The best YouTube challenges of 2020, which will you try in 2021?

People vs Food YouTube challenge

Different YouTube challenges appear every year and provide fun content for Creators and subscribers alike. Easy to film and edit, they’re a great opportunity to collab with other Creators and get new followers in the process. When done right, YouTube challenges require little editing and tend to perform much better than standard videos.

If you’re struggling to think of new content ideas, we’ve curated a list of the best YouTube challenges of 2020 – try them out, take inspiration from them or put your own spin on them. Maybe you’ll even start the best YouTube challenge of 2021? 

YLYL (You laugh, you lose) Challenge

ylyl challenge you laugh you lose

Popularized by YouTube megastar PewDiePie, this challenge is easily recorded alone or on Zoom with another Creator – with hilarious results. The concept is simple: don’t laugh. You could invite followers to join you on a live vlog, or team up with a friend, doing whatever it takes to make the other person LOL. You can go wild with this one, with funny voices, props and costumes – or keep it simple by outdoing your friend with a wicked sense of humor.

No Hands Eating Challenge

No hands eating challenge

Food challenges are insanely popular on YouTube, and they’re super easy to recreate at home. This one where the Aayu and Pihu Show family tries to eat and drink without using hands notched up 18+ million views in 2020. The aim is to consume food suspended in the air, or at the dinner table with – you guessed it, no hands. It’s harder than it sounds…

The Ice Bath Challenge

ice bath challenge

The Ice Bath Challenge started as far back as 2015 but really took off this year with high-caliber Creators attempting it at home. The challenge involves pouring a cold bath and plunging buckets of ice over yourself while you sit in the tub. Some brave Vloggers go the extra mile, challenging themselves to see how long they can spend in a freezing-cold tub. This video by kid’s channel Troom Troom hit 6m views this summer.

Song in 24 Hours Challenge

make a song in 24 hours YouTube challenge

24-hour challenges require more editing but can be an awesome way to release new material, and show off your creative process. In this video, British Creators Sidemen produced a song in just 24 hours – from penning the lyrics to spitting in the studio – with a fully-wrapped song ready to download the next day.

People vs Food Challenge

People vs Food YouTube challenge

This video by 123 GO! CHALLENGE hit an incredible 18m views this summer – and it’s an easy one to recreate at home. Basically, you have one minute to eat a piece of food – from ice-cream and cotton candy to chilis. The more outrageous, the better – the stand-out clip from this viral video is definitely the hot-pepper eating contest.

Kids vs Adults

Kids vs adults YouTube challenge

Kids vs Adults is an enduring theme on YouTube, and this year’s ‘All Star Gymnastics Challenge’ proved outrageously popular, with 11+ million views. Here, gymnast prodigies Elliana and Nidal were pitched against extreme veterans Shark and Soloflow in a battle of strength and flexibility. But, you don’t need to be a pro gymnast to try a Kids vs Adults challenge – it can work with just about anything, from exercise videos to math challenges and, of course, eating contests.

10,000 Indoor Step Challenge

10000 10k indoor step challenge

Exercise challenges are a great way to push yourself and gain more followers on your fitness blog – especially in 2020, where home workouts are more popular than ever before. Fitness guru Joanna Soh racked up millions of views with this brilliantly simple video, the 10,000 Indoor Step Challenge. Easy to shoot and edit, she inspired a stuck-at-home audience to take on the challenge with her – resulting in next-level engagement and audience reach.

$50,000 Game Of Extreme Hide And Seek

hide and seek YouTube challenge

More seasoned Creators like to up the ante, with crazy, expensive concepts like this ‘$50,000 Game Of Extreme Hide And Seek.’ Obviously, this isn’t easy to create at home – but it’s a great example of how to collaborate with other Creators to ensure maximum reach for your video challenges. Here, several YouTuber Creators take part in a dizzyingly complex game of hide and seek – and the results are epic, with 54 million views.

Music is important

popular music for video

When creating your YouTube challenge, remember that quality is everything. If you want to make your video challenge pop on YouTube, you’ll need engaging music that will stop viewers in their tracks. Lickd offers creators the chance to legally use mainstream music for the very first time! So you can make your videos stand out and take them to the next level. Plus, if you sign up today, you get 25% off your first track!

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