GEORGE Michael's chart-topping 1984 single Careless Whisper has officially crossed 1 billion views on YouTube.
According to YouTube, Careless Whisper, which was initially featured on Wham!’s album Make It Big, has averaged more than 400,000 daily views globally in 2023. The official music video for the '80s classic, which Michael co-wrote with Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley, was published on the popular video streaming site in October 2009.
Careless Whisper, which features a signature saxophone riff, is the eighth song from the ’80s to join the YouTube billion views club. Guns N' Roses' Sweet Child O' Mine was the first to do so, followed by A-ha's Take On Me, Michael Jackson's Billie Jean, Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up, Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Europe's The Last Countdown, and the Police's Every Breath You Take.
The original music video for Careless Whisper, shot in Miami, was directed by filmmaker Duncan Gibbins, who had previously directed the video for Wham!'s hit Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (which currently registers 427 million views on the group’s official YouTube channel). The video for Careless Whisper was later re-edited to include footage of Michael singing the song live on stage at London's Lyceum Theatre.
Tragically, Michael died at the age of 53 in 2016. During the course of his career, the British pop artist sold more than 100 million records. Wham! was created in 1981 by Michael, whose birth name was Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, and Ridgeley.
This year, Michael's estate renewed its worldwide publishing arrangement with Warner Chappell Music UK, which included songs from his time with Wham! – The Vibes, March 30, 2023
