The music video for the Police’s 1983 single “Every Breath You Take” has surpassed one billion views on YouTube.
“Every Breath You Take,” which was added to the platform in 2010, is the 225th video to join YouTube’s Billion Views Club and the seventh video from the 1980s to achieve this milestone. The Sting-penned ballad was originally released as part of the band’s final studio album, 1983’s “Synchronicity.”
Directed by English music duo Godley & Creme, the music video captures the trio in black and white, with Sting on double bass, Andy Summers on guitar and Stewart Copeland on drums.
In 2019, “Every Breath You Take” was named the most performed song at the BMI Pop Awards, with 15 million radio plays. The song was also added to Spotify’s Billions Club last year after hitting over one billion streams on that platform.
The Police, who emerged from the original British “new wave” of the late 1970s, are known for such hit albums as 1979’s “Reggatta de Blanc,” 1980’s “Zenyatta Mondatta” and “Synchronicity.” The multi-award-winning trio has sold over 75 million records worldwide, and scored two Brit Awards, an MTV Video Music Award and six Grammys — including best pop performance by a duo or group for “Every Breath You Take.” In 2003, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Police’s YouTube channel has over 1.5 million subscribers and, according to the platform, their “Every Breath You Take” music video has averaged more than 300,000 daily views so far this year.
The song’s popularity continues to endure also through being licensed for other uses that drive music fans back to hear the original, from it being sampled for Puff Daddy’s “I’ll Be Missing You” to its current use in a DuckDuckGo ad campaign.
