Abel Tesfaye who is also professionally known as The Weeknd‘s gargantuan hit – 2019’s ‘Blinding Lights’ – was already etched in Hot 100 history books as it holds the records for the most weeks spent in the chart’s top 5, top 10, top 20, and top 40 respectively.
“Blinding Lights” according to Billboard logs a record-breaking 88th week on the Billboard Hot 100 (on the chart dated Aug. 21). It passes Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive,” which spent 87 weeks on the survey in 2012-14.
Related: The Weeknd Talks New Album, Michael Jackson Comparison & Family in GQ September Issue Interview
Released under XO/Republic Records, and debuting at No. 11 on the Hot 100 dated Dec. 14, 2019. The song ranks at No. 18 in its 88th week, hit No. 1 for its first of four weeks on top on the chart dated April 4, 2020. Over its run, it has rewritten the records for the most time spent in the Hot 100’s top five (43 weeks), top 10 (57 weeks), top 20 (79 weeks) and top 40 (84 weeks).
B.L breaks out of a tie with Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive´ as the longest-charting song in the tally’s 63-year history.
Abel reacted to the news in an emotional social media post:
The track as earlier performed at the finale of his Super Bowl LV halftime show medley Feb. 7, is one of three Hot 100 No. 1s from his 2020 album ‘After Hours’.
Opening up to Billboard the day “Blinding Lights” became the first (and, so far, only) song to spend a year in the Hot 100’s top 10”, The Weeknd told Billboard: “After Hours was always meant to be a very personal project. It’s a story I had to tell,” after. “The fact I’ve been able to tell it with the world listening is incredible.”
Meanwhile, The Weeknd adds his latest Hot 100 hit, as his new single “Take My Breath” launches at No. 6 on the Aug. 21 chart, arriving as his 13th top 10.
Written with context from Billboard.
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