BTS’ “Explosive” is lighting up YouTube like, indeed, dynamite.
On Monday morning, the music video for the South Korean supergroup’s hit single outperformed 1 billion perspectives — an rare feat achieved by just a handful of musicians and content creators on the platform. The achievement comes a while after the pop stars’ first track recorded totally in English debuted in August on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
At press time, the colorful, carefree video had surpassed a billion views by around 3 million, joining a elite club that also includes One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful” (1.2 billion), Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” (5.2 billion), Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee‘s “Despacito” (7.2 billion), and Pinkfong’s “Baby Shark Dance” (8.3 billion).
As per YouTube, “Dynamite’s” explosive summer release denoted the best music-video debut in the platform’s history, racking 101.1 million views inside 24 hours. A record-breaking 3 million viewers likewise tuned in live for the video’s YouTube premiere.
A year ago, the pop sensation ranked among YouTube’s main 10 most-viewed artists, just as the best 10 artists with the most subscribers on the platform at 47 million. The gathering likewise makes a case for four out of 10 of the platform’s biggest music-video openings ever.
Additionally boasting more than a billion streams are two other blockbuster BTS bops: 2019’s “Boys With Luv,” featuring Halsey (1.1 billion) and 2017’s “DNA” (1.2 billion). Here’s a sampling of celebratory tweets from the band’s ARMY fanbase.
