"YouTube Rewind 2019: For the Record"
YouTube Rewind episode
Thumbnail of YouTube Rewind 2019
Original release date	December 5, 2019 (2019-12-05)
Running time	5 minutes and 37 seconds
Episode chronology
← Previous "YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind" Next → —
List of episodes

YouTube Rewind 2019: For the Record (also known simply asYouTube Rewind 2019) is a video that was uploaded toYouTube's official channel on thevideo-sharing websiteYouTube on December 5, 2019, as the tenth and final installment of theYouTube Rewind series. The video contains montages of the top videos andYouTubers of the year.

Although marked as an improvement over the previous installment,YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind, the video received negative reviews, with critics and the general audience finding the video uncreative in comparison to pastRewind videos.^[1][2]

For the Record amassed over 3.1 million dislikes within 24 hours of release and 5 million dislikes within 48 hours of release, more than those acquired byEveryone Controls Rewind in the same timeframes. It currently has over 9.6 million dislikes, making it thesixth most-disliked video on YouTube. YouTube forwent producing aRewind installment for 2020 and later announced the discontinuation of the series the following year.^[3] In December 2025,For the Record along with the otherRewind videos were set to unlisted on YouTube before subsequently being made private in January 2026.^[4][5]

The video begins with a 'rewind' of 2019's most viewed/liked videos onYouTube. It then cuts to a scene fromYouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind whereCasey Neistat and theMerrell Twins suggestK-pop as one of the themes for the rewind. Following this, it cuts to multiple YouTubers' reactions to this scene where it has been labelled as awkward and YouTube themselves stating that "In 2018, we made something you didn't like. So in 2019, let's see what you DID like. Because you're better at this than we are", with the words on screen. A compilation of trending YouTube videos from 2019 is shown, then cuts to the words on screen, saying "You made these the MOST LIKED CREATOR VIDEOS of 2019, duh...", in the form of a 'top 10' list, with a short snippet of each video playing at their appropriate times.

The video then proceeds to show the "Most Liked Music Videos", again in the form of a 'top 10' list with a short snippet of each video playing at their appropriate times.

The video then proceeds to show the "Most Liked Dance Videos" in the form of a 'top 5' list with a short snippet of each video playing at their appropriate times.

The video proceeds to show the "Most Viewed Video Games" in the form of a 'top 5' list with a short snippet of game-play at their appropriate times.

The video proceeds to show the "Most Liked Beauty Videos" in the form of a 'top 5' list with a short snippet of each video at their appropriate times.

The video cuts to another tape 'rewind' with the words on-screen: "You helped these New Creators Break Out", then proceeds to show YouTube channels with the most subscribers which first uploaded in 2019 in the form of a 'top 10' list with a short snippet of videos from each creator at their appropriate times.

The video cuts to another tape rewind, with the words on-screen: "You made these the Most Watched Creators", then proceeds to show the most viewed creators of 2019 in the form of a 'top 10' list with short snippets of videos from each creator at their appropriate times.

The video cuts to the words onscreen: "You liked, disliked, watched, subscribed, commented, shared, uploaded, played, listened, saved, created. Thank you for a record breaking 2019." It then proceeds to show multiple channels and their achievements in 2019 with appropriate videos.

It then cuts to a short time-lapsed compilation of 2019's trending videos being 'sucked' into the middle. The video ends with a shot fromLil Dicky's music video of his song "Earth".

The 2019 edition returned to a format more reminiscent of the 2010 and 2011 iterations of the series, featuring a montage of the top videos of 2019, divided into several themed countdowns based on statistics and trends.^[6][7] Kevin Allocca, YouTube's head of culture and trends, explained that the video was intended to be more reflective of the year's trends, acknowledging that it was becoming more difficult for the previous format, which ran from 2012 to 2018, to "authentically represent" the community's overall experience.^[8]

Below is a list of channels featured in the top lists inYouTube Rewind 2019, derived from the video's description:^[9][10]

Below is a list of channels whose footage was included inYouTube Rewind 2019, but were not featured in the top lists ofYouTube Rewind 2019:^[11]

YouTube Rewind 2019 contains the following songs (timestamps in brackets refer to when the song appears in theRewind video):

• "7 Rings" byAriana Grande (0:22–1:34)
• "Tokyo Drifting" byGlass Animals andDenzel Curry (1:35–2:27)
• "Bad Guy" byBillie Eilish (2:29–3:15)
• "Don't Start Now" byDua Lipa (3:17–5:23)

Despite being seen as an improvement over the previous year'sEveryone Controls Rewind,For the Record received negative reviews, with many viewers disappointed that it did not have the same level of production as previous installments in the series, and noting it as being akin toWatchMojo videos.^[12][13] Many also felt the new format lacked "ambition, energy and a soul", and that it showed that YouTube was being openly more corporate and uncaring towards their creators.^{[14][15][16][17]} Others have also noted the omission ofPewDiePie's "Congratulations" from the list of most liked music videos of the year, despite YouTube's listing standards which prevent geo-restricted content from being included inFor the Record. Another PewDiePie-related criticism was how none of his accomplishments were included in the "YouTubers' Achievements in 2019" segment, yet it includedT-Series (the first channel to hit 100 million subscribers, despite PewDiePie becoming the first creator to do so) and Enes Batur (a creator from Turkey who came under fire for copying PewDiePie, and abusing the copyright system against fellow creator JT after he called Batur out on said copying.)^[18][19] Similarly to last year, some viewers criticized the video for its complete lack of tributes to YouTubers that had died before December, such asDesmond "Etika" Amofah.^[20][21] However, viewers saw improvement with casting choices in some areas, particularly with the inclusion of PewDiePie, who was absent in the last two installments.^[8][22]For the Record won the2020 Webby Award for Entertainment in the category Web.^[23]

Despite being included in the video, PewDiePie, along with FlyingKitty,Party In Backyard,Grandayy and Dolan Dark, created their take of it on December 29, 2019, titled "YouTube Rewind 2019, but it's actually good", which focused on the notable memes of 2019 and also paid homage to various recently deceased creators, including Dillon the Hacker, Etika andGrant Thompson.^[24]

As of November 10, 2021^[update],For the Record currently has over 117 million views and over 9.5 million dislikes, making itthe sixth most-disliked YouTube video and the third most-disliked non-music YouTube video of all time afterEveryone Controls Rewind and the trailer forSadak 2. It was peaked as the third most-disliked video at the time before being surpassed by theSadak 2 trailer within three days.

• List of most-disliked YouTube videos

• YouTube Rewind 2019: For the Record atIMDb
• The creators, music and moments as featured in REWIND 2019 (playlist)

• 2010s YouTube controversies
• 2019 controversies
• 2019 YouTube events
• 2019 YouTube videos
• Internet memes introduced from the United States
• Viral videos
• Works about video games

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from December 2019
• Television episode articles with short description with no season number
• Articles containing potentially dated statements from November 2021
• All articles containing potentially dated statements