Blinding Lights
"Blinding Lights" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on November 29, 2019, through XO and Republic Records, as the second single from his fourth studio album, After Hours (2020). The universally acclaimed song was written by the Weeknd, Swedish musicians Max Martin and Oscar Holter, and fellow Canadian musicians Belly and DaHeala, being produced by the former three.
Not to be confused with Blinding Light, Blinded by the Light, or City of Blinding Lights."Blinding Lights"
November 29, 2019
- MXM (Los Angeles, California)
- Jungle City (New York, New York)
3:20
- Max Martin
- Oscar Holter
- The Weeknd
The song topped the records charts in over 40 countries, including in the Weeknd's native Canada, where it became his fifth chart-topper on the Canadian Hot 100. In the United States, "Blinding Lights" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four non-consecutive weeks, and went on to set new records as the song with most weeks spent in the top five and top ten, becoming the first song to hold a spot in the top ten for an entire year. It eventually broke the record for the longest-charting song on the Hot 100 of all time, spending 90 weeks on the chart.[a] The song ended 2020 as Billboard's number-one song of the year, and on November 23, 2021 was named the number-one song of all time in Billboard Hot 100 history. On April 5, 2022, it was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling more than ten million copies in the United States. Furthermore, it topped the charts in Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and the UK, in addition to many other countries around the world.
"Blinding Lights" was the best-selling global single of 2020, earning 2.72 billion subscription streams equivalents globally, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), making it the Weeknd's most successful single worldwide to date. On Spotify, it surpassed Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" to become the most streamed song of all time, and has since become the first song to surpass four billion streams in history. "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. "Blinding Lights" has appeared in several video games since its release, including Fuser, NBA 2K21, Just Dance 2021, Beatstar and Fortnite Festival.
Background and promotion[edit]
After 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.[6][7] He previously announced a project referred to as Chapter VI in June 2019.[8] On November 24, 2019, a Mercedes-Benz commercial first aired on German TV featuring a clip of "Blinding Lights".[9][10] It shows the Weeknd driving a Mercedes-Benz EQC SUV and asking the system to play his new song.[11] The full-length version of the commercial premiered on November 29, alongside the single.[12] 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!".[13]
During 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. 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."[14] 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. 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. Sometimes it helps me create a new sound and sometimes it's just obvious. I'm just glad the world's into it now."[15] In an interview with Vanity Fair, the Weeknd said that he initially thought that the song would be a commercial failure.[16]
Lyrics and composition[edit]
Throughout the song, the Weeknd sings about the rekindling of a relationship and the importance of his partner. The singer also mentions the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, when he refers to it by its nickname "Sin City" in the pre-chorus.[17] The Weeknd gave a little insight into what his hit is about. "'Blinding Lights' [is about] how you want to see someone at night, and you're intoxicated, and you're driving to this person and you're just blinded by streetlights," he explains in the profile. "But nothing could stop you from trying to go see that person, because you're so lonely. I don't want to ever promote drunk driving, but that's what the dark undertone is."[18]
From its scale-laddering verses to its tension-filled chorus, the song exhibits the polish and "melodic math" for which Max Martin is renowned, according to Chris Molanphy from Slate.[19] The Dorian structure provides a dreamy and euphoric nature to the song while still ultimately resolving to a minor chord. Exclusively in the music video, the song temporarily modulates to Eb Dorian as the beats per minute drops for 3 and a half measures.
Billboard staff writer Frank DiGiacomo assessed its qualities, "The opening drumbeat is a DeLorean [time machine] back to Michael Jackson's 'Beat It'. The amphetamine synth conjures fond memories of leopard-print-era Rod Stewart's 'Young Turks' — or maybe that other guy with the avian hairdo, Mike Score from A Flock of Seagulls? And isn't that spooky B-movie organ from Rockwell's 'Somebody's Watching Me'? Abel Tesfaye's Drambuie-drenched vocals bathe you in euphoria as you bop around your home in an N-95 mask, punching your fist to the 'Hey!-Hey!-Hey!''s, making a magical and much-needed tonic for troubled times".[20]
The genre of the song is generally described as new wave, synth-pop, synthwave and electropop. Audio engineer Şerban Ghenea says he loved working on the Weeknd's crisp-sounding "Blinding Lights". "It was crossing two worlds to make something new that fits today, sonically. The older folks like it because it's a throwback, and then the kids love it because it's a new thing that they never heard before."[21]
Commercial performance[edit]
North America[edit]
"Blinding Lights" debuted at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated December 14, 2019,[78] but fell 41 places to number 52 in its second week.[79] In its 12th week on the chart, the song became the Weeknd's tenth top ten hit by rising to a new peak at number ten.[80] On the issue dated March 28, 2020, the song rose two places to reach number two.[81] The song reached number one on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs on April 4, 2020, leading for 11 non-consecutive weeks.[82] The song also reached number one on R&B Songs chart on March 7, 2020, where it became his seventh number one on the chart, making him the artist with the most number ones on the chart's history and also attaining a record-breaking reign of 48 weeks.[83] On March 30, 2020, the song rose to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, dethroning Roddy Ricch's "The Box" on the issue dated April 4, 2020.[84] The single kept at its peak position the following week, becoming the Weeknd's third multi-week leader after "The Hills", which topped the chart five years earlier.[85] "Blinding Lights" spent four weeks atop the Hot 100 and finished 2020 as the year's top Billboard Hot 100 song.[86] The following year, it ranked at number three on the year-end chart, becoming the first single to finish in the top three on two occasions.[87]
"Blinding Lights" spent 57 weeks in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and 43 weeks in the top five, breaking the record for the most time logged in the region over the chart's 62-year history.[88][89] On the Digital Song Sales chart, the song peaked at number one for the week of March 23, 2020, and became the Weeknd's fifth Digital Songs number one. The single reached a peak of number one on the Streaming Songs chart on March 30, becoming his first topper on the listing since "The Hills" led five years earlier.[90] On April 13, the song reached number one on Pop Songs chart, where it led for 6 non-consecutive weeks, as it slid to number two on the Hot 100.[91] It later rose back up to number one for the two following weeks.[92][93][94] On May 18, the song became his first number one on the Adult Pop Songs chart, leading for 20 non-consecutive weeks.[95] On November 7, "Blinding Lights" became his first number one on the Adult Contemporary chart, where it led for 35 non-consecutive weeks.[96][97] "Blinding Lights" topped Radio Songs for a record-breaking 26 weeks, passing Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris", which held the record as the longest-running chart-topper for almost 22 years.[98]
[99] "Blinding Lights" fell out of the Hot 100 for the week dated January 2, 2021, but it re-entered at number 3 the next week, breaking the three-way tie for the highest song to re-enter the Hot 100.[100][101] Meanwhile, "Blinding Lights" tied for the most time totaled in the Hot 100's top three, 21 weeks, equaling the sums of The Chainsmokers' "Closer" and Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk!".[88]
For a short time during 2022, "Blinding Lights" was the longest running single in the history of the Hot 100 chart with a total of 90 weeks, surpassing Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive", which spent 87 weeks.[78][102] In the process, the song also attained the longest chart run of any Hot 100 chart-topper in Billboard history, surpassing the 68-week run by LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" (2011–12).[103] On November 23, 2021, the song surpassed "The Twist" (1960) as the number-one song of all time in Billboard Hot 100 history.[104] On April 5, 2022, "Blinding Lights" was awarded a Diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling ten million units in the United States.[89]
"Blinding Lights" also became producer Max Martin's 23rd Hot 100 number one single as a writer, 21st as producer, and his first in both credits since Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling!" (2016). Martin has the third-most as writer, behind Paul McCartney (32) and John Lennon (26), and the second-most as producer, behind George Martin (23).[84] The Weeknd became the first artist to simultaneously lead Billboard's five primary charts on March 30, topping the Hot 100, Billboard 200, Artist 100, Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers.[105][106] The next week, he topped the Hot 100, Billboard 200 and Artist 100 once more, achieving the feat for a fourth time.[107]
On the Rolling Stone Top 100 Songs chart, the song debuted at number two, where it was blocked from the top spot by the Weeknd's own "Heartless". The song also became the Weeknd's second entry on the chart.[108] It later rose to number one on the chart following the release of After Hours.[109]
In the singer's native Canada, "Blinding Lights" debuted at number two on the Canadian Hot 100, one place higher than "Heartless". It later managed to reach number one after the release of its parent album on the issue dated April 4, 2020, becoming the Weeknd's fifth number-one single in the country. It spent seven weeks atop the chart, tying "Starboy" as his longest-running chart-topper.[110] In May 2021, "Blinding Lights" dropped off the Canadian Hot 100 after 75 weeks on the chart,[111] leaving it one week short of the all-time record set by "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas in 2010.[112] For the first half of 2020, "Blinding Lights" was the top Canadian song overall, with 484,000 units.[113] It has been certified Diamond by Music Canada for selling 800,000 units.[114]
Europe, Oceania and Latin America[edit]
In the United Kingdom, "Blinding Lights" debuted at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart on December 6, 2019 – for the week ending date December 12, 2019. It eventually peaked at the top of the chart in February 2020, becoming the Weeknd's first number-one single in Britain.[115] After two weeks at number one, it dropped a place number two. However it rebounded to number one the week after, and remained there for three consecutive weeks. The week after it fell a place to number two and also stayed at the runner-up spot for another week. The following week, it once again rebounded to number one, and stayed there for another three consecutive weeks. Overall, the single spent eight non-consecutive weeks atop the singles chart.[116][117] It dropped to number two on April 24, 2020 – for the week ending April 30, 2020 – after the Weeknd used Twitter to ask people to support its close rival, a charity single, "You'll Never Walk Alone", by Michael Ball and Captain Sir Tom Moore, and make it number one for Moore's 100th birthday.[118][119] As a result, "Blinding Lights" dropped a place to number two and remained at number two the following week, behind another charity single, "Times Like These".[120][121] According to the Official Charts Company, "Blinding Lights" became Britain's biggest-selling song of 2020 with 2.2 million combined sales, including 250 million streams and 195,000 downloads.[122] "Blinding Lights" has been certified 6× Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for selling 3,600,000 units.[123]
Elsewhere in Europe, the song topped the charts in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Switzerland. It also peaked within the top ten of the charts in Belarus, Hungary, Malta, North Macedonia, Russia, Romania, Spain, and Ukraine.
In Australia, it topped the ARIA Charts for eleven non-consecutive weeks. It is the sixth longest-running number-one of all-time in the country, tied with songs such as Spice Girls's "Wannabe", Drake's "God's Plan" and Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", as well the fifth longest by a foreign act.[124] "Blinding Lights" has been certified 13× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for selling 910,000 units.[125]
In New Zealand, the song topped the New Zealand Singles Chart for four non-consecutive weeks.
In Latin America, "Blinding Lights" topped the charts in Bolivia and Mexico. It also reached the top 10 in Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Puerto Rico and Uruguay, as well as the top 20 in Argentina, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru. It also charted in Brazil and Colombia, peaking at numbers 51 and 66 respectively.
Global[edit]
"Blinding Lights" was the best-selling global single of 2020, earning 2.72 billion subscription stream equivalents globally. For this feat, it was awarded the IFPI Global Digital Single Award by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).[126] It was also the seventh best-selling global single of 2021 with 1.61 billion subscription stream equivalents globally.[127] "Blinding Light" was the fourteenth best-selling global single of 2022 with 1.01 billion subscription stream equivalents globally.[128]
"Blinding Lights" has also broken numerous records on streaming platform Spotify. It was the most-streamed song of 2020 on the platform with nearly 1.6 billion streams.[129] On February 24, 2021, it became the first song by a Canadian artist and only the fourth song in history to pass two billion plays on the platform;[130] it also broke the record for the fastest song to do so, in under 15 months.[131] On June 15, 2022, it became the first song by a Canadian artist and only the second song in history to surpass three billion streams, and also broke the record for the fastest song to do so.[132] On January 1, 2023, "Blinding Lights" overtook Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" to become the most streamed song of all time on the platform, with over 3.332 billion streams at the time.[133] On January 12, 2024, it became the first song to pass the 4 billion stream mark on Spotify.[134]
Music video[edit]
Development[edit]
The music video for "Blinding Lights" was directed by Anton Tammi, assisted by Kenneth Taylor, and filmed in Fremont Street, Las Vegas and Downtown Los Angeles, during a four-day shooting that took place until 6 AM every day.[135][136][137] It was produced by Sarah Parker and executive produced by Saskia Whinney for Somesuch, with production design by Adam William Wilson. Olliver Millar served as the director of photography, assisted by Devin "Daddy" Karringten on the second unit, Niels Lindelien on the steadicam operation, Nizzar Najm on the gaffer and Marlow Nunez on the key grip.[137] The video was edited by Janne Vartia and Tim Montana, and included VFX by Mathematic, post production surpervision by Alec Ernest, color by Nicke Jacobsson, sound design by Akseli Soini, title design by Aleksi Tammi and 3D effects by Oscar Böckerman.[137]
During the filming for the street scenes, the roads were not completely shut down, so random cars and pedestrians were passing by while the Weeknd danced in the street. Production was held up temporarily when somebody was arrested in the tunnel.[136] The shooting required at least three vehicles driving through the nighttime streets. The Mercedes-AMG GT roadster was a specially equipped towed vehicle that allowed the Weeknd to act and lip-sync inside the moving convertible without needing to drive, and a chase SUV with a crane camera strapped to the top.[138] Director of photography Oliver Millar said that he loves the music video format and talked about how intense it is to try and create iconic images during high-pressure shoots that don't last very long.[138] He said that since the Weeknd's previous videos had a dark and gritty vibe, he used generators powering banks of LED lights and a Sony Venice full-frame digital motion picture camera system to try to re-create the look, ending up with the video's vintage, 1980s style.[136]
Release and synopsis[edit]
On December 2, 2019, a commercial video containing footage from the Weeknd and Mercedes-Benz commercial, and the song's audio video, was released.[139] The lyric video for "Blinding Lights" was released on December 6, 2019.[140] Its official music video was released on January 21, 2020.[141] A behind-the-scenes music video for the song was released on February 28, 2020.[136] On May 5, 2020, a music video for the Chromatics remix of the song was released.[142]
The video follows the After Hours videos sequence, starting where the "Heartless" premise ended, and presents the Weeknd as a lonely and psychotic guy walking and driving with no destination around the streets in Las Vegas, and a passing resemblance to jazz musician Herbie Hancock, circa 1978's Sunlight.[143] The singer sports the same garb as the previous video, adopted for the album promotion, with a red suit, specific hairstyle, mustache and sunglasses.[143] The visual opens with the Weeknd laughing as blood drips down his face, then jumps back in time to show the mayhem that led to his gruesome end — the pop star speeding around a deserted city, dancing gleefully in the streets.[143] The visual follows the events of the music video for "Heartless" and sees the Weeknd go on a hallucinated joyride after waking from a trance. It concludes with the Weeknd having flashbacks to a club he attended earlier in the night, where he was serenaded by a mysterious woman, played by Japanese actress Miki Hamano and beat up by a duo of bouncers, uncredited, who had forced him to go on the run.[144] The video depicts the singer amid a story inspired by the films Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Joker, and Casino.[145]
Reception[edit]
Chase Ichiki from Revolt spoke highly of the music video, sharing that "the Weeknd crafts a world fans have eagerly waited for. Donning his staple red suit, he showcases his acting abilities in his latest video. Beginning with him hysterically laughing in a borderline psychotic way, then we see the Weeknd dance the pain away while wandering the city".[146] Michael Cube from Nylon magazine wrote that "the video for "Blinding Lights" is appropriately cryptic for the famously elusive artist", and praised the presentation's alluring mystique.[147] HITC columnist Christopher Weston assessed the film as "a burst of neon perfectly complimenting the gorgeous electronic sound. The 'Blinding Lights' visual accompaniment is one of the most stylish videos we've seen, packed with color, fast cars, nocturnal cityscapes and luxurious locations."[148] Insider editor Callie Ahlgrim praised the visual, "'Blinding Lights' embodies everything that's made the Weeknd's newest era so successful. The video maintains his mysterious, slightly menacing aura — yet manages to create a cinematic, retro, exhilarating experience that's unlike anything he's done before".[149] Bianca Gracie from Vulture named the music video one of the best of 2020: "It's a wild mix of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Casino, and Joker that only Abel could pull off".[150] USA Today editor Gary Dinges named the visual one of the best of 2020.[151] The clip was nominated for six MTV Video Music Awards, and won two including Best R&B Video & Video of the Year.[152] The visual was nominated for four UK Music Video Awards, and won Best Pop Video – International.[67]
Live performances[edit]
The Weeknd performed "Blinding Lights" for the first time on December 6, 2019, during The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a day after he performed "Heartless" on the same show.[153] He brought a neon-lit cube with mirrored walls to the stage to sing through his brand new single. Filmed in black and white and from different perspectives on the stage, the Weeknd made the most of his mirror-cube before stepping outside of it to face the crowd.[154] They sang the chorus of the track back to him, and some members of the audience raised mirrors of their own to flash The Weeknd's glow back on him.[155]
The song was performed on January 22, 2020, at Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[156] The performance picked up right where the "Blinding Lights" visual left off, as the Weeknd remained in the red suit and his face was still bloodied with a bandage over his nose from the beatdown he vaguely remembered in the music video. He bounced around the stage for the lively performance, as thunderbolts and lightning strikes at his back filled the darkness in the venue.[157] Appearing once again in a red suit, black gloves and bloody-faced with a bandage over his nose, he performed the single alongside "Scared to Live" on Saturday Night Live on March 7, 2020.[158]
"Blinding Lights" received a special performance during The Weeknd Experience, an augmented reality, interactive livestream held on TikTok on August 7, 2020. It featured 3D visuals and several interactive components, including virtual back-up dancers appearing behind the Weeknd, who also traveled through hyperspace in a red convertible, surrounded by lasers in the virtual world.[159] The Weeknd kicked off the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards with "Blinding Lights", described in advance as a "keyed-up, dazzling" showcase. He performed a rooftop version of his hit single from the observation deck at 30 Hudson Yards in Manhattan, New York City, complete with a background of fireworks.[160]
The single was also performed live in the 2020 Time 100 primetime event and the Z100 Jingle Ball of 2020.[161]
The Weeknd performed "Blinding Lights" as the closing track for the Super Bowl LV halftime show.[162] On the field, he was surrounded by hundreds of the Weeknd-alike dancers. In the beginning, he moved with them in lock step. But as the song swelled, and the dancers began to swarm in odd patterns, the Weeknd moved in his own rhythm, holding the camera's gaze, alone amid the chaos.[163]
"Blinding Lights (Remix)"
December 4, 2020
October 2020
3:36
- Max Martin
- Oscar Holter
- The Weeknd
Other versions[edit]
Remixes[edit]
The song's first official remix features vocals from Chromatics and is included in the original deluxe edition of After Hours and the remix EP After Hours (Remixes).[164] A second official remix by Major Lazer was released on April 15, 2020.[165] An unofficial remix by W&W was released on July 2, 2020.[166] A third official remix with Rosalía was released on December 4, 2020.[167][168]