The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ becomes first song to hit 5B streams

Over the weekend, Spotify announced that the 2020 hit, “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd had become the first song in the streaming platform’s history to hit five billion streams.

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.