The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” tops Billboard’s Greatest Songs of All Time Hot 100 Chart, it was announced Tuesday.
The track, released two years ago this month, knocks Chubby Checker’s signature hit “The Twist” out of the No. 1 spot after a 14-year reign.
The chart is based on total weeks on the Hot 100 – which ranks singles based on U.S. sales, streams and radio airplay – and how well a song performed on the chart.
In 2008, Billboard crowned Checker’s cover of “The Twist,” released in 1960, as the title holder. On the 80-year-old’s website, the song is described as “Billboard’s First #1 Song of All Time until 2065…”
The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” topped the Hot 100 for four weeks in 2020 and went on to break records – most weeks in the Top 5 (43), in the Top 10 (57) and in the Top 40 (86). The track finally fell off the chart this past September after 90 weeks.
“I don’t think [the success of ‘Blinding Lights’] has hit me yet,” The Weeknd, 31, told Billboard. “I try not to dwell on it too much. I just count my blessings, and I’m just grateful.”
CANADIAN ARTISTS ON THE GREATEST SONGS OF ALL TIME HOT 100
No. 23 – “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” by Bryan Adams
No. 37 – “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber
No. 51 – “How You Remind Me” by Nickelback
No. 56 – “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen
No. 83 – “God’s Plan” by Drake
No. 90 – "Sugar Sugar" by The Archies (includes vocals by Andy Kim, who co-wrote the song)
No. 94 – “You’re Still the One" by Shania Twain
The Toronto-born singer co-wrote “Blinding Lights” with Ottawa’s Ahmad Balshe (aka Belly) and Toronto’s Jason Quenneville (aka DaHeala) as well as Swedish hitmakers Max Martin and Oscar Holter.
“Blinding Lights,” which premiered in a Mercedes commercial starring The Weeknd, was the second single from his 2019 album After Hours.