Pop star Justin Bieber recently took possession of eight Guinness World Records, and not for something silly like how many spoons he could fit on his face. The 22-year-old’s awards largely come from his musical achievements, with three coming for the singer’s extraordinarily massive follower counts on social media.
Two of Bieber’s plaques come from the musician’s massive Spotify play counts. His single What Do You Mean was the most-streamed single in a week, with over 30 million plays, and his album Purpose was also the service’s most-played album in the same time period, with 205 million spins.
Other world records set by Bieber include one for being the first ever to have the three top-charting singles in the U.K. simultaneously, and for having 17 simultaneous tracks in the Billboard Hot 100 — a first for any artist. He also racked up the most simultaneous entries into the Billboard charts, with all 13 tracks from the Purpose album charting on the week of its release.
.@justinbieber sings his way into the new #GWR2017 book with a set of 8 record titles! https://t.co/2aY8af6Ew5 pic.twitter.com/mqCkKkNK1Q
— GuinnessWorldRecords (@GWR) August 29, 2016
On the social media front, Bieber’s records are equally impressive. The pop musician won the Guinness Awards for most Twitter followers, with over 82 million, and the most YouTube subscribers of any male in the world, with almost 21 million. Bieber’s YouTube music channel is the most-viewed on earth, with an almost unbelievable 10 and a half billion plays thus far.
Even for those who aren’t huge fans of the young singer’s music, it’s impossible to ignore his influence, with the majority of his eight new Guinness Records demonstrating the massive cultural force that his brand has become worldwide.
Fittingly, the folks at Guinness presented Bieber with his eight new pieces of hardware backstage at Madison Square Garden, where he had a sold-out show that evening.
