For some artists, records are not just album and EP material. They’re also a mountain to be climbed, a dragon to be defeated, another metaphor to be stopped already because you got the idea. If the puntastic wordplay regarding the double sense of the world record didn’t captivate you already, here are five intriguing musical records, all spiced up with innovation and conquests. Put on your reading glasses and start browsing this trivia article wrapped in a comedic sense and precise information.
The Yellow…Space Station?
Photo Source: Speed VR
Paul McCartney holds the world record for the first artist to broadcast live in space. The musical knight performed in Anaheim, California for the International Space Station on a Sunday morning in the fall of 2005. The wake-up call enclosed the single “English Tea” and the Beatles’ hit “Good Day Sunshine”. NASA Astronaut Bill McArthur and Russian Cosmonaut Valery Tokarev were delighted by the mini-concert.
McArthur said: “It’s such an honour for you to join us. We’re so thrilled that you can participate in our flight.” The ex-Beatle ended the performance with these words: “I think this audience just wants to give you thanks for everything your doing and for joining us here tonight. We wish you all the best for the rest of your mission. We can’t wait to meet you when you get back down to Earth.”
Travis Scott’s “goosebumps” Burst Through The Speakers 14 Times
Photo Source: RAPDIRECT
On 12P May 2017, Travis Scott held a concert in Oklahoma City. There he performed the fresh hit “goosebumps” 14 times in a row. The old record was Kanye West & Jay-Z, who performed “Niggas in Paris” 12 times at a concert in Paris while on the Watch the Throne tour. The energy at Scott’s concert was immense, it was an anthemic experience and the public sang with the artist all 14 times.
There is no official certification from Guinness World Records about these two performances. Another notable event regarding the times a song was performed is a show from the band The National. The session was an exhibit of the New York’s Musem of Modern Art and The National played for 6 hours straight their single “Sorrow”, meaning that they played it for 105 times. The video is shown off at the MOMA.
The Fastest Mockingbird
Photo Source: NY Post
In 2013’s America, Marshall Mathers aka Eminem landed the song “Rap God”. If you think your mother talks like a wreckage-bringing hurricane when she’s mad at you, just listen to this song. Eminem literally sings 1,560 words in just 6 minutes and 4 seconds. Dividing those numbers gets you the average of 4,28 words per second.
When “Rap God” was released, it debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Another rapper that held this world record is Twista. An adept of the chopper style of rapping, in 1992 he was declared the fastest rapper in the world according to Guinness. He pronounced 598 syllables in just 55 seconds.
Feel the World Record Inc.
Photo Source: Tumblr
Damon Albarn, the vocalist of Blur and Jamie Hewlett, the creator of Tank Girl put together the basis of what would become their long lasting and worldwide adored project. Gorillaz’ self-titled debut album was released in 2001 and sold over 7 million copies. This tremendous success got them into the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band.
The investments were also gigantic. They managed to create lifelike holograms that performed at the 2006 edition of the Grammy Awards. Their animated music videos are sometimes controversial and sometimes entertaining in a childish way. An iconic appearance of Gorillaz is the MTV Cribs episode, where they show around their home and studio to the viewers. Full of humour and retro, catchy imagery, the tour of their virtual house presented by their bassist Murdoc is one of the most representative episodes from the famous MTV series.
A Burning Trail of Music in 8 Cities
Photo Source: MusicFeeds
Sometimes you just can’t cramp all the things you want to do in a single day. 24 hours are never enough. What can you actually do in this time? Well, The Flaming Lips did 8 concerts. In 8 different cities. In only 24 hours, together with Guinness people, the band started a journey from Memphis that ended in New Orleans. A live stream of 24 hours documented this exceptional set of concerts that contained covers and rare songs. This whole project was part of the O Music Awards and it lasted from 27 June to 28 June 2012. The previous owner of this record was Jay-Z.
Either they exhausted themselves on stage or they shone out through their originality, these artists are the top-notch elite that will remain in history. Relentless work and innovation are some ways you can climb the ladder of success and worldwide recognition, but the aforementioned artists somehow used their personal elevator to get where they belong.
Main Photo Source: Youtube. The photo is from a Jean Michel Jarre concert in Monaco, 2011. Jarre holds the record for the biggest audience at a concert. At his Oxygen Show in 1997’s Moscow, 3,5 million people attended.
