Bollywood Rapper Sets Viewer Record YouTube Isn’t Talking About
Labels, artists use ads to stoke views. Don’t Badshah’s count?
Within 24 hours of posting his video “Paagal” to YouTube, Indian rapper Badshah broke a record even Taylor Swift couldn’t touch. The clip, a dancehall romp, was seen 75 million times in one day, eclipsing a mark set by Korean boy band BTS in April.
But then a funny thing happened: YouTube declined to credit the Sony Music artist. Since introducing a new way to premiere videos last year, the Google-owned site has trumpeted the setting of every new record, from Ariana Grande’s “thank u next” to Blackpink’s “Kill This Love,” culminating in BTS’s “Boy With Luv.” It even said Swift’s “ME!” set a record for “most-viewed female solo debut.” But Badshah’s feat elicited no response from the world’s most popular online video hub.