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One Billion Views: Adele Says 'Hello' to YouTube Record

Adele's video for "Hello" broke a YouTube record on Thursday, reaching 1 billion views in only 87 days, beating out Psy's "Gangnam Style" (158 days).
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Adele: ‘I’ve never been happier and I’ve never been healthier’

Dec. 7, 201505:06
By Keith Wagstaff

Adele's video for "Hello" broke a YouTube record on Thursday, reaching 1 billion views in only 87 days.

The video beats out Psy's "Gangnam Style," which held the previous record of 158 days. Adele's rise shouldn't be a surprise considering her latest album, "25," was the most popular album of 2015 according to Nielsen Music.

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Adele: ‘I’ve never been happier and I’ve never been healthier’

Dec. 7, 201505:06

"Hello" isn't the only member of the billion-view club. Overall, 17 videos on YouTube have reached that mark, including "Party Rock" by LMFAO and "Chandelier" by Sia. Most of them are music videos, except for a few outliers like the famous "Charlie bit my finger" clip.

But as YouTube noted on its blog, "while 1 billion views is rare, it’s occurring at a faster rate" this year. Katy Perry's "Roar" did it in 487 days, which set a record for 2013. The next year, Swift's "Blank Space" did it 97 days. Four of the 17 videos that reached a billion were released in 2015.

Related: 'Gangnam Style' Gallops Past 2 Billion Views on YouTube

Still, Adele has a long way to go to beat Psy. "Gangnam Style" reigns supreme as the most viewed YouTube video of all time with 2.5 billion views and counting.

Image:Keith Wagstaff

Keith Wagstaff is a contributing writer at NBC News. He covers technology, reporting on Internet security, mobile technology and more. He joined NBC News from The Week, where he was a staff writer covering politics. Prior to his work at The Week, he was a technology writer at TIME.

He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.