The Weeknd Archives - Page 4 of 53

The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” Becomes First Single to Stream Over 4 Billion Times on Spotify

January 16, 2024 by newhiphopnews

The Weeknd’s chart-topping anthem “Blinding Lights” continues to rewrite history as it surpasses its record and secures the title of the most-streamed song in Spotify’s history. With over four billion plays, the 80’s nostalgic track, known for its infectious beats and captivating melody, has not only dominated charts but has now etched its name in the annals of music streaming.

In February 2023, The Weeknd became the first artist on Spotify to amass a staggering 100 million monthly listeners. Fast forward to today, and he holds the coveted position as the platform’s number-one artist, commanding a massive audience of 113 million monthly listeners.

“I’ll never stop being humbled by anything I create making its way to millions of people let alone billions! I’m so thankful this song makes people feel a way that they keep going back to listen,” said Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye.

“Blinding Lights” has become an anthem for the ages, securing its place as the new No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 song of all time. The track’s monumental achievement surpasses Chubby Checker’s 1960 hit “The Twist,” solidifying The Weeknd’s legacy in the music industry.

As the Canadian artist continues to captivate global audiences with his unparalleled musical prowess, “Blinding Lights” is a testament to his ability to transcend time and make an indelible mark on the music landscape.

The post The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” Becomes First Single to Stream Over 4 Billion Times on Spotify first appeared on The Source.

The post The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” Becomes First Single to Stream Over 4 Billion Times on Spotify appeared first on The Source.

The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ Just Made Spotify History By Being The First Song To Cross An Unreal Streaming Milestone

January 11, 2024 by newhiphopnews

The Weeknd is an undisputed king of the streaming music era, as evidenced by the fact that “Blinding Lights” is the most-played song in Spotify history. Since its release in late 2019, the song has been racking up streams, and now, it has reached a height no song before it ever has: It’s the first song to ever reach 4 billion total streams on Spotify.

As of this post, Spotify currently shows “Blinding Lights” as having 3,999,046,181 streams, but some started reporting this afternoon (January 11) that the song had eclipsed 4 billion. Regardless, if it hasn’t hit 4 billion quite yet, it will any second now (perhaps by the time you read this) and become the first song to ever do so.

Currently, after “Blinding Lights” on the all-time Spotify list are Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” (3.74 billion streams), Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” (3.15 billion), Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower” (3.1 billion), and Tones And I’s “Dance Monkey” (2.97 billion). Just outside the top 5 is The Weeknd and Daft Punk’s “Starboy” at 2.95 billion plays.

The last song to break this sort of ground was “Shape Of You.” It used to be Spotify’s most-streamed track ever, and in December 2021, it became the first song to hit 3 billion plays on the platform. At the time, “Blinding Lights” was second on the all-time list, but it rose to No. 1 in January 2023.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Weeknd Teams with School on Wheels to Support Over 1,000 Students Experiencing Homelessness in L.A.

January 10, 2024 by newhiphopnews

The Weeknd Announces Upcoming Pandemic, BLM-Inspired Album

Global music sensation Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye has significantly contributed to the Los Angeles-based organization School on Wheels, aiming to support over 1,000 students facing homelessness from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The primary mission of School on Wheels is to enhance educational opportunities for some of the most disadvantaged children in the city.

The Weeknd’s substantial donation will bolster crucial programs. This includes supporting the School on Wheels’ Literacy Program, providing in-person tutoring and essential tools for students aged 5-8, and aiding them in learning to read and write.

Additionally, the contribution will assist students living in homeless situations to graduate high school in 2024, addressing the challenge of only 68% of unhoused students typically completing high school.

Moreover, the donation will provide laptops, Chromebooks, internet access, and software for hundreds of students experiencing homelessness. This aims to bridge the digital divide exacerbated by the pandemic-induced shift to online learning. The software, including Renaissance Star Assessments, MyOn, and Freckle, will help assess students and offer adaptive learning based on their educational gaps.

The Weeknd’s generous gesture aligns with his commitment to social impact and provides hope for disadvantaged students striving for a brighter educational future. To learn more about School on Wheels and its mission, visit www.SchoolonWheels.org.

The post The Weeknd Teams with School on Wheels to Support Over 1,000 Students Experiencing Homelessness in L.A. first appeared on The Source.

The post The Weeknd Teams with School on Wheels to Support Over 1,000 Students Experiencing Homelessness in L.A. appeared first on The Source.

Will The Weeknd Drop A New Album In 2024?

January 8, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Last year, The Weeknd’s acting career was temporarily cut short when Max canceled The Idol. Surely that means the“False Idols” singer has more time for music. Will The Weeknd drop a new album in 2024?

According to a recent post online, it appears that so. On January 7, The Weeknd took to his official X (formerly Twitter) page to tease his next album. In a gallery shared to his account, The Weeknd uploaded the covers of his 2020 album, After Hours, and 2022’s Dawn FM. The last image in the gallery was a blank black canvas marked by a question mark.

3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/ln3V0f6H50

— Abel Tesfaye (@theweeknd) January 7, 2024

The Weeknd didn’t provide any further information, but the post’s caption “three” signaled that whatever he is secretly cooking up will close out the chapter of his career. He first teased the album during an interview with Variety in June.

“I’m finishing the third part of this saga, of this trilogy,” he said. “The name of it will come out soon, but it’s not called what some fans think it’s called… what they think it’s called is actually a song on the album, but that’s not what the actual album is called [some fans speculated that it would be titled ‘After Life’]. So I’m just gonna say that.”

The Weeknd has not revealed when the unnamed project is set to hit streaming services.

The Weeknd Vaguely Teases New Album

January 8, 2024 by newhiphopnews

The Weeknd needs no introduction at this point in his storied career. Canada’s own has done it all and he is a true global icon. A lot of music die-hards saw the potential in him after he came through with his debut project House of Balloons, in 2011. He then turned it into a trilogy with Thursday and Echoes Of Silence. Nine years later, The Weeknd would begin his second series with After Hours. The dark R&B tracks paired with the 80s pop hits, saw him hint at the direction he would eventually take a full dive into with Dawn FM.

While it did not feature global hits, it was The Weeknd’s most consistent project to date. There are just solid tracks throughout like “Gasoline,” “Sacrifice,” “Take My Breath,” “Out of Time,” and so many others. That 2022 release just turned two yesterday, January 7. That would also be the day that Abel decided to announce the third album in this series.

The Weeknd Sends Fans Into A Frenzy

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A post shared by Abel Tesfaye (@theweeknd)

He did so on his social media accounts with the caption, “3️⃣.” The Weeknd shared the After Hours and Dawn FM covers, with the third image showing only a question mark. Of course, this got his world-wide fanbase juiced. One person says, “I’m sobbing.” Another goes, “Crying and screaming!! Drop it babyyy XO.” So far, this is all we know about the tape, but let us just say we are just as excited as everyone else.

What are your initial thoughts on this brand-new announcement from The Weeknd about his new album? When do you think he will complete this trilogy? Do you think he will continue to stay within the 80’s pop lane? Or, will he revert to his contemporary R&B sound? What direction do you want to see him go? Out of the two albums in this series, which one do you like more? We would like to hear what you have to say about all of this. With that in mind, be sure to leave all of your hottest takes in the comments section below. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding The Weeknd. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on around the music world.

The post The Weeknd Vaguely Teases New Album appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

The Weeknd’s Movie, With Jenna Ortega And Barry Keoghan, Will Reportedly Premiere This Year

January 3, 2024 by newhiphopnews

The Weeknd‘s new movie — starring Jenna Ortega, Barry Keoghan, and himself — will be released later this year, according to a report from HotNewHipHop. An update on the movie’s IMDB page shows that The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, will also be a co-writer, along with director Trey Edward Shults and Reza Fahim.

Not a whole lot is known about the upcoming movie, like a plot or even a title, but the film marks Shults’ first since 2019’s Waves.

The movie was first announced last year via Deadline, with Shults and Ortega tapped as executive producers.

This will mark The Weeknd’s first starring role as a character, after briefly playing a fictional version of himself in 2019’s Uncut Gems. Last year, he also starred as a club owner and cult leader named Tedros in HBO’s controversial series, The Idol.

While The Weeknd’s acting has left fans divided, viewers can likely look forward to seeing him in more projects. In an interview with W Magazine, he shared that his upcoming album will likely be his last under the stage name.

“I’m going through a cathartic path right now,” he said. “It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter. I’ll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill the Weeknd. And I will. Eventually. I’m definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn.”

Is The Weeknd’s ‘Trust Issues (Remix)’ On Streaming Services?

December 19, 2023 by newhiphopnews

This is the time of year when most artists starting winding down, taking the final days of the year off before looking forward to January and beyond. The Weeknd fans got a dose of excitement yesterday (December 18), though, when a new song popped up on The Weeknd’s Spotify artist page.

Is The Weeknd’s “Trust Issues” on streaming services?

Yesterday, “Trust Issues” made it onto Spotify, as HotNewHipHop notes. It’s a track fans know well, as it originally surfaced online back in 2011. The song is The Weeknd’s take on Drake’s “Trust Issues,” but with modified lyrics, so it’s sort of a cover and sort of a remix (the original upload was titled “Trust Issues (Remix).”

As soon as the song hit Spotify, some fans knew something was amiss. One listener who checked out the song’s credits tweeted, “This will be gone very fast, it looks like someone did that and it’s not approved by himself or the Label. – Label is called weeknd – No writer and producer – It would be called Trust Issues (Remix) – It would be out on other platforms.”

Indeed, it turns out the upload was not legitimate: The Weeknd retweeted a tweet that reads, “‘Trust Issues’ is NOT an official release! The Weeknd’s Spotify account was hacked and the hacker released the song ‘Trust Issues’.”

The song is no longer available on Spotify, or any other streaming platform in an official capacity, as of this post.

“Trust Issues”: The Weeknd Confirms Song Release Was A Spotify Hack

December 18, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Thanks to Drake helping put Toronto on the map, the city has since brought forth plenty of musical talent. Tory Lanez, Daniel Caesar, and Roy Woods immediately come to mind, as well as Abel Tesfaye – better known as The Weeknd. The Starboy singer has been putting in work at the studio for well over a decade now, and even recently revealed that he’s retiring from doing features unless his favourite group gets back together. His sound has always been progressive and experimental, and thanks to Scorpionic influences in his birth chart, Tesfaye is near constantly shedding old skins in favour of rebirthing new eras of himself.

Even with all the boundaries he’s helping to push, The Weeknd still loves the occasional cover. Before climbing the charts to reach the level of superstardom he’s at now, the Uncut Gems actor went viral for putting a unique spin on Drizzy’s “Trust Issues.” It’s been over 12 years since the track first surfaced online, and today (December 18), it finally appeared on Tesfaye’s Spotify profile. While fans were excited to see the beloved single available for listening, we now know it wasn’t the 33-year-old’s intention to release it.

The Weeknd Retweets Post About “Trust Issues” Drop Being Illegitimate

A tweet from @dawnfm103_5 was reposted by Abel this afternoon, noting that his streaming account was compromised. “‘Trust Issues’ is NOT an official release!” they wrote. “The Weeknd’s Spotify account was hacked and the hacker released the song ‘Trust Issues’” they reiterated. At the time of publication, the Drake cover is no longer on Spotify, though you can still find it elsewhere online.

Even without “Trust Issues” being available on DSPs, it was an impressive year for The Weeknd. His listeners helped to rack up over 12 billion streams on Spotify alone, with even more coming in thanks to others like Apple Music and YouTube. Read more about what else the Canadian vocalist achieved in 2023 at the link below, and check back later for more hip-hop/pop culture news updates.

[Via]

The post “Trust Issues”: The Weeknd Confirms Song Release Was A Spotify Hack appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

The Weeknd Finally Drops “Trust Issues” On Spotify 12 Years After Original Release

December 18, 2023 by newhiphopnews

It seems like Fortnite wasn’t all that The Weeknd had to unveil these past few weeks… or is this just a ruse? Moreover, fans expressed joy on social media when his 12-year-old fan-favorite track “Trust Issues,” a remix of the Drake song of the same name, appeared on his profile on Spotify. However, given that it didn’t appear on Apple Music or his other release pages, the simple cover art, and the label being listed as just “weeknd,” we’d bet that this is one of those hacked releases that sometimes pop up for popular artists. Also, the record starts abruptly on Spotify, so all signs lead to an unofficial release.

Still, we’ll celebrate it while it lasts, so go add “Trust Issues” to your playlist and enjoy the moment like the rest of us. Just take it with that extra grain of salt as you indulge in The Weeknd’s drowsy, dramatic, and slow-burning re-imagining of Drizzy’s original. The stark trap drums present here pair up with some cavernous kicks and claps to give the percussion a little more percussion. Also, we can’t talk about this cut without mentioning the sultry guitars that edge it out throughout various points of its runtime. Even if this isn’t an official release, Abel Tesfaye’s shoutout of Playboi Carti’s next album means that there might be new music on the way.

The Weeknd’s “Trust Issues” Stream

Meanwhile, the Canadian superstar is busy these days funding the provision of millions of meals to Gaza and dealing with some tour date postponements in Australia and New Zealand. Even as The Weeknd is one of the most dominant artists right now, his early work is a treat to revisit. If you want to catch “Trust Issues” on Spotify before it presumably gets taken down, you’d better act fast. You can still discover or revisit the track on YouTube above and check out some notable lines down below. As always, check back in with HNHH for the latest great music releases around the clock… and hopefully the next one is for real.

Quotable Lyrics
All she cares about is money and the city where she’s from,
Her intention is the paper, she don’t need no f***ing love
She spilling all this liquor, trying to pass me all these cups
Well, babygirl, I’m zoning, somebody should’ve told her

The post The Weeknd Finally Drops “Trust Issues” On Spotify 12 Years After Original Release appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Playboi Carti Shouts Out The Weeknd For Promoting His Rollout: “U Got Family”

December 9, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Playboi Carti’s album rollout is fully underway, and that means he’s more online, grateful, and excited than ever. Moreover, he’s shared a lot of people shouting him out on social media, whether it be fellow artists, fans, industry folks, and the like. The latest to promote the “Pull Up” rapper’s new material is The Weeknd, who shared Carti’s new song and music video on his Instagram Story. Whatever I AM MUSIC ends up being (most likely an album), the culture is incredibly excited for it. He also shared reactions and promotions from Travis Scott, Ken Carson, NAV, and more, and even shared an unanswered DM to Frank Ocean about when he’s going to drop.

“You don’t need promotion when u got family 00X0,” Playboi Carti wrote when reposting Abel Tesfaye’s shout-out of this new song. Furthermore, this is a new snippet entirely, and is not the one that he shared just hours before that is a bit more aggressive. Rather, this track is a more woozy and dark offering from the Atlanta rage pioneer, with a delivery more akin to his more measured moments on Whole Lotta Red, which is most of what defined Die Lit. As such, we already have various things pointing us in the direction of various past aesthetics of his that he will probably develop even further.

Playboi Carti & The Weeknd Shout Each Other Out As “Family”

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A post shared by Our Generation Music (@ourgenerationmusic)

With this frenetic and unexpectedly consistent online activity in mind, we’re sure that Playboi Carti will have more for us as the wait for his next album draws on. So far, it’s proved to be a successful experiment, especially paired with other unbelievable musical miracles like a Frank Ocean snippet that came out around the same time. Is it possible that these two notoriously offline, mystique-shrouded, and tease-heavy artists coordinated to address their absence at the same time? It’s possible, but that also might just be the head-canon talking, even though that picture of their DMs surely made many people’s hearts skip a beat.

Regardless, what do you think of this new song and how fellow music superstars have promoted it? Are you looking forward to this new January release or was the wait too long for you to keep any hype? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below. Also, stay posted on HNHH for the latest news and updates on Playboi Carti and The Weeknd.

The post Playboi Carti Shouts Out The Weeknd For Promoting His Rollout: “U Got Family” appeared first on HotNewHipHop.