‘Blinding Lights’ beau The Weeknd has seen his name atop the Hot 100 multiple times over his storied career, but none of his hits can boast the love from radio his most recent chart-topper can.
The Max Martin-produced cut – which commanded the Hot 100 for four weeks – sits at #3 on this week’s refreshed edition thanks in great part to its ongoing domination of Billboard’s Radio Songs chart.
For clarity, the “Radio Songs” chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay) measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States across all musical genres. Its point of difference from the “Pop Songs” chart (which measures the radio popularity of music) is that it is comprised of data from Top 40 stations as well as more genre-specific radio stations such as Urban, Country, Hip-Hop, and more.
This week, The Weeknd (born Abel Tesfaye) learned the hit record notched its 19th week atop the Radio Songs tally (thanks to another 80.5 million impressions garnered during the last tracking week). As such, it now boasts having the longest run of any song in the chart’s history.
“[‘Blinding Lights’] passes Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris,” which dominated for 18 weeks in 1998 and held the mark all to itself for nearly 22 years for the longest Radio Songs rule since the chart started in December 1990.
Most Weeks at No. 1 on Radio Songs
19, “Blinding Lights,” The Weeknd, April 18, 2020
18, “Iris,” Goo Goo Dolls, beginning Aug. 1, 1998
16, “Girls Like You,” Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B, Aug. 4, 2018
16, “We Belong Together,” Mariah Carey, May 28, 2005
16, “Don’t Speak,” No Doubt, Dec. 7, 1996
14, “High Hopes,” Panic! at the Disco, Dec. 1, 2018
14, “No One,” Alicia Keys, Nov. 3, 2007
14, “Because You Loved Me,” Celine Dion, April 13, 1996
13, “I Love You Always Forever,” Donna Lewis, Aug. 24, 1996
13, “One Sweet Day,” Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, Dec. 9, 1995
13, “The Sign,” Ace of Base, Feb. 26, 1994
13, “End of the Road,” Boyz II Men, Aug. 22, 1992“Blinding Lights” also tops the multi-metric Hot R&B Songs chart for a record-extending 22nd week.”