Monday, November 10, 2008

"Evolution Of Dance" The Number 1 Most Favourited (All Time) Video On YouTube


YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload, share and view video clips. The company was founded in 2005 by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim. YouTube was acquired by Google in 2006 and is presently headquartered in San Bruno, California, USA. Unregistered users can watch most videos on the site while registered users are allowed to upload an unlimited number of videos. YouTube reported that in January 2008 alone, nearly 79 million users had made over 3 billion video views. YouTube also bestows numerous awards on the videos including the "Most Viewed, Most Favourited, Most Discussed and Top Rated".

As far as video clips go, Evolution Of Dance by American motivational speaker and comedian Judson (Jud) Laipply is undoubtedly one of the most popular of video clips to have appeared on YouTube. The six-minute video posted on YouTube by Laipply in 2006, features him dancing to a soundtrack that plays through various popular songs by various artistes ranging from Elvis Presley (Hound Dog) to Chubby Checker (The Twist), Village People (YMCA), MC Hammer (U Can't Touch This) and Michael Jackson (Billie Jean & Thriller).

Evolution of Dance was the finale to Laipply's 2002 show called Inspirational Comedy. Laipply said he came up with the name Inspirational Comedy to help describe what he does. He wanted people to know that he was going to try and be funny but also give them things to think about and try to inspire them all in the same experience. During its initial rise in popularity, the video amassed over 10 million views in under two weeks. It was also featured on CNN, MSN, E!, USA Today, Good Morning America, The Today Show, AOL, Google and many other websites.

Evolution Of Dance is currently the Number 1 Most Favourited (All Time) Video, Number 2 Most Viewed (All Time) Video and Number 6 Most Discussed (All Time) Video on YouTube. The video has been viewed over 103 million times as at October 30 2008. It had the most all time views for just over 2 years before being replaced by the music video for Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend which also had more than 100 million views. Anyone who has watched Evolution Of Dance is bound to be bombarded with flashbacks, for the better or worse, of a particular period of their youth so characterized by the iconic dances which accompany the songs.


Best Wishes As Usual,

Dance Aficionado
Dancesport Malaysia


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