The Weeknd set a new music record and took to social media to celebrate his career milestone. The “Earned It” vocalist recently made history with his chart-topping record “Blinding Lights.” Released on Nov. 19, 2019, the track recently surpassed Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive,” to become the longest-charting song in Billboard 100 history with 88 weeks on the board. It is also the first, and the only, song to spend a year in the Hot 100 Top 10 according to the music outlet.
The 31-year-old celebrated the achievement with an Instagram post, showing gratitude for his talent and his fans.
“Forever grateful to be able to experiment with sounds, try new things with my voice and create music with the people I truly love and respect,” he wrote on Instagram. “For the last decade, every song has been a journey and to be able to continue this journey has been nothing short of a blessing.”
The caption continued, “It’s the only gift I could ever ask for. I’ll be doing it for as long as I can breathe. I love my fans and wouldn’t be here without you. Big day for blinding lights. Multiple songs in the top 20. Thursday turns 10. Caesar turned 4 and the f**king dawn is coming. LET’S GO.”
The Weeknd began to prepare fans for his next chapter during the 2021 Billboard Music Awards where he took home 10 microphone trophies. According to Billboard, he announced “the dawn is coming” when accepting the award for Top Hot 100 Song award for “Blinding Lights.” The “Star Boy” singer also took home awards for the following categories: Top Male Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Radio Songs Artist, Top R&B Artist, Top R&B Male Artist, Top R&B Album, Top Radio Song, and Top R&B Song.
“Blinding Lights” was featured on the Toronto-bred singer’s album After Hours, which was released on March 20, 2020, and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. When the album was released, every song charted on the Hot 100. With the success of the double-platinum album, The Weeknd announced he would be taking one of the world’s biggest stages as the half-time performer for Super Bowl LV.
As an artist committed to the art, which includes getting into character, the singer, born Abel Tesfaye, revealed there is a difference between his on-stage and off-stage selves. In a recent interview, The Weeknd opened up about the distinction between the performer and the person.
“The lines were blurry at the beginning,” he shared. “And as my career developed—as I developed as a man—it’s become very clear that Abel is someone I go home to every night. And The Weeknd is someone I go to work as.”
He continued, “Abel can be badass sometimes, man. But I guess The Weeknd is Hyde. Abel is Dr. Jekyll.”
On Aug. 6, he dropped “Take My Breath” the first release post After Hours not tied to the chart-topping album. The track finds The Weeknd’s delicate vocals against nostalgic 1980s beats and synths. Directed by Cliqua, the accompanying music video features the artist being choked, dragged, and dominated by stunt actor Shaina West using her extended braid ponytail.
Watch the video for “Take My Breath” below:
*****EPILEPSY WARNING ********