While music critics argue over whether Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” – the first single from their upcoming album Random Access Memories, their first non-soundtrack, non-live album in almost a decade – is any good, one thing is for sure: It’s a track that a lot of people want to hear. After an early leak of the track drove the collective Internet insane last week before it was taken offline, the official stream of the song has broken records for streaming service Spotify.
Although there are no exact figures for the amount of times “Get Lucky” was streamed via Spotify within its first 24 hours of release, the service has confirmed that it was enough to oust the previous record holders for streams in both the United Kingdom and United States. Those previous record holders were, “Pompeii” by Bastille and “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, respectively. While the Macklemore track was released last year, “Pompeii” was only released in January in the United Kingdom, perhaps pointing to an uptick in Spotify usage in that market even at this relatively late stage of availability.
“Get Lucky” features an all-star guest list, with Pharrell Williams performing on the track alongside disco legend and Chic founder Nile Rogers, who plays guitar throughout the track. Before the track was released, looped portions were used in two separate teaser ads in addition to the early leak of the finished track days before the official debut. Clearly, anticipation for the track was running high, and the reaction to the finished version suggested that said anticipation quickly turned to repeated listens from the assembled masses to decide whether or not it lived up to their expectations.
According to Will Hope, the director of label relations at the company, the popularity of “Get Lucky” bodes well for the release of the album later this year. “There was never any doubt that the first original single from Daft Punk in years was going to be one of the biggest ebut singles of 2013,” Hope said, noting that the mysterious French duo of Thomas Bangalter and Guy De Homem-Christo (who make public appearances dressed as robots, to keep their mystique intact) have truly kept things fresh. “Once again shown themselves to be true innovators, not only with their new musical direction and the stellar cast of collaborators they’re working with, but also by undertaking one of the best album campaigns we’ve seen for some time. We expect the album to become one of the biggest, if not the biggest, on Spotify this year.”
