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" Blinding Lights" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd, from his fourth studio album, After Hours (2020). The song was released through XO and Republic Records on November 29, 2019, as the album's second single. It is a synth-pop, electropop, new wave, and synthwave track, which lyrically addresses the importance of a partner, and the desire to see them at night. It was written by the Weeknd, Max Martin, Oscar Holter, Belly, and DaHeala, while being produced by the former three.
"Blinding Lights" received universal acclaim by music journalists upon release, with many noting its aesthetic, as well as its callback to the music of the 1980s. The song was a commercial success, topping the record charts in over 40 countries, including his native Canada, making it his most successful single to date. In the United States, "Blinding Lights" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four non-consecutive weeks, earning his fifth number one in the country. It became the song with the most weeks spent in the top five and top ten and the first song to hold a spot in the top ten for an entire year. It was the longest-charting song in history for a short period of time, remaining on it for a total of 90 weeks, and was named as the chart's best-performing song of all time on November 23, 2021. It was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and seven times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, it was the best-selling global single of 2020 and the best-selling song overall since 2020 by stream equivalent units. On Spotify, it is the most streamed song of all time, and the first song to surpass four billion streams.
Anton Tammi directed the song's music video, which was filmed over a four-day period shot in the night. Inspired by films such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Joker, and Casino, it depicts the Weeknd speeding through a city, after getting beaten by bouncers and being forced on the run. "Blinding Lights" was performed on television shows such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Saturday Night Live, his headlining set at the Super Bowl LV halftime show, and was included on the set list for his After Hours til Dawn Tour. It received several awards and nominations, winning Song of the Year at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards and Juno Awards of 2021.
After a five-month social media hiatus, the singer-songwriter returned to Instagram on November 20, 2019, and posted six days later on November 26, 2019. He previously announced a project referred to as Chapter VI in June 2019. On November 24, 2019, a Mercedes-Benz commercial first aired on German TV featuring a clip of "Blinding Lights". It shows the Weeknd driving a Mercedes-Benz EQC SUV and asking the system to play his new song. The full-length version of the commercial premiered on November 29, alongside the single. 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!".
During an interview conducted by Jem Aswad from Variety magazine, the Weeknd discussed his experience working with Swedish songwriter-producer Max Martin, saying: "Max and I have become literally the best of friends, but I don't do that with many people. It's not that I can't, but a collaboration is a relationship, it's like a marriage, you've gotta build up to it." In a Billboard interview, the Weeknd expressed his appreciation for music of the 1980s: "I've always had an admiration for the era before I was born. You can hear it as far back as my first mixtape that the '80s — Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cocteau Twins — play such a huge role in my sound. Sometimes it helps me create a new sound and sometimes it's just obvious. I'm just glad the world's into it now." In an interview with Vanity Fair, the Weeknd said that he initially thought that the song would be a commercial failure.
From its scale-laddering verses to its tension-filled chorus, the song exhibits the polish and "melodic math" for which Max Martin is renowned, according to Chris Molanphy from Slate. The Dorian structure provides a dreamy and euphoric nature to the song while still ultimately resolving to a minor chord. Exclusively in the music video, the song temporarily modulates to Eb Dorian as the beats per minute drops for 3 and a half measures.
Billboard staff writer Frank DiGiacomo assessed its qualities, "The opening drumbeat is a DeLorean time back to Michael Jackson's 'Beat It'. The amphetamine Synthesizer conjures fond memories of leopard-print-era Rod Stewart's 'Young Turks' — or maybe that other guy with the avian hairdo, Mike Score from A Flock of Seagulls? And isn't that spooky B-movie organ from Rockwell's 'Somebody's Watching Me'? Abel Tesfaye's Drambuie-drenched vocals bathe you in euphoria as you bop around your home in an N-95 mask, punching your fist to the 'Hey!-Hey!-Hey!'s, making a magical and much-needed tonic for troubled times".
The genre of the song is generally described as new wave, synth-pop, synthwave and electropop. Audio engineer Serban Ghenea says he loved working on the Weeknd's crisp-sounding "Blinding Lights". "It was crossing two worlds to make something new that fits today, sonically. The older folks like it because it's a throwback, and then the kids love it because it's a new thing that they never heard before."
Rolling Stone columnist Kory Grow named "Blinding Lights" as the fourth best song of 2020: "With fuzzy synths and hopscotching Drum machine line, 'Blinding Lights' is the best new wave song this side of Duran Duran. In just three minutes, the Weeknd checks off any number of Eighties pop-song signposts—unanswered phone calls, driving fast just to feel something, lights representing loneliness—but the real magic is how his voice and the song's chiming keyboard line lingers in your head well after he injects new life into the greatest Eighties-steeped lyrical cliché of them all: 'I can't sleep until I feel your touch,'" and editor Jon Dolan praised the "europhile synth-pop-steeped" production, "Blinding Lights" evokes Depeche Mode and the Human League in its lonely-planet luster. David Smyth of Evening Standard also praised the song, calling it a "glorious blast of air punching Eighties synth-pop". Micah Peters from The Ringer selected it as one of the best on the album. The New York Times journalist Lindsay Zoladz named "Blinding Lights" one of the best songs of 2020: "It's a propulsive, modernized bit of '80s pastiche. It's always a blessing when the year's most overplayed pop song happens to be one you wouldn't mind hearing a billion and one times anyway," and editor Jon Caramanica added that "'Blinding Lights' is a sterling song that evokes both an idyllic future and triggers aural sense memories of mega-pop's glory years. 'Blinding Lights' could have been lifted from a found Jazzercise tape from 1986, though the chilly synths have a slightly sinister tinge and says a lot about the durability of the Weeknd's early noir—the full commitment to the louche aesthetic he embodied—that even the raging centrist popularity of 'Blinding Lights' can't disinter it."
Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian named "Blinding Lights" one of the best songs of 2020: "It's a titanic pop production from backroom genius Max Martin, who seems to pay homage to his fellow a-ha with the peppy gated drums. Abel Tesfaye himself shows he can slip between genres casually as he does the lovers in his songs, notching up another wedding disco classic." When describing the Weeknd's ode to '80s music, Nick Levine of BBC News named "Blinding Lights" one of the best songs of 2020: "Co-written and co-produced with Swedish songwriting genius Max Martin, its synth-pop shimmer manages to feel retro and contemporary at the same time—a tricky thing to pull off. Still, the key to its enduring popularity could lie in its ambiguity. Though 'Blinding Lights' explosive chorus is one of the year's most familiar and uplifting, there's a dash of darkness baked in that keeps things interesting." Editor Makael Wood from Los Angeles Times named "Blinding Lights" one of the best songs of 2020: "The Weeknd's throwback synth-pop smash was so ubiquitous this year that you couldn't avoid hearing it even when you weren't going anywhere. One aspect that kept it from wearing out its welcome: a crisp tempo just a few ticks faster than you're always expecting."
| + !Publication !List !Rank ! | |||
| BBC News | The 7 Best Songs of 2020 | style="text-align:center;" | |
| Billboard | The 100 Best Songs of 2020 | 2 | |
| The 30 Best Pop Songs of 2020 | style="text-align:center;" | ||
| The Top Songs of All Time | 1 | ||
| Consequence of Sound | The Top 50 Songs of 2020 | 1 | |
| Entertainment.ie | The 10 Best Songs of 2020 | 7 | |
| Gaffa | The 20 Best Songs of 2020 | 1 | |
| The Guardian | The 20 Best Songs of 2020 | 6 | |
| The Houston Press | The Top 20 Songs of 2020 | 3 | |
| Los Angeles Times | The 50 Best Songs of 2020 | style="text-align:center;" | |
| The New York Times | Lindsay Zoladz's Best Songs of 2020 | 7 | |
| Pitchfork | The 100 Best Songs of 2020 | 23 | |
| Rolling Stone | The 50 Best Songs of 2020 | 4 | |
| Spin | The 30 Best Songs of 2020 | 6 | |
| Uproxx | The 50 Best Songs of 2020 | 37 | |
| Music Critics Poll: The Best Songs of The Year | 3 | ||
| USA Today | The 10 Best Songs of 2020 | 5 |
We understand that The Weeknd is disappointed at not being nominated. I was surprised and can empathize with what he's feeling. His music this year was excellent, and his contributions to the music community and broader world are worthy of everyone's admiration. We were thrilled when we found out he would be performing at the upcoming Super Bowl and we would have loved to have him also perform on the Grammy stage the weekend before. Unfortunately, every year, there are fewer nominations than the number of deserving artists. But as the only peer-voted music award, we will continue to recognize and celebrate excellence in music while shining a light on the many amazing artists that make up our global community. To be clear, voting in all categories ended well before The Weeknd's performance at the Super Bowl was announced, so in no way could it have affected the nomination process. All Grammy nominees are recognized by the voting body for their excellence, and we congratulate them all.
The Weeknd later made a statement addressing the infamous snub in January 2021, where he said that it felt like "an attack", saying "Look, I personally don't care anymore. I have three GRAMMYs, which mean nothing to me now, obviously...It's not like, 'Oh, I want the GRAMMY!' It's just that this happened, and I'm down to get in front of the fire, as long as it never happens again. I suck at giving speeches anyways. Forget awards shows."
| +Awards and nominations for "Blinding Lights" ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Awards ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" | |
| Favorite Song – Pop/Rock | |||||
| Camerimage | Best Music Video | ||||
| Best Cinematography in Music Video | |||||
| Danish Music Awards | International Hit of the Year | ||||
| LOS40 Music Awards | Best International Song | ||||
| Best International Video | |||||
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Song | ||||
| Best Video | |||||
| MTV Millennial Awards Brasil | Global Hit | ||||
| MTV Video Music Awards | Video of the Year | ||||
| Best Cinematography | |||||
| Best Direction | |||||
| Best Editing | |||||
| Best R&B | |||||
| Song of Summer | |||||
| MTV Video Music Awards Japan | Best Male Video – International | ||||
| NRJ Music Award | International Song of the Year | ||||
| Video of the Year | |||||
| E! People's Choice Awards | Music Video of the Year | ||||
| Rockbjörnen | International Song of the Year | ||||
| UK Music Video Awards | Best Pop Video – International | ||||
| Best Cinematography in a Video | |||||
| Best Colour Grading in a Video | |||||
| Best Live Video | |||||
| Variety's Hitmakers | Record of the Year | ||||
| Billboard Music Awards | Top Hot 100 Song | ||||
| Top Radio Song | |||||
| Top R&B Song | |||||
| Top Selling Song | |||||
| Top Streaming Song | |||||
| GAFFA Awards (Denmark) | International Hit of the Year | ||||
| GAFFA Awards (Sweden) | International Song of the Year | ||||
| iHeartRadio Music Awards | Song of the Year | ||||
| Titanium Song of the Year | |||||
| Best Music Video | |||||
| Best Lyrics | |||||
| TikTok Bop of the Year | |||||
| Juno Awards | Single of the Year | ||||
| Kids' Choice Awards | Best Song | ||||
| SOCAN Awards | Pop Music Award | ||||
| International Song Award | |||||
| Swiss Music Awards | Best International Hit | ||||
| TEC Awards | Outstanding Creative Achievement – Record Production/Single or Track |
"Blinding Lights" spent 57 weeks in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and 43 weeks in the top five, breaking the record for the most time logged in the region over the chart's 62-year history. On the Digital Songs chart, the song peaked at number one for the week of March 23, 2020, and became the Weeknd's fifth Digital Songs number one. The single reached a peak of number one on the Streaming Songs chart on March 30, becoming his first topper on the listing since "The Hills" led five years earlier. On April 13, the song reached number one on Pop Songs chart, where it led for 6 non-consecutive weeks, as it slid to number two on the Hot 100. It later rose back up to number one for the two following weeks. On May 18, the song became his first number one on the Adult Pop Songs chart, leading for 20 non-consecutive weeks. On November 7, "Blinding Lights" became his first number one on the Adult Contemporary chart, where it led for 35 non-consecutive weeks. "Blinding Lights" topped Radio Songs for a record-breaking 26 weeks, passing Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris", which held the record as the longest-running chart-topper for almost 22 years. "Blinding Lights" fell out of the Hot 100 for the week dated January 2, 2021, but it re-entered at number 3 the next week, breaking the three-way tie for the highest song to re-enter the Hot 100. Meanwhile, "Blinding Lights" tied for the most time totaled in the Hot 100's top three, 21 weeks, equaling the sums of The Chainsmokers' "Closer" and Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk".
For a short time during 2022, "Blinding Lights" was the longest running single in the history of the Hot 100 chart with a total of 90 weeks, surpassing Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive", which spent 87 weeks. In the process, the song also attained the longest chart run of any Hot 100 chart-topper in Billboard history, surpassing the 68-week run by LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" (2011–12). On November 23, 2021, the song surpassed "The Twist" (1960) as the number-one song of all time in Billboard Hot 100 history. On April 5, 2022, "Blinding Lights" was awarded a Diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling ten million units in the United States.
"Blinding Lights" also became producer Max Martin's 23rd Hot 100 number one single as a writer, 21st as producer, and his first in both credits since Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling!" (2016). Martin has the third-most as writer, behind Paul McCartney (32) and John Lennon (26), and the second-most as producer, behind George Martin (23). The Weeknd became the first artist to simultaneously lead Billboards five primary charts on March 30, topping the Hot 100, Billboard 200, Artist 100, Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers. The next week, he topped the Hot 100, Billboard 200 and Artist 100 once more, achieving the feat for a fourth time.
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 the Weeknd's second entry on the chart. It later rose to number one on the chart following the release of After Hours.
In the singer's native Canada, "Blinding Lights" debuted at number two on the Canadian Hot 100, one place higher than "Heartless". It later managed to reach number one after the release of its parent album on the issue dated April 4, 2020, becoming the Weeknd's fifth number-one single in the country. It spent seven weeks atop the chart, tying "Starboy" as his longest-running chart-topper. In May 2021, "Blinding Lights" dropped off the Canadian Hot 100 after 75 weeks on the chart, leaving it one week short of the all-time record set by "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas in 2010. For the first half of 2020, "Blinding Lights" was the top Canadian song overall, with 484,000 units. It has been certified Diamond by Music Canada for selling 800,000 units.
Elsewhere in Europe, the song topped the charts in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Switzerland. It also peaked within the top ten of the charts in Belarus, Hungary, Malta, North Macedonia, Russia, Romania, Spain, and Ukraine.
In Australia, it topped the ARIA Charts for eleven non-consecutive weeks. It is the sixth longest-running number-one of all-time in the country, tied with songs such as Spice Girls's "Wannabe", Drake's "God's Plan" and Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", as well the fifth longest by a foreign act. "Blinding Lights" has been certified 13× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for selling 910,000 units.
In New Zealand, the song topped the New Zealand Singles Chart for four non-consecutive weeks.
In Latin America, "Blinding Lights" topped the charts in Bolivia and Mexico. It also reached the top 10 in Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Puerto Rico and Uruguay, as well as the top 20 in Argentina, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru. It also charted in Brazil and Colombia, peaking at numbers 51 and 66 respectively.
"Blinding Lights" has also broken numerous records on streaming platform Spotify. It was the most-streamed song of 2020 on the platform with nearly 1.6 billion streams. On February 24, 2021, it became the first song by a Canadian artist and only the fourth song in history to pass two billion plays on the platform; it also broke the record for the fastest song to do so, in under 15 months. On June 15, 2022, it became the first song by a Canadian artist and only the second song in history to surpass three billion streams, and also broke the record for the fastest song to do so. On January 1, 2023, "Blinding Lights" overtook Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" to become the most streamed song of all time on the platform, with over 3.332 billion streams at the time. On January 12, 2024, it became the first song to pass the 4 billion stream mark on Spotify.
The roads were not completely shut down while filming for the street scenes so cars and pedestrians passing are seen in the video while the Weeknd dances in the street. Production was held up temporarily when somebody was arrested in the tunnel. The shooting required at least three vehicles driving through the nighttime streets. The Mercedes-AMG GT roadster was a specially equipped towed vehicle that allowed the Weeknd to act and lip-sync inside the moving convertible without needing to drive, and a chase SUV with a crane camera strapped to the top. Director of photography Oliver Millar said that he loves the music video format and talked about how intense it is to try and create iconic images during high-pressure shoots that don't last very long. He said that since the Weeknd's previous videos had a dark and gritty vibe, he used generators powering banks of LED lights and a Sony Venice full-frame digital motion picture camera system to try to re-create the look, ending up with the video's vintage, 1980s style.
The video follows the After Hours videos sequence, starting where the "Heartless" premise ended, and presents the Weeknd as a lonely and psychotic guy walking and driving with no destination around the streets in Las Vegas, and a passing resemblance to jazz musician Herbie Hancock, circa 1978's Sunlight. The singer sports the same garb as the previous video, adopted for the album promotion, with a red suit, specific hairstyle, mustache and sunglasses. The visual opens with the Weeknd laughing as blood drips down his face, then jumps back in time to show the mayhem that led to his gruesome end — the pop star speeding around a deserted city, dancing gleefully in the streets. The visual follows the events of the music video for "Heartless" and sees the Weeknd go on a hallucinated joyride after waking from a trance. It concludes with the Weeknd 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 bouncers, uncredited, who had forced him to go on the run. The video depicts the singer amid a story inspired by the films Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Joker, and Casino.
The song was performed on January 22, 2020, at Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The performance picked up right where the "Blinding Lights" visual left off, as the Weeknd remained in the red suit and his face was still bloodied with a bandage over his nose from the beatdown he vaguely remembered in the music video. He bounced around the stage for the lively performance, as thunderbolts and lightning strikes at his back filled the darkness in the venue. Appearing once again in a red suit, black gloves and bloody-faced with a bandage over his nose, he performed the single alongside "Scared to Live" on Saturday Night Live on March 7, 2020.
"Blinding Lights" received a special performance during The Weeknd Experience, an augmented reality, interactive livestream held on TikTok on August 7, 2020. It featured 3D visuals and several interactive components, including virtual back-up dancers appearing behind the Weeknd, who also traveled through hyperspace in a red convertible, surrounded by lasers in the virtual world. The Weeknd kicked off the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards with "Blinding Lights", described in advance as a "keyed-up, dazzling" showcase. He performed a rooftop version of his hit single from the observation deck at 30 Hudson Yards in Manhattan, New York City, complete with a background of fireworks.
The single was also performed live in the 2020 Time 100 primetime event and the Z100 Jingle Ball of 2020.
The Weeknd performed "Blinding Lights" as the closing track for the Super Bowl LV halftime show. On the field, he was surrounded by hundreds of the Weeknd-alike dancers. In the beginning, he moved with them in lock step, but as the song swelled, and the dancers began to swarm in odd patterns, the Weeknd moved in his own rhythm, holding the camera's gaze, alone amid the chaos.
Starting from October, both artists started to comment on each other's social media posts. In November, some insiders reported that a "Save Your Tears" remix featuring the Spanish singer would be released on the 20th. This, however, never happened. However, on December 1, another insider reported that a duet version of "Blinding Lights" would be released on December 4. Both artists shared a picture of them on set a couple hours prior to the single's release without specifying the project.
On September 12, 2020, The Weeknd released the audio for the instrumental for Blinding Lights along with its music video (which is a disoriented version of the originals music video) being released on October 29, 2020, exactly 11 months after the original single's release. As of September 28, 2023, the audio and music video have both accumulated over 5M views on YouTube alone.
Phoenix Recordings ended 2020 with a cover version of "Blinding Lights" remade by Dutch producer duo Leo van Goch and the Sixth Sense featuring the vocals of Georgia-based singer Sevda B, including a remix by Germany's Chris SX.
In January 2021 a bilingual Welsh and Irish version of Blinding Lights was released by Urdd Gobaith Cymru and TG Lurgan, "Golau'n Dallu/Dallta ag na Soilse". The project was hailed by First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford as a "symbol of the cultural ties that bind Ireland and Wales". In November 2021, Canadian-American supergroup Saint Asonia released a hard rock version of the song as a promotional single for their EP Introvert.
American rock band All Time Low released a pop punk cover on June 6, 2022.
German epic metal band Feuerschwanz covered the track on their 2023 album Tötsunden in an emotive performance.
In January 2025, American pop rock band Smash Mouth covered the track for Cleopatra Records' compilation album, Punk Rock Valentines. The band had received backlash for using AI to make the cover art.
| + Chart performance for "Blinding Lights (Country Version)"
! Chart (2024)
! Peak position |
| + 2025 monthly chart performance for "Blinding Lights" ! scope="col" | Chart (2025) ! scope="col" | Peak position |
| +All-time chart performance for "Blinding Lights" ! Chart ! Position |
| January 7, 2020 | Contemporary hit radio | |
| February 4, 2020 | Rhythmic contemporary | |
| December 4, 2020 | Rosalía remix |
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