Spotify’s most listened to track has been hailed as the “best pop song of the decade” by fans.
Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (also known as Abel Makkonen Tesfaye) is now the most listened to song on the music streaming platform, overtaking Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You.
The song first hit the charts upon its release in 2019 prior to the album it holds place on, After Hours, being released on March 20, 2020.
It’s timely release coincided with the beginning of the the UK’s and many other countries’ first Covid-19 lockdown.
Blinding Lights grew massive popularity through a trend that involved a dance routine circulating TikTok, which was also growing in popularity at the time. Many people took to the app to show off their best dance moves to the catchy song.
The Weeknd’s song was a huge commercial success, topping the record charts in over 40 countries, including his native Canada, therefore it is his most successful single to date. It has since become the song with the most weeks spent in the top five and top 10 after it was the first song to remain in the top ten for an entire year.
For a short period of time Blinding Lights was the longest-charting song in history, remaining on it for a total of 90 weeks.
One reddit user described the song as the “best pop song of the decade” with another adding “I love this song”.
“10/10 Abel did not just bring back the sound of the 80s, but made a huge timeless hit that is catchy. You just can’t hate this song,” another user added.
Billboard named Blinding Lights as the top song of the century.
Gray News said: “It’s official: Blinding Lights by The Weeknd is the song of the century. On Friday, Billboard crowned the smash hit as the No. 1 song of the 21st century.”