THE WEEKND
BLINDING LIGHTS
«Blinding Lights» is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on November 29, 2019, through XO and Republic Records, as the second single from his fourth studio album, After Hours (2020). The song was written and produced by the Weeknd alongside Swedish musicians Max Martin and Oscar Holter, with fellow Canadian musicians Belly and DaHeala receiving additional writing credits. The song was met with widespread universal acclaim.
The Weeknd’s most successful single worldwide to date, «Blinding Lights» was the best-performing global single of 2020, earning 2.72 billion subscription stream equivalents globally, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).[15] It was also the 8th best-performing global single of 2021 with 1.61 billion subscription stream equivalents.
Track information
- Released November 29, 2019
- Genre Synthwave[1]synth-pop, electropop
- Label
XORepublic - Songwriter(s)
Abel TesfayeAhmad BalsheJeffrey LuuMax MartinOscar Holter
Background and promotion
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.»
Lyrics and composition
Throughout the song, the Weeknd sings about the rekindling of a relationship and the importance of his partner. The singer also mentions the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, where he refers to it by its nickname «Sin City» in the pre-chorus. The Weeknd gave a little insight into what his hit is about. «‘Blinding Lights’ [is about] how you want to see someone at night, and you’re intoxicated, and you’re driving to this person and you’re just blinded by streetlights,» he explains in the profile. «But nothing could stop you from trying to go see that person, because you’re so lonely. I don’t want to ever promote drunk driving, but that’s what the dark undertone is.
The song is written in the key of F Dorian with a tempo of 171 beats per minute. The Weeknd’s vocal range spans from the low note of F3 to the high note of C5. 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 back to Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’. The amphetamine synth 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».
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.
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The Weeknd
He calls himself The Weeknd because he dropped out of high school and left home when he was 17 years old. He and his friend (Lamar) just left one weekend and didn’t look back! That’s when he tried “The Weeknd” out as a stage name because he didn’t like his real name at the time and he had to drop the E because there was already a Canadian band going by The Weekend.
MORE FACTS ABOUT THE WEEKND
DID YOU KNOW THAT?
This up-tempo electropop track finds The Weeknd recounting how his lover lights up his life.
«I said, ooh, I’m blinded by the lights»
«No, I can’t sleep until I feel your touch»
The singer is not at peace unless he is in the company of his lady.
So who is the lady The Weekend is speaking of? It is likely the singer is addressing his on-off-on girlfriend, Bella Hadid. The clue is in the song’s bridge where Abel tells the girl he «will never let her go this time.»
After breaking up with Hadid in November 2016, The Weeknd dated Selena Gomez for nine months before reuniting with the model in 2019. Having lost Bella for a while, it seems he now realizes he is only emotionally completed when he’s with her. Abel is determined to keep their relationship going this time.
