Trailing his teary-eyed MTV Video Music Award performance, Justin Bieber has been given a pretty good reason to turn that frown upside down. "What Do You Mean?," the first single off of his impending album due out in November, has just stolen the title for most streamed track on Spotify in its first week, ousting pop sensation One Direction's "Drag Me Down."
In only five days, Spotify said that Bieber's latest track set both global ad U.S. records, reeling in 21 million streams where One Direction's "Drag Me Down" the very first video sans Zayn Malik, raked in 20 million streams in its first week. "What Do You Mean?" was the track Bieber performed at the 2015 MTV VMA's before he took flight in a harness and came back to the ground in full-fledged tears.
The 21-year-old has been the center of negative attention over the past few years since his 2013 release of Journals. The Canadian pop star was wreaking havoc in his own neighborhood by egging houses, speeding and drinking and driving, as well as being involved in battery charges and other legal matters, The Verge notes. Now, seemingly remorseful, he attempted to clean up his act and repair his image in the public eye by previously offering himself to be the butt of every joke for Comedy Central's The Roast. He also crafted self-made videos apologizing for his behavior as well as appearing on The Ellen Degeneres Show to express his shame.
"I worked so hard at the album. I've worked so hard at just becoming the man that I want to become and then stepping into situations you can't help but feel judged," Bieber explained to Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon when asked about his emotional VMA performance. "What was so special about the emotional moment, it was authentic and real. I was just wanting it so bad." Now, the singer has been rewarded for his diligence by dethroning One Direction from Spotify.
