The Weeknd is off to a blinding start this year as Blinding Lights takes an early lead as the UK’s biggest song of 2020 so far, OfficialCharts.com can reveal.
The ‘80s-inspired track became the Canadian superstar’s first Number 1 on the Official UK Singles Chart in February and has notched up five weeks at the summit.
Blinding Lights has so far logged 698,000 chart sales including 75 million streams, according to Official Charts Company data, which combines physical, downloads and streaming equivalent sales. The single heads up his latest album After Hours, which last week debuted at Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart.
The Weeknd finishes ahead of global behemoth Dance Monkey by Tones & I (672,000 chart sales), which is still holding up strong in the Top 40 some six months after its first chart appearance.
Lewis Capaldi’s chart-topper Before You Go is the third biggest song of 2020 so far (581k), while viral smash The Box by Roddy Ricch places fourth (552k). The track became a global hit in February - including the UK, where it peaked at Number 2 - thanks to TikTok, where its squeaky intro was used in millions of comedy clips.
Stormzy’s Own It ft. Ed Sheeran and Burna Boy – the UK’s first Number 1 single of the year – rounds out the Top 5 (550k).
Other songs that have enjoyed viral success on TikTok that feature in the UK’s year-to-date chart include Say So by American singer/rapper Doja Cat (23), Falling by US singer Trevor Daniel (25), and Number 2 hit Ride It by Regard (27).
Elsewhere, Billie Eilish’s success continues to flourish in 2020, with three entries in the Top 40 of the year so far: Everything I Wanted in tenth, Bad Guy at 16, and Bond theme No Time To Die at 19. No Time To Die earned Billie her first UK chart-topper in February and had the biggest opening week for a Bond theme ever.
Other songs newly released in 2020 that are shaping up to be among the biggest of the year include dance hit Lonely by British DJ Joel Corry (22), Dua Lipa’s Physical (26), and Becky Hill’s Better Off Without You ft. Shift K3y (36).
