[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like; a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]
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Individual creators like MrBeast (#2) and the Stokes Twins (#4) both saw strong viewership gains in this week’s U.S. Top 50, but the chart leader is still Toys and Colors. Thanks to some help from its partners at pocket.watch, the kid-friendly hub has become the regular #1 finisher among all U.S.-based YouTube channels.
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How can chart-conscious creators keep up with these media company operations? There’s no easy way for one person to maintain a high chart position (though appealing to preschool-age viewers definitely helps), but a few creators have figured out some strategies that help them get millions of views week in and week out.
Are pranks and challenges evergreen categories on YouTube?
Shorts has changed so much about the nature of popular YouTube content, but there are a few genres that have remained relevant on the platform over the years. Prank videos are one example. From Prank Vs. Prank to Magic of Rahat to the new show Punk You, the history of YouTube is filled with practical jokes.
That category now shows up on several different channels in the U.S. Top 50. One notable example is Topper Guild, the home of a cross-platform star who broke out on TikTok and then brought his brand of comedy to YouTube Shorts. And whaddaya know: The comedy in question involves a lot of pranking.
Videos like those once brought Topper Guild to the top of our Tubefilter charts, but that was back in 2021 when Shorts was brand new. In the intervening years, Topper Guild’s viewership fell off a bit, but the channel has roared back into the U.S. Top 50 by collecting 167.7 million weekly views.
Another creator enjoying a similar rebound is Nathan Kessel. Since we profiled him in September 2023, he’s been in and out of U.S. Top 50, but during the penultimate week of 2024, he was definitively in. Kessel got 140.4 million weekly views to achieve his highest seven-day total since October.
Data via Gospel Stats
Kessel isn’t a practical joker per se, but a lot of his most popular clips exhibit a brand of “challenge” content that verges on the prankish. Literal prank videos may come and go, but the attitude that comes with that sort of content seems to be evergreen. If you enjoy creators like Topper Guild and Nathan Kessel, there are a lot more appealing videos coming your way. And if you don’t like it? Well, it’s just a prank, bro.
Channel Distribution
This week, there are 37 YouTube Shorts channels in the U.S. Top 50.
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