XXXTentacion Breaks Taylor Swift’s Single-Day Global Streaming Record on Spotify

By Variety Staff

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – On Tuesday, the day after his death, rapper XXXTentacion broke the single-day global streaming record on Spotify, a mark previously held by Taylor Swift . His song “SAD!” racked up 10.4 million streams on on June 19, according to Spotifycharts.com; while a rep for the streaming service declined Variety’s request for comment, that number was verified by a source close to the situation.

Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” clocked 10.1 million streams on the service on the day of its release, August 25, 2017.

The feat caps the rapper’s (real name: Jahseh Onfroy) convoluted history with the streaming service. In a since-retracted policy move, ’s music was removed from Spotify’s playlists owing to multiple charges against him; at the time of his death, Onfroy was  awaiting trial for abuse against his then-pregnant girlfriend Geneva Ayala and for several counts of witness-tampering  in the case. While the policy was clearly a reaction to the #MeToo movement’s calls for a boycott against R. Kelly — which was targeted at Spotify and other organizations — XXXTentacion and rapper Tay-K were soon added to the list. The latter two artists were removed from the ban after considerable public outcry against the policy, which Spotify backed away from within days . (However, the playlist ban against Kelly remains in place.)

XXXTentacion was fatally shot in his car on Monday in Deerfield Beach, Fla., by an unknown assailant in an apparent robbery; the investigation remains open and police have not identified any suspects or a motive.