Key Takeaways
- The track broke multiple Billboard records, including a full year in the Hot 100’s Top 10.
- The Weeknd leads Spotify’s “Billions Club” with 28 entries, more than any other artist.
- Spotify confirmed the five billion stream milestone via Instagram, and The Weeknd acknowledged it on his own account.
The Weeknd’s record-breaking “Blinding Lights” has officially become the first song in Spotify’s history to surpass five billion streams.
Spotify confirmed the milestone on Sunday (Aug. 31) in an announcement shared to Instagram. The Weeknd, who continues to take over cities as part of his “After Hours Til Dawn Tour,” acknowledged the achievement by reposting the news on his Instagram Story.
Taken from 2020’s After Hours, the genre-bending cut consistently dominated streaming platforms and charts since its release. Later included on The Highlights, the synth-pop offering lyrically centered on late-night longing, as the Canadian star raced to reunite with a partner in Las Vegas.
“I look around and Sin City’s cold and empty, no one’s around to judge me, I can't see clearly when you're gone,” The Weeknd sang on the chorus, which he co-produced alongside Max Martin and Oscar Holter. He continued, “I'm blinded by the lights, no, I can't sleep until I feel your touch.”
“Blinding Lights” sets multiple Billboard records
Released in November 2019 as the second single from The Weeknd’s aforementioned fourth studio album, “Blinding Lights” spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Per Billboard, it became the first song to stay in that chart’s Top 10 for a whole year.
The publication further revealed that, in 2021, the track surpassed Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Hot 100 chart. Just days before Spotify’s announcement, Billboard ranked “Blinding Lights” as the No. 1 track on its Top Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs of the 21st Century list, which measured chart performance between 2000 and 2024.
The Weeknd extends lead in Spotify’s billions club
The song previously hit Spotify’s four billion streams mark in January 2024. As far as his full discography is concerned, The Weeknd currently holds 28 entries on that platform’s “Billions Club,” the most of any artist to date. Notably, the Grammy-winning singer participated in Spotify’s inaugural “Billions Club: Live” concert back in December.