The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ sets new top 10 record in the US Hot 100

'Blinding Lights,' by The Weeknd, has been the first album to spend an entire year in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The song, which appeared on the Toronto artist's March 2020 album 'After Hours,' was originally released as a single in November 2019 and went to number one in the US on April 4 last year, spending a total of 65 weeks on the Hot 100.

"Blinding Lights" became the chart's longest-running top-ten hit last year (beating Post Malone's "Circles," which ran for 39 weeks). With 43 weeks in the Top 5, "Blinding Lights" still holds the record for the most time a song has spent in the Top 5. It's already on its way to breaking records, which is currently held by Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive" with 87 weeks on the Hot 100.

Last year, the Weeknd told Variety that the song's initial success gave him the trust he required to pursue the more experimental songs on his new album, "After Hours," which came out in March, several months after "Blinding Lights." 

Looking back on an incredible year for The Weeknd, it all started with "Blinding Lights" (even though "Heartless" came out a few days earlier) and although the song has come to symbolise resilience and triumphing over hardship, it also soundtracked some harrowing times.