Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Andrew Griffin

PewDiePie vs T-Series: YouTube star concedes battle to be site's biggest channel with song 'Congratulations'

PewDiePie has conceded his hard-fought battle with T-Series with a music video of his own.

The YouTube star whose real name is Felix Kjellberg has finally stopped being the site's biggest channel – a slot he held for years – after a challenge from T-Series, which hosts Indian music videos and has grown quickly.

Over recent months, the two channels have fought to get control of the top spot, with PewDiePie's fans using a whole host of publicity techniques in an attempt to keep him as its most popular channel.

But T-Series kept outpacing its growth and has now settled as YouTube's biggest channel.

PewDiePie has now conceded that battle, with a music video names "Congratulations".

But the name is not quite as generous as it seems, and the rap is filled with digs at the channel that took the top spot from him.

As well as personal remarks about the channel's staff, PewDiePie references the fact that a major corporation has now taken over the spot from a smaller creator, an argument that various fans and YouTube critics have made in recent weeks.

The T-Series against PewDiePie fight has raged for months, with much soul searching about what it means for the future of YouTube.

As the competition between the two channels raged on, it began to become more bitter and damaging. Just a couple of weeks ago, the phrase "subscribe to PewDiePie" was yelled in a video of the shooting in New Zealand that killed 50 people.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.