One Direction’s “Drag Me Down” video hit the billion-views mark on YouTube on Monday.
The video, directed by Ben Turner and Gabe Turner, premiered on the platform in 2015 and was the first from the group without Zayn Malik, who quit several months earlier. It was named Best Video at the BRIT Awards in 2016.
“Drag Me Down” is the second video by One Direction to top 1 billion views. Their debut “What Makes You Beautiful” hit the milestone in November 2018.
The song was released as the lead single from 1D's fifth studio album Made in the A.M. and went to No. 4 in Canada.
The most-viewed music video on YouTube remains “Baby Shark Dance” by Pinkfong, which has topped 10 billion since it was uploaded in 2016, followed by “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee, which has racked up 7.8 billion views in its first five years.
Justin Bieber is the Canadian artist with the most YouTube views. His "Sorry" video has been watched more than 3.5 billion times – even though he does not appear in it.