The Weeknd makes streaming history with ‘Blinding Lights’

The Weeknd’s hit single “Blinding Lights” reached a historic milestone on August 31, 2025, becoming the first song ever to surpass 5 billion streams on Spotify. According to Spotify’s official announcement, this achievement solidifies the track’s position as the most-streamed song in the platform’s history.x

The milestone represents the latest in a string of streaming records for the 2019 track. “Blinding Lights” previously became the first song to reach 4 billion streams on Spotify in early 2024, overtaking Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” which held the top position for over five years. The song had been steadily climbing toward the 5 billion mark, with ChartMasters reporting it had reached approximately 4.998 billion streams as of August 30, 2025.cbc

Dominance in Streaming Era

The achievement extends The Weeknd’s dominance in the streaming era. The Canadian artist now holds the record for most songs in Spotify’s Billions Club with 28 tracks that have surpassed 1 billion streams each. His latest entry to the club came in July 2025 with “Timeless,” a collaboration with Playboi Carti.themusicuniverse

“Blinding Lights” is one of only a handful of songs to cross the 4 billion threshold on Spotify, with The Weeknd accounting for two of those tracks through both “Blinding Lights” and “Starboy,” his 2016 collaboration with Daft Punk. The track’s sustained popularity has kept it among the most-played songs on the platform years after its initial release, demonstrating remarkable longevity in an era where songs typically fade quickly from streaming charts.udiscovermusic

Billboard Chart History

Beyond streaming success, “Blinding Lights” has established itself as one of the most successful songs in chart history. In November 2021, Billboard named it the greatest Hot 100 song of all time, surpassing classics like Chubby Checker’s “The Twist”. The song also topped Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs of the 21st Century chart and was recently named the number one Hot 100 song of the 21st century.billboard

The track spent a record-breaking 57 weeks in the Hot 100’s top 10 and 86 weeks in the top 40, with four weeks at number one. This performance helped establish it as Billboard’s biggest hit in the chart’s 67-year history, with The Weeknd telling the publication upon receiving the accolade: “I don’t think [it] has hit me yet. I just count my blessings, and I’m just grateful”.billboard

The 5 billion streams milestone comes as The Weeknd celebrates the reissue of his 2015 album “Beauty Behind the Madness” with new vinyl releases and special editions. The achievement reinforces his position as one of the streaming era’s most successful artists, with his catalog continuing to generate massive listener engagement years after the songs’ initial releases.udiscovermusic