Justin Bieber's breathy comeback single "What Do You Mean?" has made an instant impact, breaking Spotify's record for most streams in a debut week.
What do we mean? The 21-year-old, who on Sunday cried after performing the song on the VMAs stage, attracted 21 million global Spotify streams to his new single in five days.
Bieber dethrones One Direction, whose "Drag Me Down" notched 20 million streams in its first week after it was released as a surprise single in July.
JUST IN: @JustinBieber's "What Do You Mean?" broke the global record for most streams in a debut week with 21 MILLION IN 5 DAYS. #Beliebers— Brian A. Hernandez (@BAHjournalist) September 3, 2015
Spotify helped Bieber break the record, giving his new single the same sort of high-profile promotional blitz that the company often employs for big-name artists. "What Do You Mean?" was added to the streaming service's VMA playlist as well as Spotify-curated playlists like Today's Top Hits and New Music Friday. The single was also featured in the Browse tab's New Release section and included in Spotify's newsletter. Bieber also created a thank-you playlist that includes "What Do You Mean" ... four separate times.
"What Do You Mean?" also soared to No. 1 on iTunes just five minutes after its release.
On YouTube, the song's music video has racked up 20.3 million views since it premiered after the VMAs on Sunday, and its lyric video has 23.3 million views.
The track is expected to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
BONUS: We know the answer to why Justin Bieber cried at the VMAs