[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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BRUNO followed up his first #1 finish in the Global Sub Top 50 with a repeat performance. The Ukrainian creator once again boasted the most-subscribed channel of the week. With colorful, meme-filled videos, BRUNO added 2.4 million new subscribers, bringing his lifetime total above 30 million.
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That’s a hefty sum, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the most-subscribed channel on YouTube. That distinction belongs to MrBeast, who was #3 in this week’s Global Sub Top 50 and now counts 479 million total subs on his primary YouTube home. Let’s look at some of the other creators who are trying to catch up to him:
What is it about squishy toys that makes them so cathartic?
It’s been more than a year since a channel called Fufu Squishy reigned near the top of our Tubefilter charts. As its name implies, Fufu Squishy is a hub kids can turn to if they want to learn how to create soft, malleable objects that are perfect for squeezing.
Fufu Squishy isn’t doing quite as well in 2026 as it did in 2025, but that doesn’t mean that YouTube viewers have lost interest in squishy toys. Au contraire: We now have a different squishy maker powering her way into the Global Sub Top 50.
Her name is Gaby Rodriguez, and she added 440,000 new subscribers during the week that was. That brought her total YouTube audience up to 8.4 million subscribers, and it also gave her a 28th-place finish in the Global Sub Top 50. She was Colombia’s highest-ranking representative in the chart.
Rodriguez’s short-form library includes the usual assortment of viral dances and toy videos, but squishies are one of her primary specialties. She shows her subscribers how they can make their own squishy items, and the scope of her channel also extends to related creations like stress balls.
That video helps define the appeal of Rodriguez’s malleable creations. Its a tough time for young viewers who spend their days scrolling YouTube Shorts: They’re exposed to potential mental health harms. Many of them feel trapped and unable to log off. In an environment like that, who wouldn’t enjoy a nice stress ball squeeze from time to time?
YouTube Shorts viewers don’t necessarily love squishies, but they love squeezing. The cathartic feeling that goes along with gripping a ball as tightly as possible is in high demand, and Rodriguez helps viewers create the objects that can deliver that sense of release at home.
For a closer look at this phenomenon, let’s head over to Candy Superstar‘s channel. The Ukrainian creator cracked our charts early in 2025 as one of the foremost Barbie girls on YouTube Shorts, but she has a new shtick now. Sure, she’s still got pink hair, but she has increased her output of reaction content, and some of the videos she reacts to are defined by squeezing motions.
Those reactions pushed Candy Superstar back into the Global Sub Top 50. She added 500,000 weekly subscribers to claim 15th place in our ranking. And her viewership is nothing to scoff at, either. It’s as high as it’s been at any point in 2026.
Data via Gospel Stats
Whether you’re making squishy toys (like Gaby Rodriguez) or responding to them (like Candy Superstar), now is a good time to provide Shorts viewers with the stress relief they crave. A stress ball hits a lot of “oddly satisfying” notes, and that quality is bringing in big audiences.
Maybe Shorts viewers will one day relinquish their collective grip on squishy toys, but I wouldn’t count on it. The world is only getting more treacherous, so there are still plenty of opportunities for a cathartic squeeze.
Channel Distribution
Here’s a breakdown of the Top 50 Most Viewed channels this week in terms of their countries of origin:
- United States: 9
- Brazil: 7
- India: 6
- Mexico: 5
- Argentina: 3
- Colombia, Indonesia, Russia, and Ukraine: 2
- Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and United Arab Emirates: 1
This week, 41 channels in the Top 50 are primarily active on YouTube Shorts.
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