“Careless Whisper” reaches 1 billion views on YouTube, reports Top40Hitdossier.nl.

Careless Whisper, George Michael’s solo debut single, has passed the 1 billion view mark on YouTube. This puts the song in the top 5 of the oldest Top 40 hits that have reached this milestone.

Careless Whisper was a solo trip from George Michael from 1984. He was still part of at that time Wham! The song became a number 1 hit in many countries, including the Netherlands. Careless Whisper topped the Top 40 for five weeks in September and October 1985, becoming one of the biggest hits of the year. Partly thanks to Steve Gregory’s iconic, sultry saxophone solo, the song became a classic.

Since Gangnam Style van Psy there are now more than 350 video clips on YouTube that have passed the 1 billion view mark. Every few days there will be a new video at the ‘one billion club’. However, it’s not often that video clips from the 1980s hit this milestone. Careless Whisper is only the ninth Top 40 hit from the 1980s to do so. The video is clicked about 400,000 times per day.

The oldest video to reach the 1 billion view mark is Bohemian Rhapsody van Queen. The counter of that number is now at about 1.6 billion. Below you will find the top 5 oldest Top 40 hits that belong to YouTube’s ‘one billion club’.

1. Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody (1975; 1,6 mijard views)
2. Michael Jackson – Billy Jean (1983; 1,3 miljard views)
3. The Police – Every Breath You Take (1983; 1,1 miljard views)
4. Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have Fun (1984; 1,2 miljard views)
5. George Michael – Careless Whisper (1984; 1,0 miljard views)

The 80s video with the most views on YouTube is right now Take On Me van A-Ha with over 1.6 billion views. The next 1980s hit to cross the 1 billion mark is presumably Total Eclipse Of The Heart van Bonnie Tyler. That 1983 song now stands at about 950 million views could hit the magic mark around October.

At the moment, the overview of the most viewed YouTube videos from the 1980s looks like this:

1. A-Ha – Take On Me (1985; 1,6 miljard views)
2. Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine (1988; 1,5 miljard views)
3. Rick Astley – Never Gonna Give You Up (1987; 1,4 miljard views)
4. Michael Jackson – Billy Jean (1983; 1,3 miljard views)
5. Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have Fun (1984; 1,2 miljard views)
6. Europe – The Final Countdown (1986; 1,1 miljard views)
7. The Police – Every Breath You Take (1983; 1,1 miljard views)
8. Bon Jovi – Livin’ On A Prayer (1986, 1,0 miljard views)
9. George Michael – Careless Whisper (1984; 1,0 miljard views)