The Weeknd’s song “Blinding Lights” overtook Ed Sheeran and became the most listened-to song of all time on Spotify.
According to the @chartdata Twitter account, Abel Tesfaye’s 2019 hit single now has 3.332 billion listens on the service, slightly ahead of Sheeran’s “Shape Of You.” These two songs remain the only pair of tracks that have crossed three billion listens on the platform.
By the end of 2021, “Blinding Lights” also officially became the most popular Billboard Hot 100 single of all time. The song, included in Tesfaye’s album “After Hours” and released at the end of 2019, spent more than 100 weeks on the charts.
During this time, he set a new record for the number of weeks in the top five on the chart (43), in the top 10 (57 weeks) and in the top 40 (86 weeks). It replaced Chubby Checker’s 1960 hit “The Twist” and became the most popular Billboard Hot 100 single of all time.
Having toasted the news on Twitter on New Year’s Eve, The Weeknd shared screenshots from the video for the song, writing: “Happy New Year, blinding lights. the most streamed song of all time tonight.”
happy new years to blinding lights. the most streamed song of all time tonight @Spotify pic.twitter.com/kNL0X6zK2o
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) December 31, 2022
.@theweeknd's "Blinding Lights" is now the #1 most streamed song in Spotify history, surpassing @edsheeran's "Shape of You" (3.332 billion).
— chart data (@chartdata) December 31, 2022
Last month, The Weeknd shared his new track from the new movie “Avatar: The Way of Water.” The track “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” was written by The Weeknd and produced by Swedish House Mafia and composer Simon Franglen.
Looking ahead, The Weeknd recently announced a number of European dates for their “After Hours Til Dawn” tour, which include two concerts at the London Stadium on July 7 and 8 and a newly added show at Wembley Stadium.
The Weeknd will play:
JUNE 2023
10 – Manchester, Etihad Stadium
14 – Horsens, Nordstern Arena
17 – Stockholm, Tele2 Arena
20 – Oslo, Telenor Arena
24 – Amsterdam, Johan Cruijiff Arena
28 – Dublin, Marlay Park
JULY 2023
2 – Hamburg, Volksparkstadion
4 – Dusseldorf, Merkur Spiel Arena
7 – London, London Stadium
8 – London, London Stadium
11 – Brussels, King Baudouin Stadium
14 – Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank Park
18 – Madrid, Cívitas Metropolitano
20 – Barcelona, Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys
22 – Nice, Allianz Riviera
23 – Nice, Allianz Riviera
26 – Milan, Ippodromo La Maura
29 – Paris, Stade de France
30 – Paris, Stade de France
AUGUST 2023
1 – Bordeaux, Matmut Atlantique
4 – Munich, Olympiastadion
6 – Prague, Letnany Airport
9 – Warsaw, PGE Narodowy
12 – Tallinn, Tallinn Song Festival Grounds
18 – London, Wembley Stadium
