The Weeknd ‘Humbled’ That ‘Blinding Lights’ Is The First Song To Hit 4 Billion Streams On Spotify

The Weeknd is completely “humbled” that his song “Blinding Lights” made Spotify history by becoming the first song on the platform to reach 4 billion streams.

On Friday, Jan. 12, Billboard announced the new milestone.

“I’ll never stop being humbled by anything I create making its way to millions of people let alone billions!” The Weeknd told the outlet. “I’m so thankful this song makes people feel a way that they keep going back to listen.”

Released in November 2019, “Blinding Lights” was the second single from The Weeknd’s (real name Abel Tesfaye) fourth studio album, After Hours. It quickly climbed the charts, spending four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the first song to remain in its top 10 for an entire year.

In November 2021, “Blinding Lights” dethroned Chubby Checker’s classic 1960 hit “The Twist” as the all-time No. 1 Hot 100 song. It also sat atop Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Hot 100 chart.

In December 2022, the song surpassed Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” to become the most-streamed song on Spotify. The Weeknd is the No. 1 artist on Spotify, with 113 million monthly listeners. In February 2023, he became the first artist to hit 100 million monthly listeners on the platform.

“The Weeknd continues to reach new heights year after year on Spotify,” Jeremy Erlich, Spotify’s global head of music, told Billboard. “This is one of many records he has broken with us. As our platform continues to grow globally, his music reaches more and more people, and his fandom deepens. The success of ‘Blinding Lights’ is a prime example that nothing connects people more than music. It’s an exceptional song in a class of its own.”

With The Weeknd reaching 4 billion in streams, it equates to betweem $15.5 million and $17.5 million in royalties, and another $4.5 million or so in publishing, Variety reported.