Darren “IShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. hit another major livestreaming milestone during his latest broadcast, where he marked both his 21st birthday and the moment he surpassed 50 million subscribers on YouTube. Reaching that figure officially places the American creator among the top 20 most-followed individual creators on the platform.
IShowSpeed is currently traveling across Africa, and he marked his 50-million-subscriber milestone live on stream from Nigeria, with fans singing him “Happy Birthday” in real time. The broadcast quickly turned into a celebration, as Speed received birthday wishes from viewers and fellow creators alike, including a live shoutout from his close friend and collaborator Kai Cenat.
"That is the best birthday gift I could ever ask for. I love you all so much. I love all my fans from the bottom of my heart. I'm so happy, chat".
Darren “IShowSpeed” Watkins Jr.
The milestone was reached in early January, just as Speed’s African tour began, a period in which he added more than 3 million new YouTube subscribers. The trip has proven to be a major draw: over the past week, his channel ranked eighth globally by Hours Watched and second among individual creators. His strongest moment came during a live stream from the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, which pushed his peak concurrent audience to 418,303 live viewers.
The milestone stands out even more when viewed in the broader YouTube context. IShowSpeed is now firmly embedded in the platform’s top 20 most-subscribed individual creators, a group typically dominated by traditional YouTubers rather than live-focused personalities. Against that backdrop, Speed’s rise is unusual, as his growth has been driven primarily by livestreaming. At the very top of the rankings, Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg remains YouTube’s most-subscribed creator, with an audience exceeding 110 million.
The most-subscribed individual YouTube creators
| Rank | Creator | Subscribers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MrBeast | 446 000 000 |
| 2 | PewDiePie
|
110 000 000 |
| 3 | Alejo Igoa
|
94 700 000
|
| 4 | UR · Cristiano
|
77 500 000
|
| 5 | Fede Vigevani
|
70 400 000
|
| 6 | Bispo Bruno Leonardo
|
68 700 000
|
| 7 | Taylor Swift
|
61 700 000
|
| 8 | Acharya Prashant
|
59 400 000
|
| 9 | Ed Sheeran
|
58 400 000
|
| 10 | Mikecrack
|
57 400 000
|
| 11 | Marshmello
|
56 100 000
|
| 12 | Billie Eilish
|
55 600 000
|
| 13 | PANDA BOI
|
55 600 000
|
| 14 | JuegaGerman
|
54 700 000
|
| 15 | Jess No Limit
|
54 300 000
|
| 16 | LUCCAS NETO
|
53 600 000
|
| 17 | BETER BÖCÜK
|
51 900 000
|
| 18 | IShowSpeed
|
50 100 000 |
| 19 | Fernanfloo
|
49 900 000
|
| 20 | Shakira
|
49 000 000
|
