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The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ Breaks Record for Longest-Charting Song Ever

Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

All this time later, we’re still blinded by the lights. The Weeknd broke the record for the longest-charting song ever on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, when “Blinding Lights†logged its 88th straight week on the chart. The song entered the chart at No. 11 in December 2019, before eventually spending four weeks at No. 1 in March and April 2020. It remained a fixture of the charts afterward, with some help from the Weeknd’s Super Bowl halftime show, but none from the Grammys. And the song also previously broke the records for most weeks in the top five and top ten, spending over a year in the latter (and most weeks in the top 20 and 40 too, but who’s counting?). “Blinding Lights†dethroned Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive†(remember that?), which spent 87 weeks on the chart from 2012–14. And with “Blinding Lights†sitting comfortably at No. 18 on this week’s chart, it only looks like the Weeknd’s new record will continue to rise. Meanwhile, the performer’s newest song, “Take My Breath†— which leads off the upcoming follow-up to his hit 2020 album, After Hours — enters the Hot 100 at No. 6 this week. Maybe we’ll be checking back in on that one in 88-plus weeks.

The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ Logs Longest Chart Run Ever