Fresh off her controversial "twerking" at the MTV VMAs last month, Miley Cyrus released her new music video for "Wrecking Ball" Monday, and the nudity-filled clip quickly broke the record for the most views in 24 hours.
According to the Los Angeles Times, "Wrecking Ball" racked up 19.3 million views within its first 24 hours on Vevo, the music industry's music video platform. It surpassed the previous record set by One Direction's "Best Song Ever," which tallied 12.3 million watches during its first day back in July.
The record-breaking video, which features 20-year-old
Cyrus licking a sledgehammer and swinging naked on top of an actual wrecking ball, left critics just as puzzled as her racy performance did last month.
Urgent: Has Putin Trumped Obama On Syria? Vote Here
Cyrus shocked the world with her raunchy gyrating and barely-there latex outfit at the VMAs as she grinded on singer Robin Thicke to his hit "Blurred Lines."
But despite its skyrocketing views, Twitter users weren’t sure how to feel about the new "Wrecking Ball" video.
Cyrus spoke out about the video in an interview Tuesday with Elvis Duran on his Z100 radio program.
"I think the video is much more. If people get past the point I make, and you actually look at me, you can tell I look more broken than even the song sounds," she said. "The song is a pop ballad that everyone can relate to; everyone has felt that feeling at some point. If people can take their minds off the obvious and go into their imagination and see what the video really means, it is so vulnerable. Actually, if you look at my eyes I look more sad than actually my voice sounds on the record."
Urgent: Should Obamacare be Repealed? Vote Here Now
Related stories:
'Twerk,' Miley Cyrus Gyration, Added to Online Oxford Dictionary
Justin Timberlake on Miley Cyrus VMA Show: 'Let Her Do Her Thing'
Songwriter Says Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears to Collaborate