Photo Credit: Spotify
Just a year after surpassing Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” as the most-streamed song on Spotify, The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” has racked up over four billion plays.
Spotify tweeted on January 4 cementing the record for the artist Abel Tesfaye, while Variety confirms the four billion stream mark with reps for the artist. He also beats Ed Sheeran out on monthly listeners, with 113 million monthly listeners versus. 82.8 million. Taylor Swift was the most-streamed artist of 2023, garnering 26.1 billion streams across her catalog, while The Weeknd hit the number three spot.
Spotify pays anywhere between $0.003 – $0.005 cents per stream, which means this song has earned anywhere from $12-$20 million—depending on several factors. Abel Tesfaye shares songwriting credits with Ahmad Balshe, Jason Quenneville, Max Martin, and Oscar Holter on the song. The split between those creators is unknown, but both Martin and Holter also co-produce the song—likely leading to a higher percentage share of royalties.
We know that “Blinding Lights” is the most-streamed song on Spotify, but how do The Weeknd’s other songs stack up on the service? Here’s a peek at data as of January 12.
| 1. “Blinding Lights” | 4,001,022,234 streams |
| 2. “Starboy” | 2,951,315,909 streams |
| 3. “The Hills” | 2,132,263,033 streams |
| 4. “Die For You” | 1,994,707,875 streams |
| 5. “Save Your Tears” | 1,803,059,308 streams |
| 6. “I Feel It Coming” | 1,642,395,909 streams |
| 7. “Can’t Feel My Face” | 1,637,405,466 streams |
| 8. “Call Out My Name” | 1,623,527,002 streams |
| 9. “Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey)” | 1,558,206,736 streams |
| 10. “Save Your Tears (Remix) ft. Ariana Grande” | 1,399,497,849 streams |
The top ten list of most-streamed songs for The Weeknd all have over one billion streams, including the #11 spot for “Creeper.” Curious about the rest of The Weeknd’s Spotify streaming stats for this week? You have to dip below his top twenty most-streamed songs to see those under 500 million+ streams—showcasing just what a powerhouse his catalog is on streaming services.
