THE WEEKND SHATTERS GLOBAL STREAMING RECORD WITH 400 MILLION STREAMS IN ONE WEEK FOR STARBOY
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THE WEEKND SHATTERS GLOBAL STREAMING RECORD WITH 400 MILLION STREAMS IN ONE WEEK FOR STARBOY
CAPTURES SECOND CONSECUTIVE #1 ALBUM
OVER ONE MILLION ALBUMS SOLD GLOBALLY IN FIRST WEEK
#1 ALBUM IN OVER 90 COUNTRIES
05 DECEMBER 2016 (Toronto, ON) – Making history yet again, The Weeknd completely shatters the worldwide streaming record with over 400 million cumulative streams in one week, 270 million coming from Apple alone, for his fourth full-length album, Starboy [XO / Republic Records / Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading music company]. He also sets new all-time Spotify World Records for “The Most Streamed Artist in a Single Day” with over 40 million streams and “The Most Streamed Album First Week” both Globally (over 223 million streams) and in the US (over 124 million streams). Total global consumption exceeds one million first week. Dominating charts around the globe, the album has captured the #1 spot in 90 countries on iTunes this week. Moreover, the lead single and title track, “Starboy” has hit at #1 on iTunes, #1 on Apple Music, #1 on Spotify and #1 at Rhythmic Radio. All 18 songs debuted in the Top 20 of Apple Music following the premiere of his first on-camera interview with Beats 1’s Zane Lowe. Starboy is available here. Starboy marks The Weeknd’s second consecutive Billboard Top 200 #1 bow with sales of 350K-plus in the US, making for the “third biggest debut of 2016.” Starboy also dominated the Canadian Soundscan album chart today with over 63,000 units sold in its first week, making it certified gold already and on its way to platinum. Next up, The Weeknd hits the road on his upcoming Legend of the Fall 2017 World Tour. Tickets are on-sale now. See Canadian dates below. In 2015, The Weeknd reached superstardom on his own terms with the Academy Award-nominated, GRAMMY Award-winning triple-platinum, Beauty Behind The Madness. Now, he takes R&B and pop culture at large to another universe altogether with Starboy. The album’s first single, “Starboy” featuring Daft Punk, made history twice straight out of the gate. First, it captured the record for “Most Release Weekend Streams Ever” and then it became the “One Week Most Added Record of All Time in North America”—dominating Top 40, Rhythm, Urban, and Hot AC as #1 Most Added. The Weeknd dominated Toronto during album release week with a series of activations in support of the mega-anticipated release. Fans were able to partake in the Starboy Toronto pop-up shop from album release day (Friday, November 25) throughout the weekend to Sunday, November 27. Presented in partnership with Bravado, the store carried the limited-edition Starboy Album Collection with styles that included a t-shirt, long-sleeved tee, hoodie, bomber jacket, denim jacket, coaches jacket and hat. On Thursday, November 24, UMC also hosted a Fan Appreciation Event in the same space where The Weeknd signed autographs and gave away free product from his Starboy merchandise collection to the first 200 fans in line. The first 400 fans in line at the Fan Appreciation Event also received an exclusive front of the line access wristband to attend the official opening of the Starboy Toronto pop-up shop the following day. Toronto was the only city to host a Fan Appreciation Event where The Weeknd himself was present. In a busy nearby neighbourhood, Universal Music Canada also set up a Starboy car activation where a red neon “lightning bolt” was coming through the roof of a 1972 Lincoln. Similar activations were set up in various cities around the world on album release day / weekend including one in Montreal, Quebec. Also in celebration of the release of Starboy, The Weeknd’s team hosted an album listening party on Thursday, November 24 in Toronto’s east end. Fans that were able to act quickly enough were able to purchase tickets to the special event via Ticketmaster and listen to the songs on Starboy before they were available to the rest of the world. Legend of the Fall 2017 Canadian Tour Dates: April 25 – Vancouver, BC – Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena May 26 – Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre May 28 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre May 30 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre May 31 – Quebec City, QC – Videotron Centre-30-