Everybody’s been there and we don’t mean on vacation: Red Hot Chili Peppers’ music video for “Californication” has passed one billion views on YouTube. It’s RHCP’s first billion-eyeball video, Variety reports, averaging over 290,000 views per day in 2022.
Released in 2000 and posted to YouTube in 2009, the video was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. It stars shirtless band members Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith, and John Frusciante, both in real life and as digital, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater-style avatars. The video end with an earthquake swallowing band and California alike, and you can revisit it below.
As the fourth single from 1999’s Californication, the title track peaked at a very nice No. 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and hit No. 1 for Mainstream Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks in the US. But though it didn’t quite reach the lofty heights of their biggest hits, “Under the Bridge,” “Scar Tissue,” “Otherside,” and “Dani California,” “Californication” has become by far their most popular video. In second place, “Otherside” has over 600 million views, while “Scar Tissue” and [checks notes] The Getaway track “Dark Necessities” are both over 400 million.
The billion-view milestone comes just days after Red Hot Chili Peppers announced 2023 tour dates with The Strokes, Iggy Pop, The Mars Volta, St. Vincent, The Roots, Thundercat, and King Princess. Tickets are available here.