LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 30: Recording artist Justin Bieber performs onstage during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on August 30, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Justin Bieber smashed a Spotify record with his latest single, “What Do You Mean?” on Thursday.
In the five-day period after the song’s release it was played on the streaming service more than 21 million times, besting the record previously held by One Direction’s latest, “Drag Me Down.”
“What Do You Mean?” also topped “Drag Me Down” as the fastest track in history to hit No. 1 on the iTunes singles chart.
Much of the single’s success could be attributed to its heavy promotion and substantial social media buzz. Ahead of the song’s release last Friday, Bieber enlisted some celebrity friends to help him with promotion of the single on Twitter and Instagram
The singer posted photos of 72 singers, actors and models counting down the days until the single’s release. Miley Cyrus, Ben Stiller, Britney Spears and Will Ferrell were among those who participated in the month-long project.
Bieber later dropped the song’s music video on the same night that video of him breaking down in tears during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards was going viral. In the three days since, it has accumulated more than 21 million views. The lyric video released with single currently sits at 25 million.
“What was so special about the emotional moment at the end, it was authentic and real,” he said of the breakdown on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” Wednesday.
Let's go back to the no host format, shall we, MTV? Miley Cyrus seemed to have two objectives Sunday night: to make mention of weed and sexual innuendo at every opportunity, and to eventually plug her free album at the end of the show. She also wore a ton of stupid stuff that left very little to be desired, for anyone who still desires at this point.
Overall, her efforts should not prove a particularly tough act to follow in 2016.
After receiving the award for Best Hip Hop Video -- and ironically following a shoutout to her preacher -- Minaj bashed Cyrus for mentioning her in a recent New York Times interview.
Cyrus did her best to play it off and transition to the next act, but it was awkward to say the least.
The Biebs performed "Where Are U Now?" followed by brand new single "What Do You Mean?" He then took to the air, flying on a harness at the performance's end. When lowered to the safety of the stage, Bieber broke into tears.
Perhaps the harness was too tight?
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Worst: Kanye West's Latest Rambling Rant
Kanye West is a terrific rapper and a terrible speaker. The predetermined honoree of the MTV VMAs Video Vanguard Award accepted his trophy from old show foe Taylor Swift, and then he got to preaching.
It was the best of efforts, it was the worst of efforts. MTV had a big task Sunday night, trying to keep its flagship awards show to a PG-13 level. For the most part, whoever was manning the "dump" button did a nice job covering up a ton of expletives -- but the cable channel was a bit asleep as the wheel with visual censorship.
Rebel Wilson wore a shirt with the word "Fuck" clear as day on it, and MTV got caught with its host sans shirt (or anything else on top), as Miley Cyrus suffered a nip slip at one point. Not that she cares.
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Best: Macklemore Takes It to the Streets
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis rarely give a milquetoast performance, and Sunday's ambitious exterior VMAs performance was no exception.
The duo gave daps to old-school hip-hop with a movement-filled mini set that included guest stars such as Kool Moe Dee. One that that wasn't so great? Macklemore's moped negotiating skills.
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Worst: Clock Management
Like seemingly every awards show, the MTV VMAs simply could not stick within their allotted time. Much of that can be attributed to Kanye West's aforementioned all-over-the-place award acceptance/2020 candidacy speech. That's what you get for giving that guy the one trophy that doesn't come with optional play-off music.
Though the show was somewhere around two-and-a-half hours, most folks in attendance would probably tell you that it felt even longer. Anyway, here's a picture of Demi Lovato and Iggy Azalea.
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Best: Miley Hearts Wayne Coyne
The unlikely lovefest between the 54-year-old Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne and 22-year-old Cyrus continued at the VMAs.
Coyne, who produced the surprise album Cyrus dropped at the end of the show, assisted the pop singer with her performance by holding an air cannon between her thighs and firing as she stroked it. Coyne and Cyrus previously performed together at the Billboard Music Awards, and Cyrus appeared on the Flaming Lips' 2014 Beatles tribute album "With a Little Help From My Fwends."
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Justin Bieber bawled and Kanye West declared his future presidential candidacy on a weird night for pop music
Let's go back to the no host format, shall we, MTV? Miley Cyrus seemed to have two objectives Sunday night: to make mention of weed and sexual innuendo at every opportunity, and to eventually plug her free album at the end of the show. She also wore a ton of stupid stuff that left very little to be desired, for anyone who still desires at this point.
Overall, her efforts should not prove a particularly tough act to follow in 2016.
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