David Bowie Rockets Past Adele’s Record for Online Video Views

Bowie’s catalog of official videos drew the most views for any artist in one day on Vevo and YouTube

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David Bowie made a career out of breaking molds, and he’s not stopping now.

Vevo, the Internet’s biggest source for official music videos, said David Bowie broke Adele’s record for the most video views for a single artist in one day on Monday, the day after he died of cancer.

David Bowie’s catalog of videos, across Vevo’s own sites and apps and on YouTube, were watched 51 million times Monday, a 5,198 percent jump from his average number of views over the previous seven days.

For perspective, that’s equivalent to the entire population of South Korea watching a Bowie video once.

“Lazarus,” a track from the singer’s latest album “Blackstar,” released just days before his death, was Bowie’s most‐watched video Monday, with 11.1 million views. The video hauntingly foreshadows his passing, depicting him in hospital bed, levitating and retreating into a wardrobe as if it were a  tomb. His producer, Tony Visconti, called the album Bowie’s “parting gift” to his fans.

Adele previously held the record for same-day views, when her catalog racked up 36 million on the day her hit “Hello” premiered in October.

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