They said it couldn’t be done. They said, maybe, it shouldn’t be done. But it has happened.
The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” continues to make history.
On Sunday (Aug. 31), Spotify announced on Instagram that the 2020 megahit has officially become the first song in the streaming platform’s history to hit five billion streams. Shortly after, The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) took to his Instagram Story to share the news with his 78 million followers.
The new Spotify record follows another recent honor for the track. Just days earlier, “Blinding Lights” landed No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs of the 21st Century chart, which measures performance on the weekly Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart from the start of 2000 through the end of 2024.
Originally released in November 2019 as the second single from The Weeknd’s fourth studio album, After Hours, “Blinding Lights” dominated the Billboard Hot 100 chart for four weeks and became the first song to remain in the top 10 for an entire year. In November 2021, it made history once again by surpassing Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” to top Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Hot 100 chart.
In January 2024, “Blinding Lights” became the first to reach four billion streams on Spotify.
“I’ll never stop being humbled by anything I create making its way to millions of people let alone billions!” The Weeknd said in an exclusive statement at the time. “I’m so thankful this song makes people feel a way that they keep going back to listen.”
“Blinding Lights” is one of 28 songs by The Weeknd in Spotify’s Billions Club, more than any other artist. He also performed during Spotify’s first-ever Billions Club: Live concert in December.
Check out Spotify’s “Blinding Lights” announcement on Instagram below.
