In 2021, The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" dethroned Chubby Checker's "The Twist" as the biggest song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100. By extension, that made it the most popular song in modern history, by their formula.
Now, its chart success has also been reflected by its absolutely staggering longevity on streaming. The track became the second to ever cross 4 billion total Spotify streams, behind Ed Sheeran's "Shape Of You," which was the most streamed song on the service for over seven years. Today (August 31, 2025), the song became the first in history to reach the 5 billion mark.
This is not remotely surprising considering the sustained popularity of the track. After initially modest success, with the track staying in the top 40 of the Hot 100 but not quite cracking the upper echelon, it finally got there in its 12th week. Once it got into the top 10, it did not leave for 57 weeks, spending 43 of those weeks in the top five and four of those weeks at the very top. That success was driven, in large part, by its continued streaming. Over five years later and that fact is still being reflected in these numbers.
The Weeknd "Blinding Lights"
Elsewhere, Billboard also named Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" the top R&B/hip-hop song of the 21st century so far. Considering the Hot 100 accomplishment, that was an expected win for the Toronto superstar.
The Weeknd is still touring with Playboi Carti. On August 30, he played the first of two nights at Houston's NRG Stadium. The very last stop of this three-year, 110-show trek takes place at the Alamodome on September 3. It will be interesting to see what his next steps are. Especially after teasing being done with "The Weeknd" as a persona earlier this year.
