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Song story

Blinding Lights

"Blinding Lights" is a song by The Weeknd. The catalog lists 2019-11-29; this may be an album or version date.

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Catalog dateNov 29, 2019

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The numbers behind the music

Earnings, value, and rights.

Explore available streaming estimates, open the catalog valuation when you choose, and see which recording credits are documented.

Deterministic forecast

Spotify royalty estimates

Gross to rightsholders

All time

$16,735,000

Rounded forecast · nearest $1,000

estimated Spotify gross royalties to rightsholders

Inputs and assumptions
As of
Sep 7, 2026
Source
Chartmetric
Formula version
artistsphere_spotify_gross_preview_v1

Each figure multiplies an identity-matched Chartmetric Spotify stream count by a deterministic $0.003 modeled gross rightsholder rate. The estimate is gross to rightsholders before contractual splits, fees, recoupment, and taxes; it is not artist take-home pay.

These estimates represent gross royalties to rightsholders before contractual splits, fees, recoupment, and taxes. They do not represent artist take-home pay.

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Explore the modeled all-platform range, estimated revenue sources, and illustrative recording and composition rights splits. These are estimated gross royalties to rightsholders, not artist take-home pay.

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How “Blinding Lights” carried an ’80s pulse into pop history

Released on November 29, 2019, “Blinding Lights” paired The Weeknd with Max Martin and Oscar Holter on a recording that became the defining hit of the *After Hours* campaign—and one of the most commercially successful singles of the streaming era.

The ’80s connection

Discussing the song with Max Martin for Billboard, The Weeknd traced his attachment to 1980s music partly to playing *Grand Theft Auto: Vice City* as a child and hearing Hall & Oates and Michael Jackson while driving through the game’s city. The memory helps explain the period atmosphere behind “Blinding Lights,” though the recording was an original collaboration rather than an adaptation of a specific older song.

Sources: nme.com

How the recording came together

The Weeknd later told Variety that he began “Blinding Lights” with Oscar Holter before Max Martin helped finish it with him. The official credits name five songwriters: Abel Tesfaye, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Quenneville, Martin Sandberg and Oscar Holter. Production is credited to The Weeknd, Martin and Holter—not only to Martin and Holter—and all three are also credited with instrumental or programming work on the recording.

Sources: universalmusic.it, shazam.com, createurs-editeurs.sacem.fr

Release and album context

The standalone single was issued on November 29, 2019, by The Weeknd XO, Inc., with Republic Records manufacturing and marketing it. It followed “Heartless” as the second single from The Weeknd’s fourth studio album, *After Hours*, which arrived on March 20, 2020. The Weeknd said the response to “Blinding Lights” helped convince him that he could complete the album and include the song on it.

Sources: music.apple.com, ifpi.org, universalmusic.it

From hit single to record-setter

“Blinding Lights” was the world’s best-selling digital single of 2020 under IFPI’s global methodology. In the United States, it led the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and accumulated 90 weeks on the chart; in November 2021, Billboard placed it at No. 1 on its Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Songs ranking. On August 31, 2025, it became the first track to reach five billion Spotify streams, and Spotify continued to identify it as the platform’s most-streamed song in February 2026.

Sources: ifpi.org, ca.billboard.com, guinnessworldrecords.com

Documented credits

Performed by
The Weeknd
Songwriters
Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye; Ahmad “Belly” Balshe; Jason “DaHeala” Quenneville; Karl Martin Sandberg, professionally known as Max Martin; Oscar Thomas Holter
Producers
The Weeknd; Max Martin; Oscar Holter
Instruments and programming
The Weeknd, Max Martin and Oscar Holter — keyboards, programming, bass, guitar and drums
Recording engineering
Shin Kamiyama; assisted by Cory Bice, Jeremy Lertola and Sean Klein
Mixing
Serban Ghenea; John Hanes, mix engineering
Mastering
Dave Kutch; Kevin Peterson
Research sources
Last researched 2026-09-21.

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Selected TikTok examples

Popular videos featuring Blinding Lights.

Sound: Blinding Lights

@elissabesst

Лайну комментарий каждого💕 Instagram: elissabesst✅ #рекомендации

136.6M views

Watch on TikTok ↗

Sound: Blinding Lights

@samuelgrubbs

Our WHOLE class pranked our teacher Pt.4 😂😂 (Come back in 24 hours for Part 5) #foryou #fyp #foryoupage #viral #comedy #funny #tiktok #lol

32.6M views

Watch on TikTok ↗

Sound: Blinding Lights

@thebrandonwarr

What are you all doing during Quarantine?? #fyp #foryoupage #coronamonday #foryou #coronavirus #theboys

30.2M views

Watch on TikTok ↗

Sound: Blinding Lights

@dj.ronald1

Blinding Lights (Slowed + Reverb) #Slowedandreverb #Bassboosted #Aveeplayer

595K views

Watch on TikTok ↗

Sound: Blinding Lights

@lyrics.ortega

Blinding Lights - The Weeknd 🎧🖤 #lyrics #blindinglights #theweeknd #jennaortega #dance

530.6K views

Watch on TikTok ↗

Keep exploring

There is more to The Weeknd.

ArtistSphere connects The Weeknd with r&b/soul, hip-hop/rap, trap soul catalog signals. Start with Blinding Lights, Starboy, Die For You to explore the music represented here. Continue through verified Spotify, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube links and fan discovery sections.

Visit the artist home →

The Weeknd, Daft Punk

Starboy

2016
Estimated all-time Spotify gross royalties to rightsholders$14,220,000Explore

The Weeknd, Daft Punk

Starboy

2016
Estimated all-time Spotify gross royalties to rightsholders$14,215,000Explore

The Weeknd

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2015
Estimated all-time Spotify gross royalties to rightsholders$9,568,000Explore

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