The Weeknd - "Blinding Lights"

[deepston]

Jan 18, 2020 11:23:47 GMT -5 SwiftlySheeran said:

Can we all agree that they only gave Heartless the main push was to say that they got back to back number 1 hits (If Blinding Lights ever gets that far)?

I mean, come on, did they really think Heartless was the better song of the two? We all knew from the start Blinding Lights was the smash.

The only difference is we knew this song could stand on its own in terms of gaining ground. If this was pushed super hard in its first week and Heartless was secondary, I don't even know if Heartless would have hit top 10.

Kind of genius if this was in fact what they were doing. Hats off to them.

That definitely wasn't his intention.
A huge hit is better than 2 moderate-performing songs. Also, there wasn't literally any indication "Blinding Lights" was going to perform better than "Heartless" and he certainly didn't believe so as well because of the amount of push that song got compared to BL. And if you push songs that radio-listeners aren't all that interested in, radio will start burning on you and might not play your following songs even if they are good.
There isn't any advantage of having a #1 hit if it tanked the following week all the way down to #17 and doesn't show any signs of recovery. In fact, it makes you look bad 

[SwiftlySheeran]

Jan 18, 2020 12:38:52 GMT -5 deepston said:

Jan 18, 2020 11:23:47 GMT -5 SwiftlySheeran said:

Can we all agree that they only gave Heartless the main push was to say that they got back to back number 1 hits (If Blinding Lights ever gets that far)?

I mean, come on, did they really think Heartless was the better song of the two? We all knew from the start Blinding Lights was the smash.

The only difference is we knew this song could stand on its own in terms of gaining ground. If this was pushed super hard in its first week and Heartless was secondary, I don't even know if Heartless would have hit top 10.

Kind of genius if this was in fact what they were doing. Hats off to them.

That definitely wasn't his intention.
A huge hit is better than 2 moderate-performing songs. Also, there wasn't literally any indication "Blinding Lights" was going to perform better than "Heartless" and he certainly didn't believe so as well because of the amount of push that song got compared to BL. And if you push songs that radio-listeners aren't all that interested in, radio will start burning on you and might not play your following songs even if they are good.
There isn't any advantage of having a #1 hit if it tanked the following week all the way down to #17 and doesn't show any signs of recovery. In fact, it makes you look bad 

In hind sight, yes you are 100% correct.

Despite the fact that my quote was meant to be taken facetiously, I get what you mean that one big smash is better than two okay songs because the smash still proves you have the star power that both fans and your label clamor for.

Yet, I would be amiss not to mention the fact that this could have worked out perfectly for them. It is entirely possible that they thought Blinding Lights was slightly better and that even though they believed in Hearltess, they may have thought it needed the extra push to be a consistent, strong charter.

In other words, they may have thought about this in a sense that Heartless can get its number 1 AND still hang around to remain a top ten smash. From there, Blinding Lights would remain in their back pocket to execute another possible number 1.

Granted, I am giving their label too much credit in this complicated thought process, hence why my entire quote was facetious.

But yes, you are totally on point in your notion that one smash is better than two moderate.

[degen]

Jan 18, 2020 12:32:29 GMT -5 Choco said:

but what if the album is full of "Heartless" and my dear melancholy,-like stuff 💀💀💀

I think a happy middle would be nice. Some would argue BBTM was too dark, and Starboy was too pop/upbeat. If he delivered a happy medium of those 2 albums, I would be happy.

[deepston]

Jan 18, 2020 13:34:38 GMT -5 SwiftlySheeran said:

Jan 18, 2020 12:38:52 GMT -5 deepston said:

That definitely wasn't his intention.
A huge hit is better than 2 moderate-performing songs. Also, there wasn't literally any indication "Blinding Lights" was going to perform better than "Heartless" and he certainly didn't believe so as well because of the amount of push that song got compared to BL. And if you push songs that radio-listeners aren't all that interested in, radio will start burning on you and might not play your following songs even if they are good.
There isn't any advantage of having a #1 hit if it tanked the following week all the way down to #17 and doesn't show any signs of recovery. In fact, it makes you look bad 

In hind sight, yes you are 100% correct.

Despite the fact that my quote was meant to be taken facetiously, I get what you mean that one big smash is better than two okay songs because the smash still proves you have the star power that both fans and your label clamor for.

Yet, I would be amiss not to mention the fact that this could have worked out perfectly for them. It is entirely possible that they thought Blinding Lights was slightly better and that even though they believed in Hearltess, they may have thought it needed the extra push to be a consistent, strong charter.

In other words, they may have thought about this in a sense that Heartless can get its number 1 AND still hang around to remain a top ten smash. From there, Blinding Lights would remain in their back pocket to execute another possible number 1.

Granted, I am giving their label too much credit in this complicated thought process, hence why my entire quote was facetious.

But yes, you are totally on point in your notion that one smash is better than two moderate.

I see what you are saying though! I don't think it was their intention to do this but yeah, it could have worked perfectly if Heartless actually smashed after it went #1.

[degen]

Jan 18, 2020 12:38:52 GMT -5 deepston said:

Jan 18, 2020 11:23:47 GMT -5 SwiftlySheeran said:

Can we all agree that they only gave Heartless the main push was to say that they got back to back number 1 hits (If Blinding Lights ever gets that far)?

I mean, come on, did they really think Heartless was the better song of the two? We all knew from the start Blinding Lights was the smash.

The only difference is we knew this song could stand on its own in terms of gaining ground. If this was pushed super hard in its first week and Heartless was secondary, I don't even know if Heartless would have hit top 10.

Kind of genius if this was in fact what they were doing. Hats off to them.

That definitely wasn't his intention.
A huge hit is better than 2 moderate-performing songs. Also, there wasn't literally any indication "Blinding Lights" was going to perform better than "Heartless" and he certainly didn't believe so as well because of the amount of push that song got compared to BL. And if you push songs that radio-listeners aren't all that interested in, radio will start burning on you and might not play your following songs even if they are good.
There isn't any advantage of having a #1 hit if it tanked the following week all the way down to #17 and doesn't show any signs of recovery. In fact, it makes you look bad 

“Heartless” has recovered though and turned into a multi format smash. To its credit, i think it only took a tumble because of the holiday songs/timing. His label most definitely knew come January that both songs would see a resurgence. I think their strategy worked. He will most likely have 2 top 10 songs on the Hot 100 at the same time in coming weeks or when the album drops shortly.

As for “Blinding Lights,” I don’t know if it will hit #1. I can see it going Top 5 for sure, but #1 will be hard with such a huge song like “The Box” dominating on streaming and just now being pushed to radio. But with Billboards new YouTube rule who knows what will happen.

[violentdreams]

Heartless seems to be sticking around just fine. Sure, it did have the #1 to #17 drop, but unlike many songs that have drops that huge, it seems to have stabilized in a respectable place. Think of it like Drake's Nonstop, a song that wasn't exactly a smash, but still served a decent amount of longevity in the top 20. Unless radio listeners flat out reject Blinding Lights and it tanks on streaming, I'd say Abel's strategy of having one moderate hit and one huge hit is turning out to be quite successful.

[deepston]

This wasn't his strategy. He was basically forced to release "Bliding Lights" as a single because of how incredibly well it is doing on streaming.
I say the song has the legs for Top 5 on the Hot 100 because both radio and streaming are eating it up. #1 is obviously much more difficult to predict.

[degen]

Jan 18, 2020 13:49:40 GMT -5 deepston said:

This wasn't his strategy. He was basically forced to release "Bliding Lights" as a single because of how incredibly well it is doing on streaming.
I say the song has the legs for Top 5 on the Hot 100 because both radio and streaming are eating it up. #1 is obviously much more difficult to predict.

How do you know it wasn’t the strategy? If that was the case then why did he also shoot the video for “Blinding Lights” back in November? This was a dual release strategy for sure. The video for BL has been waiting in the wings for a while and they are just saving it to maximize its chart peak.

I think the confusion about all this is due to both songs performing well on streaming. Usually with dual releases for established artists, 1 song does way better and the other is left behind. But both “Heartless” and “Blinding Lights” met in the middle it seems and both have the potential for more with radio backing them. He is probably one of 5 artists right now who can get played on Pop, Rhythmic, Urban and Hot AC. They just have to pick the right songs to send to different formats. Maybe the next single will cover all the bases, but this strategy works too.

Pop/Rhythmic is his main hub where he sends all the singles to, and depending on what type of song it is, Urban or Hot AC will serve as the 3rd format. If he can release a “Truth Hurts” that appeals to all those formats that would be golden. Or he can continue doing this dual strategy.

[divasummer]

I always thought they released "Heartless" because it's more like his typical sound to balance off the different sounding "Blinding Lights"?

[degen]

Jan 18, 2020 15:12:25 GMT -5 divasummer said:

I always thought they released "Heartless" because it's more like his typical sound to balance off the different sounding "Blinding Lights"?

Neither song stray far away from his previous work. “Blinding Lights” reminds me a lot of “False Alarm,” but more radio friendly. And “Heatless” sounds a lot like a lot of his stuff, that goes without saying.

[dovahduck]

"Blinding Lights" is number two in Australia, hopefully this will be the song to dethrone the massive hit that is "Dance Monkey".

[Deleted]

Jan 18, 2020 12:38:52 GMT -5 deepston said:

Jan 18, 2020 11:23:47 GMT -5 SwiftlySheeran said:

Can we all agree that they only gave Heartless the main push was to say that they got back to back number 1 hits (If Blinding Lights ever gets that far)?

I mean, come on, did they really think Heartless was the better song of the two? We all knew from the start Blinding Lights was the smash.

The only difference is we knew this song could stand on its own in terms of gaining ground. If this was pushed super hard in its first week and Heartless was secondary, I don't even know if Heartless would have hit top 10.

Kind of genius if this was in fact what they were doing. Hats off to them.

That definitely wasn't his intention.
A huge hit is better than 2 moderate-performing songs. Also, there wasn't literally any indication "Blinding Lights" was going to perform better than "Heartless" and he certainly didn't believe so as well because of the amount of push that song got compared to BL. And if you push songs that radio-listeners aren't all that interested in, radio will start burning on you and might not play your following songs even if they are good.
There isn't any advantage of having a #1 hit if it tanked the following week all the way down to #17 and doesn't show any signs of recovery. In fact, it makes you look bad 

No signs of recovery yet it 27 spots higher than blinding lights

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

[rainie]

wow. i was super skeptical of The Weeknd's release strategy initially, but it doesn't look like it could work out any more perfect for him. honestly, i'm not sure if his team is lucky or genius.

either way, both this and Heartless are excellent songs and i'm delighted this looks to be his most successful era since BBTM!

[Keelzit]

I wonder how he'll come up with a visual that fits this song better than Heartless's video. Maybe he's going meta and he'll be swapping audios and videos for these 2 songs or even the next double release as well. It's one of the very few things that hasn't been done in the industry as far as I'm concerned.

[𝓲𝓽'𝓼.𝓰𝓿]

This should really out best "Heartless" in the charts.

[insen_13]

Jan 18, 2020 19:41:41 GMT -5 𝓲𝓽'𝓼.𝓰𝓿 said:

This should really out best "Heartless" in the charts.

I hope so too.

[fearlessarrow]

POP:
27 21 THE WEEKND Blinding Lights 3767 2266 1501 18.056

+228 Spins
+38 Bullet
+1.267 Audience

HOT AC:
62 41 THE WEEKND Blinding Lights 219 31 188 0.919

+40 Spins
+42 Bullet
+0.246 Audience

RHYTHMIC:
52 43 THE WEEKND Blinding Lights 488 344 144 1.167

+29 Spins
-4 Bullet
+0.059 Audience

[dovahduck]

Finally heard this on Pop radio today! Hoping this can go top 20 tommorow on the format!

[dovahduck]

[skizzo]

Who knew Abel would save pop music in 2020...

[Juan Carlos]

SUNDAY PUBLISHED 1/19 UPDATE:

CHR/Pop:
27 20 THE WEEKND Blinding Lights 3768 2266 1502 18.056

The Weeknd's Top 40/M peaks to date:

#1. "Earned It"
#1. "Can't Feel My Face"
#2. "The Hills"
#3. "Love Me Harder" (Ariana Grande & The Weeknd)
#3. "In The Night"
#3. "Starboy" (The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk)
#3. "I Feel It Coming" (The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk)
#3. "Pray For Me" (The Weeknd & Kendrick Lamar)
#12. "Lost In The Fire" (Gesaffelstein & The Weeknd)
#12. "Heartless"
#20. "Blinding Lights"
#38. "Might Not" (Belly featuring The Weeknd)
#38. "Power Is Power" (SZA, The Weeknd & Travis Scott)
#47. "Call Out My Name"

Chart run: 50 − 44 − 38 − 34 − 27 − 20 − (...)

Rhythmic:
52 42 THE WEEKND Blinding Lights 488 344 144 1.167

Hot AC:
62 38 THE WEEKND Blinding Lights 220 31 189 0.919

Officially Top 20 at Pop, Top 40 at Hot AC and Top 50 at Rhythmic.

[SPRΞΞ]

I love the sound of this song. It’s so refreshing. It’s almost, but not quite, up there with that new Dua Lipa song.

There are actually quite a few songs I really like right now. For all the crap I give radio, I think it’s actually pretty cool right now. Like Graveyard, Circles, Memories, Dua Lipa, Taylor, and even *gasp* Bieber.

[Deleted]

Jan 19, 2020 22:12:47 GMT -5 SPRΞΞ said:

I love the sound of this song. It’s so refreshing. It’s almost, but not quite, up there with that new Dua Lipa song.

There are actually quite a few songs I really like right now. For all the crap I give radio, I think it’s actually pretty cool right now. Like Graveyard, Circles, Memories, Dua Lipa, Taylor, and even *gasp* Bieber.

Lose you to love me?

[fearlessarrow]

POP:
25 18 THE WEEKND Blinding Lights 4047 2490 1557 19.856

+280 Spins
+56 Bullet
+1.800 Audience

HOT AC:
56 36 THE WEEKND Blinding Lights 260 43 217 1.096

+41 Spins
+29 Bullet
+0.177 Audience

RHYTHMIC:
50 39 THE WEEKND Blinding Lights 509 368 141 1.189

+21 Spins
-3 Bullet
+0.022 Audience

[Deleted]

POP:
25 18 THE WEEKND Blinding Lights 4047 2490 1557 19.856

+280 Spins
+56 Bullet
+1.800 Audience

HOT AC:
56 36 THE WEEKND Blinding Lights 260 43 217 1.096

+41 Spins
+29 Bullet
+0.177 Audience

RHYTHMIC:
50 39 THE WEEKND Blinding Lights 509 368 141 1.189

+21 Spins
-3 Bullet
+0.022 Audience

[Choco]

We stan an actual organic hit.

[SPRΞΞ]

Jan 20, 2020 3:07:45 GMT -5 @drakeisskinny said:

Jan 19, 2020 22:12:47 GMT -5 SPRΞΞ said:

I love the sound of this song. It’s so refreshing. It’s almost, but not quite, up there with that new Dua Lipa song.

There are actually quite a few songs I really like right now. For all the crap I give radio, I think it’s actually pretty cool right now. Like Graveyard, Circles, Memories, Dua Lipa, Taylor, and even *gasp* Bieber.

Lose you to love me?

It’s alright. She’s had better.

[dovahduck]

[degen]

Jan 19, 2020 22:12:47 GMT -5 SPRΞΞ said:

I love the sound of this song. It’s so refreshing. It’s almost, but not quite, up there with that new Dua Lipa song.

There are actually quite a few songs I really like right now. For all the crap I give radio, I think it’s actually pretty cool right now. Like Graveyard, Circles, Memories, Dua Lipa, Taylor, and even *gasp* Bieber.

I think "Blinding Lights" biggest competitor right now is "My Oh My." Both songs are storming up pop and are poised to hit #1 on CHR/Pop. And both still haven't dropped their videos. I wonder if either one can reach #1 on the Hot 100. I know Camila's team will definitely make their attempts. "Blinding Lights" might have a harder time reaching the top.