Scottish singer Susan Boyle’s tilt at a UK talent quest has topped YouTube’s list of most-watched videos for 2009.
The singer’s rendition of I Dreamed A Dream on the Britain’s Got Talent show, which startled the judges and launched her career, has been watched by more than 120 million viewers worldwide.
The video attracted more views than the next three most-watched videos combined, according to YouTube.
The second most-watched video, with more than 37 million views, showed a seven-year-old boy recovering from a visit to the dentist. “Is this real life?” the boy, still under the influence of medication, asks his father.
In third place was the JK Wedding Entrance Dance, which showed a dance routine at an American couple’s wedding, which drew 33 million views.
The New Moon movie trailer and a CGI-based ad from Evian of babies on roller-skates filled out the final positions in the top five.
It is the first time YouTube has released an annual ranking of most-viewed videos. The list shows that YouTube, owned by Google, has become an important search engine in its own right.
Most popular search items for the year included, Michael Jackson, Tiger Woods and Kanye West.