Topline
The Weeknd’s hit 2019 song “Blinding Lights” is the most-streamed song on Spotify, the streaming service announced Wednesday, after it spent nearly two years on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a show of the song’s massive popularity.
The Weeknd at the premiere of “Avatar: The Way of Water” held at the Dolby Theatre on December 12, … [+]
Key Facts
“Blinding Lights” has over 3.335 billion streams on Spotify.
It beat a record previously held by Ed Sheeran’s 2017 hit “Shape Of You.”
When Sheeran earned the most-streamed title in April, his song had roughly 3 billion streams; it now has 3.333 billion, a close second to The Weeknd.
The Weeknd has not yet commented on his achievement.
Tangent
Some of the other most-streamed songs on Spotify include Tones and I’s “Dance Monkey (2.7 billion streams), Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved (2.5 billion) and Post Malone and 21 Savage’s “Rock Star” (2.5 billion).
Big Number
90. That’s how many weeks “Blinding Lights” spent on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s one of the longest chart runs in history, second to Glass Animals’ song “Heat Wave.”
Key Background
“Blinding Lights” spent four weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it one of the Weeknd’s six career No. 1 hits. The song was released at the tail end of 2019, and was the No. 1 song of 2020, according to Billboard. That year it was also the most-streamed song on Spotify. It earned the No. 3 spot on Billboard’s chart of the most popular songs of 2021, and was one of the most-streamed songs on Apple Music last year. At the height of its popularity in 2021, The Weeknd—whose real name is Abel Tesfaye—performed at the Super Bowl halftime show. After his 2020 album featuring “Blinding Lights,” After Hours, The Weeknd released the album Dawn FM in 2022. And while he did not submit his music for consideration for the 2023 Grammy Awards, his original song for the movie Avatar: The Way Of Water made the shortlist for Oscars consideration. Spotify is one of the most-popular music streaming services, and has 465 million users, 195 million of which are paid subscribers.
Further Reading
Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape Of You’ The Most Streamed Song In Spotify History (Forbes)
Most Popular Music Of 2021: Dua Lipa, Drake Top Billboard’s Year-End Lists (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2023/01/04/the-weeknds-blinding-lights-is-now-the-most-streamed-song-in-spotify-history/