The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights Crosses 5 Billion Spotify Streams, Shattering Records and Stirring Up the Grammy Snub
On August 31, 2025, The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights became the first song in Spotify history to cross 5 billion streams, according to a public announcement by Spotify, and yes, it did that without ever getting a Grammy nomination.
I’m Avery Sinclair, your resident eye-roll artist who reads the fine print so you do not have to. Color me mildly surprised that the soundtrack to every rideshare and supermarket aisle since 2019 just rewrote streaming history, but here we are.
Here is the tea, with receipts. Spotify confirmed the milestone in a post noting the exact date of impact: August 31, 2025. The Weeknd, also known as Abel Tesfaye, reposted the news on Instagram Stories while prepping for night two in Houston on his After Hours til Dawn Stadium Tour. That tour kicked off in May and is slated to wrap September 3 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. So the man is literally checking boxes onstage while casually toppling digital records. Efficient.
Blinding Lights did not sneak into the pop canon. It barged in back in November 2019 as the second single off After Hours and then refused to leave. The synthwave juggernaut hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and camped in the Top 10 for an entire year, which no song had ever done before. In November 2021 it overtook Chubby Checker’s The Twist on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Hot 100 chart. Translation: by Billboard’s math, it is the most successful Hot 100 song ever. You want corroboration beyond Spotify’s flex? Billboard has been tallying its historic run for years, and that Greatest of All Time crown sealed it.
Fans did what fans do. Under Spotify’s post, timelines flooded with all-caps enthusiasm, declarations of legend status, and the usual shrine-building. The Weeknd kept it modest, something he also did in January 2024 when Blinding Lights became the first track to hit 4 billion streams on Spotify. At that time he said he would never stop being humbled by seeing his music reach millions, then billions, and thanked listeners for returning to the song because of how it makes them feel. Apparently a lot of people felt like replaying it another billion times.
The optics get spicier with the awards column. Blinding Lights has a VMA, iHeartRadio Music Award, and multiple Billboard Music Awards. What it does not have is a single Grammy nomination. The Weeknd has four career Grammys for other work, including Best Urban Contemporary Album wins for Beauty Behind the Madness and Starboy, and a Best Melodic Rap Performance nod for Hurricane with Kanye West. Still, the song that redefined streaming success was shut out. Call it the most decorated snub in recent memory. Is that awkward silence coming from the Recording Academy or is it just the sound of 5 billion plays?
Numbers obsessives should note that Blinding Lights is not a lonely meteor. According to Billboard, The Weeknd holds 28 entries in Spotify’s Billions Club, the most of any artist. That is not hype, that is a leaderboard. It also puts the 5 billion mark in context. The song had momentum from day one, it never truly left the charts, and it is still fueling stadiums years after release. If your car stereo, gym playlist, and wedding DJ felt predictable, the data agrees.
Timeline check for the archivists: the single arrived in November 2019, dominated radio and charts through 2020, earned the Greatest of All Time Hot 100 title in November 2021, became the first to 4 billion Spotify streams in January 2024, and just vaulted to 5 billion as of late August 2025. Two different industry pillars back the facts. Spotify provides the stream count. Billboard documents the chart dominance and all-time status. That is the definition of corroborated.
As for cultural footprint, the song’s neon swagger basically resurrected 80s synth for the TikTok era. It scored brand campaigns, halftime performance chatter, and an entire pop moment where everyone decided glossy retro was cool again. And while purists may wince, the crowd voted with headphones and thumbs. Five. Billion. Times.
If you are wondering whether this milestone means anything beyond bragging rights, consider how streaming platforms prioritize catalog that drives retention. A 2019 single still spinning at this scale influences playlists, algorithmic recommendations, and the sound of what labels chase next. Add the ongoing stadium tour and the casual IG acknowledgment, and you have a star who treats unprecedented numbers like another tour stop.
So where does the saga go now? Keep an eye on what track joins the multi-billion tier next from his catalog. Save Your Tears and Starboy are not exactly slacking. Also watch the inevitable record-keeping arms race as rivals push to catch up. And yes, the Grammy snub will hover like a chorus you cannot skip. Until someone at the Academy finds a time machine, Blinding Lights will keep doing what it always does: staying on repeat.
Nothing shocking here, folks. A blockbuster did blockbuster things while institutions politely looked away. File that under business as usual.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and New York Post, Spotify, Billboard
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