BTS’s “Dynamite” music video is the new record-holder for highest number of YouTube viewers for a video premiere, registering at least more than twice the peak live-audience size as the previous high-water mark.
The new “Dynamite” vid from the K-pop superstars also is pacing to become the most-viewed video ever in the first 24 hours on YouTube.
For the “Dynamite” premiere Friday (Aug. 21), the video drew just over 4 million live concurrent viewers on YouTube at one point, although the official count has yet to come in from the internet video platform. In any case, that easily destroyed the record set in June by K-pop girl group Blackpink for “How You Like That,” which officially drew 1.66 million concurrent viewers, according to YouTube.
BTS’s “Dynamite” is their first entirely English-language song — which the guys said wasn’t the initial plan but that the COVID-19 pandemic had spurred them to release a new track ASAP that would rev-up their global fanbase.
“We really wanted to share this energy with the fans as soon as possible,” BTS’s RM, who is fluent in English, said during an online press conference Thursday.
From the early data, you could say: mission accomplished.
BTS Army punched views of “Dynamite” to over 41.7 million within 6 hours of its release Friday on YouTube (at 1 p.m. KST/12 a.m. ET). That puts BTS in excellent position to reclaim the 24-hour record, currently held by Blackpink’s “How You Like That,” which officially registered 86.3 million views in the first 24 hours, per YouTube. BTS previously held that YouTube record with “Boy With Luv” featuring Halsey, which amassed 74.6 million views in the initial one-day period in April 2019.
The TV performance premiere of “Dynamite” will take place at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, scheduled to air Aug. 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
BTS, which is managed by Big Hit Entertainment, is set to release “Break the Silence: The Movie,” a documentary following the group on its “Love Yourself: Speak Yourself” stadium tour, in theaters starting Sept. 10.
You can watch the BTS “Dynamite” video below or at this link: