According to Stereogum, “Blinding Lights” by Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd has broken the record for most consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The previous record was held by Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” which managed to remain on the chart for 87 weeks. 

“Blinding Lights” was released in November 2019 as the second single off of The Weeknd’s fourth studio album, After Hours. The track initially debuted at the #11 spot before shooting up to #1 for four weeks, nonconsecutively. It also managed to break various records including being the first song to remain in the top 10 of the Hot 100 chart for an entire year. On August 16, Billboard revealed that the song has managed to remain on the chart for its 88th week landing at #18.

“Forever grateful to be able to experiment with sounds, try new things with my voice and create music with the people I truly love and respect,” said The Weeknd in a celebration post on Instagram. “For the last decade every song has been a journey and to be able to continue this journey has been nothing short of a blessing.”

 

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After Hours also managed to spawn two more #1 hits including the album’s lead single “Heartless,” and the remix of “Save Your Tears” featuring American singer Ariana Grande. Despite the singles’ and the album’s critical and commercial success, it failed to earn any nominations at the 63rd Grammy Awards which led The Weeknd to criticize the Recording Academy and boycott the award show.

After teasing new music during the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, The Weeknd dropped the lead single for his upcoming album titled “Take My Breath” on August 6. The track debuted at #6 on the Hot 100 chart this week.

Photo credit: Richard Saethang