It’s time for my annual posting of the Top 10 YouTube Videos of the Year (see last year’s list here). This ranking is totally unscientific. Only one person was polled to compile this list—yours truly. This year’s crop contains items relating to sports, theology, news, Christianity, and more. Some of the videos are humorous, and others are poignant. If you think I’ve left something out, let me know. I’ll think about adding it to the “Honorable Mention” category. This year’s slate of videos is arranged in no particular order, as number ten is obviously in a class all by itself.
If you’re interested, here are links to lists from previous years:
1. Baby Vader
2. A Woman Born Deaf Hears for the First Time
3. Tim Tebow, “All He Does Is Win”
Tim Tebow’s winning streak with the Denver Broncos was the most stimulating sports story of the year. It seems he had as many fans as he had haters. This spoof was the apologia for his greatness. Although things haven’t gone so well the last couple of weeks, I agree with the apologia.
4. Rob Bell’s “Love Wins” Ad
Rob Bell produced this video to promote his book Love Wins, and it was meant to be provocative. From John Piper’s tweet-heard-round-the-world “Farewell, Rob Bell” to Justin Taylor’s initial blog critique (which garnered over 250,000 hits in 48 hours), this video certainly had its intended effect.
5. Martin Bashir Takes on Rob Bell
I don’t know what else to say. This interview is devastating. It exposes the inconsistency of Bell’s argument. Bell wants to be a universalist without taking the name, and Bashir won’t let him off by a facile appeal to “paradox.”
6. Rebecca Black’s YouTube Sensation
Do you remember Rebecca Black? How could you forget? She’s a thirteen year old amateur singer, and in March her amateur video went viral.
Believe it or not, I first heard about this song from Tim Tebow. We live in a strange world.
7. Thank You for My Smoking Hot Wife!
Here’s the NASCAR prayer heard around the world which was turned into an autotuned sensation.
8. Handel’s Messiah Goes Awry
9. Homeless Man with Golden Voice
Here’s the homeless man with the golden voice that got a second chance because of a viral YouTube video (see above). His flame had about fifteen minutes before burning-out. It was a sad story that was to some extent foreshadowed by the hosts of The Today Show (see below).
10. Unreached People Group Receives Bible
One of the signal moments of my seminary career occurred in a chapel service at Dallas Theological Seminary. A missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators shared her story of translating the Bible into the tongue of a remote tribal people who live halfway around the world. She described how her 20 years of labor culminated with a first ever translation of the Bible into the native language of an unreached people group.
The part that moved me most was her description of the day that the first printed Bibles arrived to the tribe. A boat carried the precious cargo up the river that ran alongside of the village. As the boat approached the village, the tribe lined the banks of the river celebrating, singing, and cheering. I could barely hold the tears back as I heard about the joy these new brothers and sisters had in God’s word.
I had the same reaction in watching the video above. It shows the Kimyal Tribe of Papua, Indonesia celebrating the arrival of the New Testament Bible in the Kimyal language last year. This one is really worth your time to watch from start to finish.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Brontë Sisters Power Dolls
The Altar Call’s Greatest Hits
Two Dogs Dining
The Most Lifelike Dead Animals Anywhere. Period.
“I am second” Testimony from Ex-Lead Guitarist of Korn
Chuckles with the Dalai Lama
Bohemian Rhapsody by Porkka Boys
Motivational Speaker Kid
Did you see the video of the little kid trying playing the part of the motivational speaker? He’s just learned how to ride a bike, and he wants to encourage all the other kids that they can do it too. This kid is more inspirational than Matt Foley living in the van down by the river. See for yourself above.
Also, this kid was so good, someone rightly figured out that he needed a bigger stage. So watch him address the nation below.
The Greatest Marriage Proposal Ever
This viral YouTube video is from Matt Still who has produced one of the most creative marriage proposals I have ever seen. He and his fiancée were interviewed on “The Today Show” on May 18, 2011. You can watch the proposal above and then the interview below.
The Old Switcheroo
“Jesus, Joy of Man’s Desiring” Like You’ve Never Seen It Before
Best April Fool’s Gag
I laughed out loud when I saw this April Fool’s prank that was caught on live television. San Diego news anchor Raoul Martinez tricked his cohost into thinking that the iPhone and iPad have a new app that allows users to taste and smell food right on their tablet. He not only tricked her into trying to smell the food, but he also convinced her to try and taste it.
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
The band “Mercy Me” has a running gag on their YouTube channel called “The Cover Tune Grab Bag,” in which they do fun covers of popular songs. Many of the videos look like they are shot backstage with the guys just goofing around. In any case, it’s pretty entertaining to see the band let their proverbial hair down.
Earlier this year, they posted what is probably my favorite video to date: a cover of the Beatles’ “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.” Watch above. If you want to see more, their YouTube channel is here.
Darth Vader Sings Justin Bieber
James Earl Jones appeared on the Gayle King Show and as a gag read a few lines from a Justin Bieber song (see below). Not long after, someone took the audio and reworked the ending of “The Empire Strikes Back.” The result is the softer side of Darth Vader.
Kid Slam Dunks Himself
You gotta watch all the way to the end for this one.
8 Comments
yankeegospelgirl
Ted Williams’ story is very sad, but I think the last piece of news about him is that he had a job as the voice of NECN, so hopefully he won’t relapse again.
David Hamilton
Hey Denny,
Have you seen “Guy on a Buffalo” yet?
http://m.youtube.com/?appcache_off=1324271660&reason=1&errmsg=E-SER%3AQUOTA_EXCEEDED_ERR%3A%20DOM%20Exception%2022#/watch?v=iJ4T9CQA0UM
There are 4 episodes.
Merry Christmas!
-David Hamilton
Mark Wickersham
A couple inappropriate YouTube thumbnails show up after the Nascar Prayer video.
Denny Burk
Thank you for the heads-up. I didn’t notice that. I removed the video.
JM
If you want an embedded YouTube video to not include any thumbnails (i.e. related videos) at the end, just add “&rel=0“ to the end of the youtube URL.
Denny Burk
That code didn’t work.
JM
Hmmm. Not sure why it didn’t work for you. I use it frequently and haven’t had trouble. Just an example to clarify:
Here’s the embed code for the NASCAR prayer song:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZnDt2wEFjk&w=480&h=360%5D
At the end of the YouTube URL add &rel=0
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZnDt2wEFjk&rel=0&w=480&h=360%5D
There shouldn’t be any related videos.
JM
Sorry when I posted the last comment, it re-arranged the order of the code at the end. It should look like this:
Original with related videos at end:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZnDt2wEFjk]
Then add &rel=0
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZnDt2wEFjk&rel=0]