The Weeknd‘s huge 2019 single “Blinding Lights” has broken the record for the Billboard Chart record most weeks spent on the Hot 100.
The widely-acclaimed track, which also appeared on Abel Tesfaye’s After Hours album, has now spent 88 weeks on the chart, breaking the previous record set by Imagine Dragons with “Radioactive”.
The new Billboard chart record comes after “Blinding Lights” previously the first song ever to spend an entire year in the top 10 of the US Hot 100 singles chart.
Originally released as a single in November 2019, the track – which featured on the Toronto artist’s March 2020 album – went to number one in the US on April 4 last year.
After The Weeknd’s After Hours era concluded, the singer shared a new track called “Take My Breath”.
Reviewing the song, NME wrote: “As the beginning of The Weeknd’s new era, “Take My Breath” is a strong first step – a song that should become as much of a pop mainstay as any of After Hours’ smashes.
“What’s most intriguing about it, though, is what it’s not telling us; what is going to come next. For that, we’ll have to wait – but at least Tesfaye’s given us something new to dance to in the meantime.”
Following the original version of the track, an extended version of “Take My Breath” was then shared last week. Speaking to GQ recently, The Weeknd said that his forthcoming new LP is “the album I’ve always wanted to make”.
On a new Apple Music radio show ‘Memento Mori’, Tesfaye revealed the artists who have inspired his next album.
Playing “a mix of music that showcases tracks inspiring the new Dawn era,” he played songs by the likes of Nas (‘Star Wars’ and ‘Thief’s Theme’), Swedish House Mafia, Kid Cudi, Kanye West and Tyler, the Creator.
Listen to the best of The Weeknd on Apple Music and Spotify.