Canadian singer-songwriter Abel Makkonen Tesfaye secured his position as one of the most celebrated music acts in history. The XO label head, better known as The Weeknd, added another accolade to his résumé.
Billboard announced The Weeknd’s single “Blinding Lights” earned the #1 spot on the publication’s Greatest Songs of All Time Hot 100 Chart. “Blinding Lights” surpassed Chubby Checker’s classic “The Twist” for the title.
The Weeknd set several Hot 100 records with “Blinding Lights.” The After Hours track is the leader for most weeks in the Top 5 (43), most weeks in the Top 10 (57) and most weeks in the Top 40 (86).
“Blinding Lights” spent four weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 chart in 2020. To commemorate the song’s success, Billboard partnered with Karvin Cheung’s The Infinite trading card company. The Infinite is launching a special trading card pack collection on shop.theweeknd.com.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to create trading cards for the music industry, especially cards celebrating some of the world’s most renowned artists,” said Karvin Cheung.
He added, “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with Billboard to highlight The Weeknd’s milestone, which will undoubtedly play a role in defining the future of music.”
Autograph Presents The Weeknd NFTs
Plus, a limited-edition NFT featuring The Weeknd will also be available. Those non-fungible tokens were created in partnership with Autograph, the brand co-founded by NFL legend Tom Brady.
“This collaboration highlights a momentous achievement and a very special moment in time for one of the most influential artists today,” stated Julian Holguin, President of Billboard.
Holguin continued, “We’re thrilled to celebrate that moment and translate the most quoted rankings in music to innovative, new formats. The digital trading cards and NFTs launched in partnership with Autograph will truly capture the excitement that ‘Blinding Lights’ inspires and allow fans to own a defining moment in music history.”