The Weeknd breaks Spotify record with ‘Blinding Lights’
The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ has become the first song to be streamed five billion times on Spotify.
The hit song topped the charts upon release in 2019, and six years later, continues to be streamed at a staggering rate, which has helped it to become the most-streamed song in Spotify history.
He previously told Billboard after ‘Blinding Lights’ surpassed four billion streams on Spotify in 2024, “I’ll never stop being humbled by anything I create making its way to millions of people let alone billions!”
Tesfaye continued: “I’m so thankful this song makes people feel a way that they keep going back to listen.”
Remarkably, The Weeknd has 28 songs that have been streamed over a billion times on Spotify, and he boasts 111 million unique monthly listeners on the platform. Only Bruno Mars, with 112 million unique monthly listeners, has more.
In recent months, many artists have chosen to withdraw their music from the streaming platform. Hotline TNT are among the latest to boycott Spotify, explaining to fans, “The company that bills itself as the steward of all recorded music has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that it does not align with the band’s values in any way.”
Additionally, in July, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard led the charge of bands removing their work from Spotify. The Australian band shared: “A PSA to those unaware: Spotify CEO Daniel Ek invests millions in AI military drone technology. We just removed our music from the platform.”
Other notable acts that have joined the boycott include Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Deerhoof and Cindy Lee.
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