The Weeknd‘s mammoth 2019 single, ‘Blinding Lights’, has broken the record for the most weeks spent on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. The third single from the Canadian rapper’s, After Hours, ‘Blinding Lights’ has now spent a whopping 88 weeks on the chart, surpassing the previous record held by Imagine Dragon’s 2012 ‘Radioactive’, which spent 87 weeks in the charts.
This new record for ‘Blinding Lights’ follows another. Previously, it was hailed as the first song to spend an entire year in the top ten of the US Hot 100 Singles Chart. Originally released as a single back in November 2019, the smash-hit went to number one in the US on April 4 2020.
The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye, has now closed the book on the After Hours era. On August 6, he shared the new single ‘Take My Breath’. Receiving widespread critical acclaim upon release, ‘Take My Breath’ has a nostalgic ’80s feel, with a keyboard line not dissimilar to Donna Summer’s 1977 classic ‘I Feel Love’.
In a recent interview with GQ, The Weeknd revealed that his upcoming LP is “the album I’ve always wanted to make.” The profile of the album in GQ described it as “a project packed with party records… Quincy Jones meets Giorgio Moroder meets the best-night-of-your-fucking-life party records”.
Furthermore, on the new Apple Music radio show, Memento Mori, The Weeknd shared the list of artists who have inspired his follow up to After Hours. He played “a mix of music that showcases tracks inspiring the new Dawn era.”
Most notably, these were Nas’s ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Thief’s Theme’. He also showed his love for Swedish House Mafia, Kid Cudi, Kanye West and Tyler, the Creator.
Listen to ‘Take My Breath’, below.
