YouTube Most Viewed Video In 24 Hours

On YouTube, the first 24 hours decide your video's fate. When views climb quickly, the algorithm responds immediately, placing the video on homepages, suggested feeds, and trending sections. When they don’t, growth slows down.

Record-breaking videos prove what happens when early momentum is overwhelming. Butter by BTS reached 108 million views in a single day. Pink Venom by BLACKPINK pulled more than 90 million. Even Rockstar’s GTA VI trailer reached 92 million. These were global premieres that turned into cultural moments.

And in 2025, high engagement in the opening hours now creates even stronger boosts across the platform.

The Titans of Day-One Records

These are the milestones that define what day-one momentum can achieve on YouTube. Each release turned into a global premiere, where millions showed up at once, and the algorithm had no choice but to amplify them worldwide.

BTS – Butter (2021)

• 108.2M views in 24 hours.
• 3.9M concurrent premiere viewers (record).
• Fastest to 30M views (2h 20m).
  

Guinness World Records confirmed Butter as the most viewed YouTube video in 24 hours. Teasers collected millions before release, and ARMY (Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth – fanbase) coordinated global streaming.

BTS – Dynamite (2020)

• 101.1M views in 24 hours.
• 3M+ concurrent premiere viewers.
• 10M views in 20 minutes.
  

A turning point for K-pop internationally. The first English-language BTS track surged across global media and earned Guinness recognition for its premiere numbers.

BLACKPINK – Pink Venom (2022)

• 90.4M views in 24 hours.
  

Launched ahead of their Born Pink album, this release leveraged TikTok challenges, Instagram reels, and teaser campaigns to dominate attention.

BLACKPINK – How You Like That (2020)

• 86.3M views in 24 hours.
• 1.66M concurrent premiere viewers.
  

A Guinness-certified record at the time, with choreography and visuals built for replay value.

Other Standouts

Not every title breaks 100 million, but these “second wave” hits still changed the conversation about what’s possible in a day:

• Ice Cream – BLACKPINK & Selena Gomez

79M views in 24 hours. A global collaboration that pulled together two massive fanbases and bridged K-pop with Western pop culture.

• Boy With Luv – BTS & Halsey

74.6M views. Showed the strength of collaborations and set records for the most-liked YouTube video within the first 24 hours of release.

• Lalisa – Lisa

73.6M views. Lisa’s solo debut proved that individual members of superstar groups can mobilize audiences at nearly the same scale as the group itself.

• Permission to Dance – BTS

72.3M views. Dropped as a “feel-good” anthem right after Butter, reinforcing BTS’s dominance in back-to-back launches.

• Life Goes On – BTS

71.6M views. Released during the pandemic, it captured the mood of a generation and reached huge numbers despite a softer, slower promotional style.

• ME! – Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie

65.2M views. A Western pop release that leveraged surprise, colorful visuals, and mainstream media buzz to stack tens of millions in day one.

And it’s not only music!

Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 1 smashed through 92.7M views in 24 hours in December 2023, proving that gaming culture can rival music fandoms when hype is high enough.

Why These Videos Take Off

Years of analysis show repeating patterns:

Audience orchestration

Fanbases don’t simply consume; they campaign. BTS ARMY coordinated streams, hashtags, and watch parties across continents.

Cross-platform buildup

TikTok teasers, Twitter campaigns, and Instagram countdowns all pushed traffic into YouTube.

Algorithm triggers

High CTR and retention signaled the system to recommend more aggressively.

Event energy

Premieres gave viewers a shared moment, multiplying impact.

Ready to scale your channel?

We will help you grow through monetization, localization, audits, and launch strategy. Reach out to us and turn your next upload into an event.

The Algorithm in 2025: Retention First

Click-through rate still matters, but YouTube now rewards videos that hold viewers.

• Retention: 70%+ audience retention signals strong satisfaction.
• CTR + engagement: Attractive thumbnails and titles matter only if viewers stay.
• Personalization: The global Trending tab ended in July 2025. Discovery now flows through Explore and personalized charts.
• Satisfaction feedback: Likes, comments, and shares continue to weigh heavily.
  

The core takeaway: early views matter, but keeping viewers engaged matters more.

Trends We Can’t Ignore

2024-2025 brought new layers. Shorts are now a massive launch lever. A 15-second teaser on Shorts can drive millions to a music video premiere.

Interactive content, polls, and live watch parties keep engagement stacked in the algorithm’s favor.

Fan campaigns on Discord or WhatsApp groups push watch parties in ways that were impossible a few years ago.

Creators who win now are orchestrating content.

Blueprint for Day-One Success

Virality in the first 24 hours (especially for smaller creators) often comes down to two key factors:

1. Orchestration. Building anticipation and getting the audience ready.
2. An unexpected chance. Seizing the moment when something unexpected happens (like a leak, trend, or buzz).

One of our partners experienced both. An AI-generated leak created buzz before the official release. Instead of rushing, they used the hype, set up a delayed premiere, and executed their strategy perfectly.

The result? A 183% income boost and a 3.7x improvement since their last release, proving how timing and opportunity can make a huge impact.

How to Own Your First 24 Hours on YouTube in 2025

The first 24 hours matter. Period. If your video doesn’t gain traction fast, YouTube won’t push it. Here’s what works:

1. Hype Like You Mean It

YouTube’s algorithm needs early signals to care. Premiere your video. Set up a countdown, tease the audience, and get them desperate for the drop.

• Pre-release hype is essential: if your audience isn’t anticipating the video, you’re already behind. Use TikTok, Instagram Stories, and even Discord to talk about the drop. Don’t wait for the algorithm to find you, force it.
• Tease on YouTube itself: create a “coming soon” video or a Short and throw it up a couple of days before the premiere.

2. Meta Everything

The metadata game is all about relevance. Use tools like VidIQ, TubeBuddy, and even Google Trends to make sure you’re in the right lane.

• Keyword Relevance: YouTube’s new algorithm scans for intent, so be clear about what your video offers.
• Thumbnails = Attention: test multiple thumbnails, but don’t rely on the same old stock photos. Your thumbnail has to scream. Focus on faces, emotions, and contrast.
• Localization: use translated metadata and at least subtitles. There’s nothing YouTube’s pushing harder in 2025 than localization. So, take that leverage and ride the trend.

3. Shorts Are Your Ticket to the Spotlight

Every day, 70 billion views happen on Shorts in 2025. They bring in quick traffic, which is exactly what the algorithm loves. Direct traffic from Shorts to your main video.

• Feed the beast: post relevant Shorts that link directly to your main video. 15 seconds is all it takes to give people a reason to click through. Get them hooked, but don’t make them guess.
• Don’t just post one: post 3-5 Shorts in the first few hours of your video launch. Pump that algorithm full of content it wants to amplify.

4. Treat Each Release Like an Event

Eventify your upload.

• Premiere = Exclusive: make the premiere feel like an event. Use the live chat to interact, drop teasers, or do a Q&A during the stream. Viewers love feeling like they’re part of something exclusive.
• Give them the cliffhanger: Give them a reason to care. Drop a question in the first 5 seconds, tease a huge reveal, keep them guessing.

5. Keep the Push Going Post-Launch

Your work doesn’t stop after the first 24 hours.

• Follow-up Content: drop follow-up content. Tease the next video with a call to action. Keep the ball rolling so YouTube has a reason to continue recommending your video.
• 24/7 Streams: set up a 24/7 stream using your existing content. It’s low-effort, high-reward. Let YouTube do the work. Constant engagement sends the signal that you’re a top-tier creator. Once the algorithm sees that, it’ll start pushing your content like crazy.

Orchestrate. Execute. Retain.

The first 24 hours are your chance to show the algorithm you mean business. If you want YouTube to care, you need to show early engagement and high retention. Play the game right, and the algorithm will reward you.

Where Creators Go From Here

BTS, BLACKPINK, Taylor Swift, and Rockstar showed how to dominate day one. Their results came from designing the right growth strategy, not coincidence.

If you want to apply these principles to your own channel, AIR Media-Tech can help you. We’ve guided thousands of creators through launches that deliver real growth.

Contact us and let’s plan your next 24-hour breakthrough.