Disturbed’s ‘The Sound of Silence’ Is the First ‘Conan’ Video to Get 100M YouTube Views
It hasn't been silent for Disturbed over the past four years. Not when it comes to the YouTube video of their performance of "The Sound of Silence" on Conan from March 2016. That's because the clip just became the first Conan video to surpass 100 million views on the video-sharing platform.
That's what host Conan O'Brien recently said while re-posting the David Draiman-led band's Simon and Garfunkel cover from his late-nite talk show. Of course, the single version itself had already been certified Double-Platinum by the RIAA. And before their talk show appearance, the group released a music video and separate live concert clip for the song. See O'Brien's comments and relive Disturbed's Conan triumph toward the bottom of this post.
On Twitter last week (Nov. 20), O'Brien jokingly revealed that Disturbed's "cover of 'The Sound of Silence' is the first clip to crack 100 million views on my YouTube channel. I always knew that heavy metal band covers of Simon and Garfunkel songs would be my legacy."
It's a good thing Disturbed received a significant nod of approval from songwriter Paul Simon for their updated rendition of the tune. After all, the song made its mark beyond this world when it landed in a NASA video about the International Space Station. The cover's popularity even inspired a Disturbed virtual reality experience. Following the single's release, Draiman summed up its reception as "surreal. We really hadn't expected the level of exposure and fervor over the cover. It was a gutsy move on our part."
Although it was only a handful of years ago that Disturbed performed on Conan, the video of their powerful "Sound of Silence" appearance can inspire nostalgia in viewers for another reason: Draiman was still sporting his since-removed signature chin piercings.
Disturbed Perform "The Sound Of Silence" on Conan - March 28, 2016
See Where Disturbed's "The Sound of Silence" Placed in Loudwire's Top 66 Rock Songs of the Decade