[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly 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. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]
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MrBeast made it back to the front of our Global Sub Top 50 chart. The main channel controlled by Jimmy Donaldson added three million weekly subscribers shortly after the launch of the second season of the Prime Video original series Beast Games.
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iShowSpeed is in second place behind MrBeast, and they’re not the only creators in the mix this week. All of the top five finishers in the Global Sub Top 50 are either single creators or couple channels, so 2026 is shaping up to be the year of the individual channel owner.
Need a refresher on YouTube Shorts’ Brazilian invasion? These creators can sum it up for you.
This week’s Global Sub Top 50 is notable for its high concentration of Brazilian creators. Among the 50 channels that claimed the most subscribers during the third week of January, five hail from South America’s primary Portuguese-speaking nation.
In the past, high-level trends related to Christianity and soccer have pulled Brazilian creators into the Top 50, but this week’s results are different. The latest surge can’t be attributed to Jesus Christ or to the game known as “la joga bonito.” Instead, Brazilian content aggregators are the individuals who are putting Brazil on the map in January.
The second-highest ranking Brazilian in the Global Sub Top 50 (after holy man Bispo Bruno Leonardo) is Ryan Samuel. If you’ve seen videos from U.S.-based content aggregators like Zack D. Films, you’ll know what to expect here. The typical Ryan Samuel upload — at least among his most popular videos — is a piece of oddly satisfying content slop that has been overdubbed with commentary and gamified elements. It’s an easy way to pull in viewers who are leafing through the most-watched tier of Shorts content.
Samuel, however, adds a Brazilian spin to his content aggregation. In one video, for example, he comments on a cake that looks like a Brazilian croquette. The clip has drawn more than 20 million views, and it helped Samuel attract 390,000 new subscribers during our most recent seven-day measurement period.
A video like that helps answer the question of “why content aggregation?” Unlike creators in other categories, Samuel doesn’t have to be pigeonholed. His channel can be a lifestyle hub one day and a food destination the next. He can be a citizen of the world while also catering to his local compatriots in Brazil.
Paradoxo Obscuro is on a similar journey. The home of “dark paradox” videos is ultimately another cross-cultural aggregator, despite its sinister-sounding title. Viewers are happy with that approach, as they helped Paradoxo Obscuro add 340,000 new subscribers during the week that was.
Data via Gospel Stats
The rise of popular creators who merely synthesize the work of other creators may seem like a paradox, but it’s merely a reflection of where YouTube Shorts is going in 2026. As we mentioned at the top of the article, this week’s ranking is dominated by individual creators like iShowSpeed. They are gaining subscribers at a rate other channels can’t match.
Therefore, if a channel owner’s goal is to maximize viewership, they should focus on a blend of winning personality and close attention to YouTube’s biggest trends. That’s what this week’s chart toppers do, and Brazilians like Ryan Samuel are paying attention.
Channel Distribution
Here’s a breakdown of the Top 50 Most Viewed channels this week in terms of their countries of origin:
- United States: 15
- India: 7
- Brazil: 5
- Australia, Japan, and Mexico: 2
- Argentina, Egypt, Germany, Hong Kong, Spain, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan: 1
This week, 44 channels in the Top 50 are primarily active on YouTube Shorts.
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