The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” has blown up. It’s everywhere. The song has set multiple records since its release. Now, “Blinding Lights” has earned the highest honor on Billboard Hot 100.
November 23, Billboard announced that “Blinding Lights” is the Number 1 Hot 100 song of all time. When they publicized it, Billboard went over how they chose this title.
“A designation that factors in total weeks on the chart as well as exact chart positions, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least.”
“Blinding Lights” has beaten out Chubby Checker’s dance hit “The Twist” from 1960, and that song kept the spot since 2008. Other songs like “Uptown Funk!” by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars and “Smooth” by Santana and Rob Thomas tried to become the true No. 1, but they only reached the top five.
As mentioned before, The Weeknd’s song has set many records since its release. Some accolades include the fastest track to reach 2.5 billion Spotify streams, spending an entire year in the top 10 of Hot 100, longest-charting Hot 100 song ever, and longest-reigning No. 1 song on the Hot 100.
The Making of “Blinding Lights”
“Blinding Lights” was The Weeknd and its studio’s exploration and perfection of the 1980’s sound. To prove that, The Weeknd said this during an interview to celebrate the achievement:
“I’ve always been tinkering with the [sounds of] the ’80s. It was much more subtle before, but I’ve always wanted to dive into it. And ten years in, I think I’ve earned it.”
The Weeknd has also stated this about his experience and past songs:
“[There were] songs that transcended into pop culture, like “The Hills.” By the time “Blinding Lights” happened, I was ten years into my career. I was established as a music figure in the industry already. “So I’m glad “Blinding Lights” happened when it happened as opposed to it being the first single I’ve ever dropped.”
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