music who made the announcement on Tuesday.

“This new milestone marks the second decade milestone for the band whose 1992 video for the epic masterpiece November Rain broke records in 2018 as the first (and so far only) video from the ’90s to reach 1 billion views,” said the record company in a statement.

“Guns N’ Roses injected unbridled attitude into the burgeoning Los Angeles rock scene and went on to captivate the entire world with the July 21, 1987 release of ‘Appetite For Destruction’, which remains the best-selling US debut album ever, selling more than 30 million copies globally,” added Universal.

Additionally, in its first two years, the band’s ‘Not In This Lifetime’ worldwide tour also claimed the 4th spot on the list of the most successful tours in music history with no signs of slowing down.

Guns N’ Roses’ staying power is undeniable.

“With more than 6.7 million YouTube subscribers and record-breaking videos across decades, the band and their iconic music continue to inspire,” added Universal.

They have their loyal legion of hard-rocking fans from all over the world to thank for making them one of the top 200 most viewed artists of 2019 globally on YouTube.

Top Five Music Videos by Decade [1980 – 2019]

1980s

• Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine (Official Music Video) – 1 billion
• a-ha – Take On Me (Official Music Video) – 943 million
• Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have Fun (Official Video) – 786 million
• The Police – Every Breath You Take (Official Music Video) – 699 million
• Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (Official Music Video) – 694 million

1990s

• Guns N’ Roses – November Rain – 1.2 billion
• Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit (Official Music Video) – 968 million
• The Cranberries – Zombie (Official Music Video) – 962 million
• Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You (Official Music Video) – 859 million
• 4 Non Blondes – What’s Up (Official Video) – 765 million

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