Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s See You Again has now overtaken Psy’s Gangnam Style to steal first place in YouTube’s list of most-watched videos of all time.

See You Again had been watched 1,258,530 more times than Gangnam Style as of Tuesday night, setting the new record of more than 2,895,823,515 hits.

But how has this pop song’s comparatively ordinary music video surpassed the large-scale production, international appeal and contagious dance moves of Gangnam Style?

Not only was the music video a collaboration between two popular and award-winning American artists – rapper Wiz Khalifa and songwriter Charlie Puth – it layered clips from the seventh film in the eight-movie Fast and the Furious franchise which has attracted generations of fans since the early 2000s when the first film was released.

The song itself spent 12 non-consecutive weeks at the top of the United States Billboard Hot 100 among the longest-running rap No.1 singles in the country, and reached No.1 in several other countries including Australia.

It continues to hold the record for the most-streamed track in a single day on Spotify in the US and set the record for “most streams in a single week” worldwide.

The late Paul Walker, one of the stars of the Fast and the Furious, features heavily in the music video.

Its tribute to the movies’ star Paul Walker, who died in a horrific single-car crash in November 2013 at age 40, adds to the timeless nature of the 2015 hit track.

University of Queensland’s Liam Viney, a senior music lecturer, told The New Daily that the “novelty” element to Gangnam Style meant its lead among YouTube’s most-watched videos was always going to be difficult to sustain.

“A novelty item by itself is hard to sustain, as Psy’s less successful follow-up song showed,” he said.

“People might be craving the more inward-looking, emotionally enriching music See You Again represents. The world is a different place since Gangnam Style came out, and whenever things in the real world get too crazy, music has a very special ability to act as a kind of consolation.

“I think songs like See You Again help people deal with feelings of loss, anxiety, grief and uncertainty … this particular song came at the right time with the right mix of ingredients.”

Mr Viney added that in addition to artfully presenting the combination of an emotionally heart-tugging ballad, hip-hop and the movie factor, the movie soundtrack connection to the $5 billion Fast and the Furious franchise would give it an extra boost.

“Actor Paul Walker’s death had already happened in real life, before filming was completed, and I believe the song plays over one of the final scenes where Walker’s character and Vin Diesel’s part ways,” he said.

“So apart from the emotional impact of that mixture of life and art, the song had a huge kickoff in terms of pre-fabricated audience.

“The music video clearly plays a big role in the YouTube views, and that includes scenes from the films, giving the film’s fans an emotional way to re-experience the film. People who haven’t seen the film can also experience this extra dimension to the song.”

Here are YouTube’s current top five most-watched videos:

1. See you again, Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth (2,895,823,515 views)

2. Gangnam Style, Psy (2,894,564,985)

3. Sorry, Justin Bieber (2,635,813,153)

4. Uptown Funk, Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars (2,550,734,475)

5. Despacito, Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee (2,484,557,291)