Gotye’s Somebody That I Used To Know in Youtube milestone

GOTYE’S iconic Somebody That I Used to Know video has just reached one billion views on You Tube.

The only other Australians to crack one billion You Tube views are Sia with Chandelier (1.78 billion views) and rapper Iggy Azalea for her part in Ariana Grande’s Problem, which has had 1.08 billion views.

Sia’s Cheap Thrills video, released in 2016, is sitting on 987 million views.

The most-viewed music video of all time on You Tube is now Despacito, last year’s hit by Luis Fonsi, on 4.7 billion views.

However Gotye, aka Wally de Backer, has lost a potential fortune by deliberately having no ads on his You Tube page.

Gotye — Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra)

Korean pop star Psy has made over $10 million from You Tube views for his novelty hit Gangham Style, which has now had three billion views.

“I’m not interested in selling my music,” de Backer told News Limited last year.

“That’s the reason I don’t put ads on my You Tube channel, which seems strange to people in today’s climate, but that is a decision you can make. I’m like that with all my music. Ads are calling for our attention anywhere we turn in the world. If you can do something you care about and other people maybe care about and keep it out of that world that feels like it’s all about ‘hey buy this stuff’ then that’s a good thing.”

media_camera Gotye rehearses with the Ondioline Orchestra in Launceston. Pic: Chris Kidd

Somebody That I Used to Know, a duet with Kiwi singer Kimbra,was released in 2011 and went to No. 1 in Australia, the US and UK and has sold 13 million copies.

The video was directed by Natasha Pincus.

De Backer is working on a new Gotye album and plays a sold out hometown show at the Melbourne Recital Centre this Saturday.

The performance will see him pay tribute to his musical hero Jean-Jacques Perrey, the late master of the French proto-synthesiser the Ondioline.

Now based in New York, De Backer has shipped the rare instrument to Australia to showcase Perrey’s back-catalogue, which he has also released on his new record label called Forgotten Futures.

MOST VIEWED VIDEOS ON YOU TUBE

1. Despacito — Luis Fonsi (4.7 billion views)

2. See You Again — Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth (3.34 billion views)

3. Gangnam Style — Psy (3.06 billion views)

4. Shape of You — Ed Sheeran (3.06 billion views)

5. Uptown Funk — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars (2.88 billion views)

6. Sorry — Justin Bieber (2.87 billion views)

7. Sugar — Maroon 5 (2.5 billion views)

8. Shake It Off — Taylor Swift (2.48 billion views)

9. Bailando — Enrique Iglesias (2.46 billion views)

10. Roar — Katy Perry (2.39 billion views)