Home-grown singer-songwriter Charlie Lim has beaten superstar JJ Lin in the popularity stakes on YouTube.
His remake of We Are Singapore, the official National Day Parade theme song for 2018, was the top trending non-music YouTube video in Singapore this year.
Non-music videos refers to music-related clips that are not commercial music videos backed by record labels.
According to YouTube Rewind, which highlights the biggest music, trends, memes and characters on the video platform over the past 12 months, eight of the top 10 trending videos were locally produced or feature local talent. This is up from last year, when half of the top 10 videos were locally produced.
The list of top videos is determined not just by views, but also takes into account ways in which audiences interact with the videos including likes, shares and comments. The top trending videos are those which spiked the most during the year, a YouTube Singapore spokesman said.
Lin's rendition of F.I.R.'s Our Love on Chinese variety show, Sound Of My Dream, came in second on the trending charts, followed by local YouTube channel Ryan Sylvia's 12 Types of Classmates.
YouTube Singapore said the growing trend towards local content over the past three editions of YouTube Rewind reflects the importance for videos to connect with local sentiments. Many of these locally produced videos offer new perspectives to topics that are important to Singaporeans, it added.
YouTube Singapore also released its second Rising Creators List to highlight emerging producers who have had significant subscriber growth over the past year.
Top on this list was Millennials of Singapore, which tackles topics that resonate with young viewers. The YouTube channel touches on issues such as family and personal relationships, and also spotlights stories of inspiring millennials.
Mr Jacky Yap, managing director of GRVTY Media, the parent company of Millennials of Singapore, said it started the channel "to tell untold stories of Singaporean youth". "We knew YouTube was the ideal platform for these stories to reach millions and we are truly honoured and encouraged by this recognition from the good people at YouTube," he said.
The YouTube community in Singapore continued growing this year, with more creators joining the platform. There were also eight channels that hit a million subscribers, including JianHao Tan, which has garnered more than two million subscribers.
Ministry of Funny was the only Singaporean channel selected for You-Tube's global initiative, Creators for Change, which highlights creators who tackle tough issues in society and make a positive impact globally.
Google Singapore's head of communications, Ms Angeline Leow, said YouTube is a platform for Singaporeans to be entertained and to express themselves.
"It is great to witness home-grown content and talents do exceptionally well in the list this year, and it proves that we are more than capable of creating great videos to engage audiences at home and around the region," she added.
