R&B/Hip-Hop

What sonic characteristics led to The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” claiming the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century chart?
In 2021, Hit Songs Deconstructed, which provides in-depth analysis of Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits, held its Max Martin Deconstructed Masterclass, led by Hit Songs Deconstructed co-founder Dave Penn. Martin co-wrote and co-produced “Blinding Lights” (with The Weeknd, among others), which contributed to his 27 No. 1s as a writer and record 25 leaders as a producer.

“Blinding Lights” led (LED?) the Hot 100 for four weeks in 2020, logged a record 57-week in the top 10 and charted for a dazzling 90 weeks total.

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Class is in session again (spit out your gum): Here’s a reprinted rundown, according to Penn’s insights as presented in 2021, of the songwriting and production elements and more that helped “Blinding Lights” beam brighter than any other song on the Hot 100 over the first 25 years of the century.

David Penn of Hit Songs Deconstructed: “Like most hits, ‘Blinding Lights’ features a meticulous combination of the typical and the atypical, which helps the song sound familiar to people while still standing out from the pack. But when it comes to this song, it’s really the writing and production team’s stellar arrangement techniques, along with Max Martin’s melodic genius, that make it such an interesting and captivating hit.

“For instance, its 28-second intro is almost unheard of currently; the average [intro on a] Hot 100 top 10 in 2020 was just 13 seconds. So, it really comes down to the way that the ‘Blinding Lights’ team arranged the intro to keep the listener engaged, all while establishing many key aspects of the song, including its atypical instrumental hook; most hooks in today’s hits are vocal.

“Another atypical quality is its, what I call, disappearing chorus. While many top 10 hits give the listener more chorus as a song progresses, the ‘Blinding Lights’ creators actually shorten the chorus as the song progresses. Like with everything else, there is purpose behind this. In this case, it makes the listener long to hear that full chorus again and return for another listen.

“Also, the song’s 1980s-influenced production qualities, a la ‘Take On Me’ by a-ha, come across as new and fresh to younger audiences while creating a sense of nostalgia for older audiences, which ultimately broadens the song’s reach across demographics.

“But perhaps the song’s most notable quality is the expert use of motifs and hook foreshadowing techniques that take its catchiness and memorability to the next level, whether the listener realizes it or not. This is a hallmark of Max Martin’s melody writing throughout his career. For example, the synth hook in the intro melodically foreshadows lines two and four of the chorus vocal melody. And the verse that follows rhythmically foreshadows lines one and three of the chorus.

“So, by the time listeners arrive at the first chorus, they’re already familiar with the entire melody, which makes it that much easier for them to sing along and remember it. And this goes on throughout the entire song; almost every line relates to some other line in the song, which gets it ingrained in the listener’s head without ever becoming monotonous.

“Along with promotional factors, these are just of a few of the many qualities that helped ‘Blinding Lights’ achieve its mass success.”

Browse Billboard’s Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century chart, Top Artists of the 21st Century chart and Top Billboard 200 Albums of the 21st Century chart, as well as all coverage of Billboard’s 21st Century charts here.

Billboard’s Top Artists, Top Billboard 200 Albums and Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century recaps reflect performance on weekly charts dated Jan. 1, 2000, through Dec. 28, 2024. The Top Artists category ranks the best-performing acts in that span based on activity on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100. (Titles released prior to mid-1999 are excluded, although such entries that appeared on the Billboard 200 or Hot 100 in that span contribute to the calculation of the Top Artists chart.)