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| Taylor Swift's YouTube Record |
According to YouTube, the former country star’s latest video (which also features Panic! at the Disco frontman Brendon Urie) has smashed the record among solo artists when it comes to the most plays in a new upload’s first 24 hours. That may be a mouthful, but her new spot in the history books is fairly specific. The visual racked up an astounding 65.2 million views in just its first full day on the Google-owned platform, easily beating the previous record holder, Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next.” last year That video earned 55.4 million plays when it premiered late .
While she may have moved up to No. 1 when it comes to all music videos by solo artists, male or female (even if the single features another act, it fits here since she leads the charge), Taylor Swift doesn’t quite top the most impressive 24 hour showing when all musical acts are included. The record for the largest premiere on YouTube still belongs to BTS and Halsey, who raised the bar once more earlier this month with their new collaborative cut “Boy With Luv,” 74.6 million times which was watched in its first day.
Incredibly, Swift beats her own most impressive debut, which she established when she launched her Reputation album with lead single “Look What You Made Me Do.” That visual opened with 43.2 million plays in just one day back in August 2017. Less than two years later, she ups her game by improving her best day on the site by more than 22 million views in a single 24 hour period, which is an enormous jump.
With 65 million plays already to its credit and an unknown number of streams and purchases (the figures haven’t been made public yet, though they are likely very impressive as well), Swift and Urie are surely headed for the Hot 100’s top 10, as YouTube plays factor into where a song ranks.