(AllHipHop News) It has been a huge week for Canadian sensation Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye. Over the last four days, the XO record label founder scored his fourth #1 album (After Hours) and his fifth #1 single (“Blinding Lights”).
The Weeknd does not just lead the Billboard 200 chart and Hot 100 chart. He also sits at #1 on the current Artist 100 chart, Hot 100 Songwriters chart, and the Hot Producers chart.
The R&B/Pop megastar is the first act to hold the #1 spot on those five rankings at the same time. Abel spoke to Billboard about making music history this week.
“It feels like a huge blessing. As artists, being recognized for what we do is the ultimate validation. I share this honor with my team and my fans who have been tirelessly supporting me,” said The Weeknd.
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After Hours arrived as the world was dealing with the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Besides the medical, economic, and social hardships caused by the situation, there have also been reports that music streaming numbers actually decreased in the United States over the last few weeks.
“It’s very bizarre. At first, I felt like it might have been insensitive to release it, but to my fans, I felt like I would have been doing a disservice to push it back,” said The Weeknd about promoting his album during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The three-time Grammy winner continued, “Hopefully it can help some people escape our reality, if only for an hour out of their day, while we all work hard to get through this together.”