[Tubefilter Charts is a periodic rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. We use data directly from YouTube and in terms of subscribers, YouTube rounds that data to the first three significant figures. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]
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August was another big month for Jimmy Donaldson. The man known as MrBeast retained his YouTube-leading position in the U.S. Top 100 by adding 11 million new subscribers during the eighth month of the year.
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On the whole, it was a good month for individual creators. The next three entrants after MrBeast — Topper Guild, Ben Azelart, and The Stokes Twins — are all creator-led hubs that added at least two million new subscribers over our most recent 31-day measurement period. One particular creator was absent from the ranking, but she found other ways to affect the running order.
Not even Taylor Swift can keep up with YouTube Shorts slop, but this is her trying
If you look at the century of channels that are included in this month’s U.S. Top 100, you might find yourself asking a simple question: Where the heck is Taylor Swift?
Swift arguably had the biggest hit of the month on YouTube thanks to her appearance on fiancé Travis Kelce‘s New Heights. The record-shattering video podcast only became more momentous when Swifties learned that the collab was the preamble to Swift and Kelce’s engagement.
Despite all that fanfare (and more than 20 million YouTube views), Swift herself is nowhere to be found in the U.S. Top 100. The only Swiftie representation in the ranking comes from a musical duo that has performed covers of the singer-songwriter’s tracks.
They call themselves The Orona Sisters, and they just made their first appearance in the U.S. Top 100. During August, they added 594,000 new subscribers, which brought their YouTube tally above one million. After not placing in the charts a month ago, they finished 70th in the latest U.S. ranking.
To be clear, this situation is not the same as the case of Taylor Red TV. That musical trio that saw their viewership balloon because their channel handle alluded to Taylor Swift’s name and the title of one of her studio albums. In contrast, The Orona Sisters are true Swifties who have filled their YouTube Shorts library with brief covers of Taylor-approved standards like “Style.”
That’s good for The Orona Sisters. But what about Taylor herself? Even after authoring a world-beating moment that centered on YouTube, Swift and her football-playing boo couldn’t keep up with all the weird Jesus videos, AI slop, and Robloxers who are running rampant in the U.S. Top 100.
That fact says a lot about the current state of YouTube Shorts, but it’s not like the Kelce brothers’ New Heights podcast had a bad month. In fact, it shattered its own viewership records on YouTube by hauling in more than 35 million monthly views. And with the Chiefs’ tight end set to begin what could be his final season in the NFL, Travis Kelce’s biggest moment in the spotlight could still arrive in the future.
Data via Gospel Stats
We probably won’t see Swift herself in our charts until she drops The Life of A Showgirl on October 3. When that date arrives, it will be good news for the pop scene’s favorite cat lady — and for admirers like The Orona Sisters.
Swift’s release date for her 12th album will come so early in the month that her official channel will have a good chance to crack the October edition of our monthly rankings. Did she opt for that strategy because it will make her look good in Tubefilter? I’m going to go out on a limb and say yes.
Channel Distribution
This month, 76 channels in the Top 100 are primarily active on YouTube Shorts.
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