Iconic The Weeknd hit becomes first song ever to reach FIVE BILLION streams on Spotify
The Weeknd has become the first ever artist to have a song streamed FIVE BILLION times on Spotify.
The Canadian singer and actor – real name Abel Tesfaye – has earned the record for first track to reach five billion streams on Spotify with his iconic hit “Blinding Lights”.
The song was released on the platform on 29 November 2019 and was played by a fan for the five-billionth time a few days ago on 31 August.
“Blinding Lights” was the second single from the star’s fourth studio album After Hours.
And of course, reaching this milestone also makes it the most streamed track on Spotify.
The song has broken this record multiple times, first in January 2023 when it overtook Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You”, which had held on to the title since 2017.
The 35-year-old singer, who is currently on his After Hours Til Dawn tour, is essentially the world’s most popular artist when it comes down to figures.
He’s certainly no stranger to record breaking either.
He was also the first artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify, achieving the milestone in February 2023.
His monthly listeners currently stand at 110.7 million.
The Weeknd also holds the record for most JUNO awards won (male) with an incredible total of 22 and he shares the record for most JUNO awards won for Album of the Year (3) with Céline Dion, Michael Bublé and Arcade Fire.
His winning albums were Beauty Behind the Madness (2016), After Hours (2021) and Dawn FM (2023).
Beauty Behind the Madness earned the record for most streamed album on Spotify in one year, current (unique listeners) in 2015, with over 60 million listens.
Smash hit “Blinding Lights” has other records in its collection too.
It’s also spent the most weeks in the Top 10 of the US Hot 100 (one track) with 57 weeks and the most weeks in the Top 5 of the US Hot 100 (one track) with 43 weeks.
His music means a lot to his fans, including Karla O’Brien (USA), who became the first ever record holder for most The Weeknd songs identified from their lyrics in one minute with a total of 31 in 2024.
The following year, she increased her total to 34.
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