Sometimes it helps me create a new sound and sometimes it's just obvious. You can hear it as far back as my first mixtape that the '80s - Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cocteau Twins - play such a huge role in my sound. It's not that I can't, but a collaboration is a relationship, it's like a marriage, you've gotta build up to it." In a Billboard interview, the Weeknd expressed his appreciation for music of the 1980s: "I've always had an admiration for the era before I was born. ĭuring an interview conducted by Jem Aswad from Variety magazine, the Weeknd discussed his experience working with Swedish songwriter-producer Max Martin, saying: "Max and I have become literally the best of friends, but I don't do that with many people. In the days after, he took to social media to announce his return to music with the captions "the fall starts tomorrow night" and "Tonight we start a new brain melting psychotic chapter! Let's go!". The full-length version of the commercial premiered on November 29, alongside the single. It shows the Weeknd driving a Mercedes-Benz EQC SUV and asking the system to play his new song.
On November 24, 2019, a Mercedes-Benz commercial first aired on German TV featuring a clip of "Blinding Lights". He previously announced a project referred to as Chapter VI in June 2019.
Īfter a five-month social media hiatus, the singer-songwriter returned to Instagram on November 20, 2019, and posted six days later on November 26, 2019. "Blinding Lights" has three official remixes: one by electronic band Chromatics, one by electronic dance music group Major Lazer, and one featuring singer-songwriter Rosalía. On Spotify, it was the most-streamed song of 2020 with nearly 1.6 billion streams, and is the second-most-streamed song of all time on the platform. The song was the fourth most played track of 2021 in the UK. It was also the 8th best-performing global single of 2021 with 1.61 billion subscription stream equivalents. The Weeknd's most successful single worldwide to date, "Blinding Lights" was the best-performing global single of 2020, earning 2.72 billion subscription stream equivalents globally, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).
On November 23, 2021, it was ranked as the #1 Greatest Hot 100 Hit of All Time by Billboard.
It has also topped the record charts in the United Kingdom and 36 other countries. The song also peaked at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, giving the Weeknd his fifth number-one hit on the chart. The song finished 2020 as the year's top Billboard Hot 100 song. It is also the longest charting song on the Hot 100 of all-time at 90 weeks, ending the week of September 11, 2021. In the United States, "Blinding Lights" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, and went on to set new records as the song with most weeks spent in the top 5 and top 10, as well as the first song to hold a spot in the top 10 on the chart for an entire year. The song was met with widespread acclaim. The song was written and produced by the Weeknd alongside Swedish musicians Max Martin and Oscar Holter, with fellow Canadian musicians Belly and DaHeala receiving additional writing credits. It was released on November 29, 2019, through XO and Republic Records, as the second single from his fourth studio album, After Hours (2020). Love it! Will be featuring this." Blinding Lights" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. I love this song Comment by WillCollection I never break a promise cus I dont make em! lol Comment by cocaine_sweetheart Loving this, great to see your progress from them YouTube days Comment by Bay 2 LA's Hip Hop Plugī.Smyth is a freak love the song Comment by selysel Never break a promise Comment by Chanzbrown Heard yo sister asked to watch cause she a freak Comment by _I_Am_She_N_She_Is_MeįACE DOWN ASS UP, ROLE PLAY HAND CUFFS, CANDLES LIT SHE LIKE IT ROUGH, GO GO GO FOR HOURS SHE LIKE TO FUCK, TELL ME WHEN U HAD ENOUGH CAUSE BABY GIRL I DONT THINK U HAD ENOUGH IMMA MAKE THAT PUSSY TAP OUT Comment by user800282675 I luv thiz song omg i luv singin thiz Comment by _I_Am_She_N_She_Is_Me HIS VOICE IS EVERYTHING !!!! Comment by Luicson Arizone Still at it in 2019? Comment by Adena Gardner My girl gonna love fucking to this Comment by Samaiya It's the year 3054 shxt still slaps!! PEEP MY MUS!C ?♂️ Comment by madstoner420 Used to have this on replay nonstop in summer 2020 Comment by Sinthia Hopson