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Blinding Lights

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"Blinding Lights"
Single by The Weeknd
from the album After Hours
ReleasedNovember 29, 2019 (2019-11-29)
Studio
Genre
Length3:22
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Max Martin
  • Oscar Holter
  • The Weeknd
The Weeknd singles chronology
"Heartless"
(2019) 		"Blinding Lights"
(2019)
Music video
"Blinding Lights" on YouTube

"Blinding Lights" is a song by Canadian singer The Weeknd that serves as the second single of his upcoming fourth studio album After Hours (2020).[4] It was released on November 29, 2019, two days after the release of "Heartless".[5] The Weeknd wrote and produced the song with its producers Max Martin and Oscar Holter, with Belly and Jason Quenneville receiving additional writing credits.[6][7]

"Blinding Lights" was a commercial success, peaking at number-one in more than a dozen countries worldwide, including the United Kingdom, where it became The Weeknd's first number-one single.

Background and promotion

After having been absent from social media for five months, the singer returned to Instagram on November 20, 2019 and posted six days later on November 26, 2019.[8][9] He previously announced a project titled Chapter VI in June 2019.[10] On November 24, 2019, a Mercedes Benz commercial first aired on German TV featuring a clip of "Blinding Lights".[11] It shows The Weeknd driving the Mercedes-Benz EQC electric SUV and asking the system to play his new song.[5] The full-length version of the commercial will premier on November 29, alongside the single.[12] In the days after, he took to social media to announce his return to music with the captions "the fall starts tomorrow night" and "Tonight we start a new brain melting psychotic chapter! Let's go!".[13] The song will be featured as the main theme song for WrestleMania 36.

Lyrics

The lyrics of the song reference the on-and-off relationship that Tesfaye has with model Bella Hadid.[14] The Weeknd, throughout the song, sings about the rekindling of a relationship and the importance of his partner. The singer also mentions the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, where he refers to it by its nickname "Sin City" in the pre-chorus.[15]

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from music critics. It was ranked as the 32nd best song of 2019 by Stereogum. On a statement discussing the single's position on the list, Chris DeVille complimented the song's '80s aesthetic and vibe, saying that "The '80s will never die ― or, at least, the glamorous neon '80s of our collective imagination."[16]

Commercial performance

"Blinding Lights" debuted and peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated 14 December 2019.[17] However, on the issue dated 21 December 2019, "Blinding Lights" fell 41 places to number 52, more than "Heartless", which debuted at number 32, climbed to number-one the following week, but fell 16 places to number 17 on its third week.[18]

On the Rolling Stone Top 100 Songs chart, the song debuted at number two, where it was blocked from the top spot by The Weeknd's own "Heartless". The song also became Tesfaye's second entry on the chart and is his second single to make the Top 100.[19]

In the singer's native Canada, "Blinding Lights" reached number two on the Canadian Hot 100, one place higher than "Heartless".

In the United Kingdom, "Blinding Lights" entered the charts at number 12 in the issue dated December 12, 2019. It eventually reached number one in February 2020, becoming The Weeknd's first number-one single in the UK.[20]

Music videos

On December 2, 2019, a commercial video containing footage from a Tesfaye and Mercedes-Benz commercial and the song's audio video was released.[21] The lyric video for "Blinding Lights" was released on December 6, 2019.[22] Its official music video was shot in Fremont Street, Las Vegas and Downtown Los Angeles and was released on January 21, 2020.[23][24] The visual follows the events of the music video for "Heartless" and sees The Weeknd go on a hallucinated joyride through Las Vegas after waking from a trance. It concludes with Tesfaye having flashbacks to a club he attended earlier in the night, where he was serenaded by a mysterious woman, played by Japanese actress Miki Hamano and beat up by a duo of men that forced him to be on the run throughout the video.[25] The video was directed by Anton Tammi, with various actions performed by the singer in the visual being inspired by the films Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Joker, and Casino.[26]

Live performances

The Weeknd performed "Blinding Lights" for the first time on December 6, 2019 during The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a day after he performed "Heartless" on the same show.[27] The song was performed on January 22, 2020 at Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[28]

Personnel

Credits adapted from The Weeknd's official website and Tidal.[6][7]

  • The Weeknd – vocals, songwriting, production
  • Belly – songwriting
  • Jason Quenneville – songwriting
  • Max Martin – songwriting, production, programming, keyboards, bass, guitar, drums
  • Oscar Holter – songwriting, production, programming, keyboards, bass, guitar, drums
  • Shin Kamiyama – engineering
  • Cory Bice – engineering assistant
  • Jeremy Lertola – engineering assistant
  • Sean Klein – engineering assistant
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing
  • John Hanes – engineering for mixing
  • Dave Kutch – mastering
  • Kevin Peterson – mastering assistant

Charts

Chart (2019–2020) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[29] 1
Australia Urban (ARIA)[30] 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[31] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[32] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[33] 1
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[34] 2
Canada AC (Billboard)[35] 26
Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[36] 7
Canada Hot AC (Billboard)[37] 6
CIS (TopHit)[38] 4
Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[39] 29
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[40] 3
Denmark (Tracklisten)[41] 1
Estonia (Eesti Tipp-40)[42] 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[43] 2
France (SNEP)[44] 4
Invalid chart entered Germany2 1
Greece (IFPI)[45] 4
Hungary (Single Top 40)[46] 14
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[47] 4
Ireland (IRMA)[48] 1
Israel (Media Forest)[49] 1
Italy (FIMI)[50] 6
Latvia (LAIPA)[51] 7
Lebanon (Lebanese Top 20)[52] 8
Lithuania (AGATA)[53] 1
Malaysia (RIM)[54] 15
Mexico Airplay (Billboard)[55] 4
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[56] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[57] 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[58] 4
Norway (VG-lista)[59] 1
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[60] 3
Portugal (AFP)[61] 23
Romania (Airplay 100)[62] 52
Russia Airplay (TopHit)[63] 4
Scotland (OCC)[64] 1
Singapore (RIAS)[65] 10
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[66] 14
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[67] 2
Slovenia (SloTop50)[68] 4
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[69] 37
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[70] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[71] 1
UK Singles (OCC)[72] 1
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[73] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[74] 11
US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[75] 26
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[76] 4
US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[77] 15
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[78] 22
US Rolling Stone Top 100[79] 2

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[80] Gold 20,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[81] Gold 45,000‡
France (SNEP)[82] Gold 100,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[83] Gold 200,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[84] Gold 35,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[85] Gold 30,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[86] Gold 15,000‡
Norway (IFPI Norway)[87] Platinum 60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[88] Gold 400,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format Label(s) Ref.
Various December 6, 2019
[89]
Italy December 13, 2019 Contemporary hit radio Universal [90]
United Kingdom December 20, 2019
  • XO
  • Republic
 [91]
United States January 6, 2020 Hot adult contemporary radio [92]
January 7, 2020 Contemporary hit radio [93]
United Kingdom January 11, 2020 Adult contemporary radio [94]
United States February 4, 2020 Rhythmic contemporary radio [95]

References

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