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Susan Boyle - Source: Reuters -
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Looking back on another year nearly done and dusted, tvnz.co.nz charts viral videos hits of 2009.
First to walk the red carpet of cyberspace in 2009 is Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle, who became a global internet and TV sensation with millions of fans following her show-stopping performance on television show Britain's Got Talent.
The 48-year-old's April rendition of I Dreamed A Dream, her first and most popular performance, attracted more than 300 million views online and made her a global star.
Boyle's story, reminiscent of the ugly duckling emerging as the beautiful swan, or rather as the beautiful voice, touched many around the world.
Check out her show-stopping audition
When the church volunteer from Scotland failed to win the final of Britain's Got Talent, she became ill and was treated for exhaustion at a London clinic.
In an interview, Boyle described her new-found fame as a "demolition ball".
Despite the collapse Boyle has gone from strength to strength. Entering the UK album chart in the top spot in November. The album has also topped the US, New Zealand, Australian and Irish charts.
In November 2009, the record became the largest global CD pre-order in the 14-year history of Amazon.com
Stealing Taylor's thunder
However, while Boyle's internet fame is a result of inspiration, some viral videos of 2009 have gained popularity through notoriety.
We can thank Kanye West for providing endless cyberspace entertainment this year. He stole the show at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, but for all the wrong reasons.
The rapper, who has never been backward at coming forward, got on stage in New York and grabbed the mic from a visibly stunned Taylor Swift, who was in the process of accepting her award for Best Female Video.
Not content to express his opinion after the show, he told the crowd that Beyonce, who had also been nominated in the category, had made one of the best videos ever.
The incident gave MTV.com a record number of unique video views.
His outburst drew boos from the crowd, and despite apologising, celebrities and music fans voiced their displeasure with West. Even President Obama had a say on the matter with the off-the-cuff comment of "jackass".
Bad Romance
And it seems that everyone is going ga-ga over Lady Gaga. Fans flocked to their computers in droves to download Bad Romance, the first single from her second album The Fame Monster.
Gaga, known for her elaborate, edgy costumes, self-confessed bisexuality and invigorating dance tunes, has inspired other viral video hits, such as this hilarious parody from Christoper Walken.
Get a crowd together
The source of an exorbitant amount of this year's most popular viral videos are flash mob dances.
A flash mob is essentially when a crowd gathers and performs some kind of event in unison.
I dare you not to smile with this viral video hit.
This is in Antwerp Central Station Belgium, where 200 people erupted into a carefully choreographed dance along to Do Re Mi from Sound of Music. It garnered almost a million views on YouTube and continues to grow.
This video has struck an emotional chord with those who have watched it, with blogs and messageboards gushing their approval.
However, as with all the flash mobs, it seems that what was initially thought to be a random act of a spontaneous urge to dance was, in fact, a thinly veiled marketing message.
Do Re Mi was a publicity stunt for a reality show. But that does not seem to bother anyone - they liked it anyway.
In April, a gaggle (100 to be exact) of leotard-clad ladies were sent out to London's Piccadilly Circus to shake their money maker to Beyonce's hit Single Ladies, and more or less stopped traffic. See for yourself.
It turns out that Trident teamed up with Beyonce for this number, celebrating the company's announcement of its free Beyonce gig in November, and sponsoring her I am... Tour.
The flash mob phenomenon did not end there. Early in September during The Oprah Show's 24th season kick-off party, Harpo staff and more than 20,000 people pulled off a huge surprise for Oprah.
The large crowd performed a choreographed piece to the Black Eyed Peas' I Gotta Feeling over Chicago's Magnificient Mile.
Oprah was shocked and thrilled.
Over 800 dancers (who were reached via social media sites like Twitter and Facebook) showed up to learn the choreography. They were then placed in the audience to help all 20,000 attendees participate - not an easy task to accomplish. But clearly the results were spectacular.
The video has been downloaded over half a million times on YouTube, not to mention those that would rather watch the produced version on Oprah website.
So, there you have it. Some of the most popular video hits of 2009. We're looking forward to seeing what 2010 has to offer!
