Britney Spears' heavily hyped appearance on James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke" segment of his late-night talk show finally aired last week, and the spot has been receiving a massive amount of YouTube views since appearing on the web video channel. Can Brit's ride challenge the record number of views achieved by prior segments featuring superstar singers Justin Bieber, Adele and One Direction?
In the three days since the segment was uploaded to YouTube on Corden's Late Late Show with James Corden channel, it has already received over 15 million views. Many fans are wondering, however, if that puts Britney on track to break or equal the records for the most watched segments of the drive-by sing-along that has become a viral phenomenon and in many ways has eclipsed the popularity of the show on which it was launched.
While Britney's segment could become one of the most watched of the series, it doesn't look as if it's going to beat the current record holders. Adele still holds the lead for number one, with over 124 million views, while Bieber's first of the three segments he did on the show remains at number two with over 90 million views. One Direction's musical ride around town with Corden comes in at third with over 80 million views.
That means it's unlikely Brit will hit the numbers required for her to challenge any of the top spots, given that the most hits usually occur in the days immediately following the initial broadcast and posting. While Britney Spears is a pop icon who has sold millions of records, her peak is well behind her, while artists like Bieber and Adele are still at the height of their fame and popularity.
That doesn't mean Britney may not eventually leap over some of the other most popular singers on the Carpool Karaoke YouTube hit list, such as Jennifer Lopez and Selena Gomez, who are now in the 40 to 50 million range. She's already surpassed Elton John's 13 plus million and should soon beat others like Jason Derulo, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and even Bieber's third appearance, which has amassed a relatively light 26 million-plus views.
As far as the appearance itself, Britney properly characterized it in a recent interview as "awkward," with Corden doing most of the singing as Britney halfheartedly joined in. That awkwardness could have been in part due to the fact that Britney apparently had no idea who Corden was, referring to him in a post taping interview as "the guy."
"I don't think she'd actually watched it before, I'm not convinced she'd actually seen Carpool. I think she just heard that it was quite a big thing, so maybe she just got a bit of a shock," said producer of the segment Ben Winston, confirming Spears' lack of awareness.
In any case, the clip still does have several charming and revealing moments, which can be seen below.
