The Weeknd is officially the Guinness Book of World Records holder as the most popular artist on the planet
It’s official! The Weeknd is the most popular artist in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
The 33-year-old Canadian, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, set two new Guinness World Records, most monthly listeners on Spotify at 111.4 million and he’s also the first artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
And that’s not all. The Weeknd’s 2020 track Blinding Lights is the most streamed track on Spotify of all time, with more than 3.47 billion listens as of Monday.
Blinding Lights is also the longest charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 of all time with a total of 90 weeks on the chart – despite the fact the Grammys snubbed the song.
Impressively, no one even comes close to The Weeknd’s streaming success.
Shakira is closest with 81.6 million listeners, followed by Ariana Grande with 80.6 million listeners, Taylor Swift with 80.2 million listeners and Rihanna with 78.5 million listeners.
Record holder: It’s official! The Weeknd is the most popular artist in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records
Acheivments: He has most monthly listeners on Spotify at 111.4 million and he’s also the first artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify
The Toronto native’s closest male challenger is Ed Sheeran with 77.5 million monthly listeners.
The Weeknd’s two new world records come after the enormous success of his latest single, the remix of Die For You with Ariana Grande.
The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the seventh number-one hit for both The Weeknd and Grande.
Die For You was originally released on the rapper’s 2016 album Starboy.
It is also the fourth collab between Grande and The Weeknd, following 2014’s Love Me Harder, 2020’s Off the Table and the 2021 remix of Save Your Tears.
Starboy is the third of The Weeknd’s albums to have multiple number one singles after 2015’s Beauty Behind the Madness and 2020’s After Hours.
The Weeknd is in good company with this achievement as Michael Jackson is the only other solo male artist to have multiple number one hits off three albums.
And these aren’t the only Guinness World Records the rapper has. In 2016 he was awarded one for the Most Streamed Album of 2015 and also for the Most Consecutive Weeks in the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 10 by a solo male artist.
Hit song: The Weeknd’s two new world records come after the enormous success of his latest single, the remix of Die For You with Ariana Grande
Not even close: The Toronto native’s closest male challenger is Ed Sheeran with 77.5 million monthly listeners
The Blinding Lights singer has also settled the lawsuit brought against him by Suniel Fox and Henry Strange, who perform together as Epikker, over his 2018 hit Call Out My Name.
The two musicians alleged that The Weeknd’s ‘lead guitar and vocal hooks’ were similar to their song Vibeking, according to The Guardian.
Moreso, the musicians had proof that The Weeknd was aware of the song Vibeking as they sent it to the Canadian rapper’s frequent collaborator Eric White.
White allegedly replied saying that the Save Your Tears rapper thought the song was ‘fire,’ before telling Fox and Strange that The Weeknd, 33, ‘listened and liked’ Vibeking, and that he was going to tell the rapper he and his team had come up with the beat.
‘Just don’t wanna say “hey, Strange wrote this’ when he doesn’t know u,’ part of the email reportedly read.
Fox and Strange claim they were never asked for permission to use parts of their original song, nor were they given credit.
Call Out My Name is one of The Weeknd’s most successful songs, having peaked at No 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and at No 7 on the UK singles chart.
Attorneys for Fox and Strange requested that the case be dismissed, citing the fact that they’d reached a settlement with The Weeknd and were ‘still in the process of formalizing, executing, and consummating’ the deal.
Blinding stats: The Weeknd’s 2020 track Blinding Lights is the most streamed track on Spotify of all time, with more than 3.47 billion listens as of Monday
Grammy snub: Blinding Lights is also the longest charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 of all time with a total of 90 weeks on the chart – and the Grammys snubbed the song
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