The Weeknd has just made Billboard history with his After Hours cut, “Blinding Lights.” After spending four weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, the track has now logged an impressive 28 weeks within the Top 5 — more than any other artist in the chart’s 62-year history.
With the feat, The Weeknd beats out the record’s previous holder — Ed Sheeran, whose 2017 song “Shape of You” spent 27 weeks in the Hot 100’s Top 5. Other past contenders have included the likes of Post Malone, whose “Circles” lasted 26 weeks; Cardi B and Maroon 5’s collaboration “Girls Like You,” which held on for 24 weeks and Lil Nas X’s smash-hit “Old Town Road (Remix),” which maintained Top 5-status for 23 weeks.
This year, The Weeknd has been no stranger to Billboard charts-acclaim. After Hours clenched the first charting record of the year, tallying four consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Beyond the charts, After Hours also scored the first biggest streaming week of the year, raking in more streams for an R&B project since his own 2016 LP, Starboy.
Speaking with Rolling Stone for a recent feature, The Weeknd revealed that his After Hours follow-up could arrive sooner rather than later.
“I might have another album ready to go by the time this quarantine is over,” he teased. “I’m guilty of wanting to outdo my last album, but it’s never like, ‘I’ve got to do the same type of song.’ I’m so happy I’m not like that. My palette is so wide.”
Discussing his fourth studio album, The Weeknd conceded that After Hours “might not be my best album… but to me, it’s definitely my most perfect album.”
“I could go back and listen to it and be like, ‘I’ve got no notes for this, really,’” he added.
Congratulations to The Weeknd!