Abel Tesfaye has simply executed one thing no different artist has managed in Spotify’s complete historical past. In keeping with streaming knowledge compiled by ChartMasters and confirmed by Spotify’s Billions Membership, The Weeknd now has 30 songs sitting above one billion streams every. Not 25. Not 28. Thirty.
Drake at present has 17 tracks within the billion-stream membership. Taylor Swift has constructed a formidable assortment of her personal.
The Weeknd’s achievement locations him considerably forward of the sector, with the hole between first and second place widening.
The milestone arrived in late December 2025, spanning greater than a decade of labor from darkish R&B mixtapes by way of to stadium-filling pop anthems.
From “Blinding Lights” closing in on 5.2 billion streams right down to deeper cuts like “Is There Somebody Else?” that the majority informal listeners most likely can’t even hum. All of them crossed a billion performs.
The Full Record
What makes this notably placing is the combo. Certain, “Blinding Lights” and “Starboy” have been huge singles. However the listing additionally contains album tracks that by no means went to radio, collaborations from years in the past, and remixes that discovered surprising second lives.
The whole 30:
- Blinding Lights
- Starboy
- Die For You
- The Hills
- Save Your Tears
- One Of The Women
- Name Out My Title
- I Really feel It Coming
- Can’t Really feel My Face
- Save Your Tears Remix
- Earned It
- Creepin’
- Stargirl Interlude
- I Was By no means There
- Reminder
- Moth To A Flame
- Timeless
- After Hours
- Standard
- Low Life
- Love Me Tougher
- Die For You Remix
- Misplaced In The Hearth
- Typically
- Or Nah
- Heartless
- Pray For Me
- In Your Eyes
- You Proper
- Is There Somebody Else?
“I Was By no means There” is a deep lower from My Pricey Melancholy, an EP launched in 2018. “Stargirl Interlude” runs below two minutes. “Or Nah” is a 2014 remix that includes Ty Dolla $ign, Wiz Khalifa, and DJ Mustard. All of them cleared a billion streams.
{The catalogue} demonstrates power past hit singles. Album tracks and collaborations from all through his profession proceed accumulating streams years after launch.
Reaching one billion streams represents a major achievement for many artists. The Weeknd has achieved it 30 instances, with lots of these tracks by no means launched as official singles.
How Did We Get Right here?
In keeping with knowledge tracked by ChartMasters, Drake at present sits at 17 billion-stream tracks while Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran have constructed substantial catalogues of their very own. The Weeknd’s 30-song achievement represents a major leap forward of the competitors.
The Numbers Inform a Story
In keeping with ChartMasters’ 2024 year-end knowledge, The Weeknd completed the 12 months as Spotify’s third most-streamed artist with 13.27 billion performs. Solely Dangerous Bunny and Taylor Swift pulled larger numbers that 12 months.
This represents his greatest rating after almost a decade of putting third in 2015, 2017, and 2023. He’s been constantly huge, simply by no means fairly primary till now he’s carved out his personal class fully.
“Blinding Lights” sits at almost 5.2 billion streams and nonetheless provides 10 million weekly. That’s six years after launch.
The synth anthem caught fireplace throughout lockdown and refused to go away. It’s the most-streamed track in Spotify’s historical past by a substantial margin.
His albums from years in the past preserve performing. “Starboy” has 15.8 billion streams. “After Hours” sits at 13.6 billion. “Magnificence Behind the Insanity” cleared 10 billion.
None of those are new releases driving hype. They’re catalogue titles that folks preserve returning to, which is the place the actual cash sits in streaming.
Spotify celebrated The Weeknd’s achievements with the platform’s first-ever Billions Membership Stay live performance in December 2024, honouring his then-record of 25 billion-stream songs. 5 tracks later, the milestone continues to develop.
You may additionally like:
Why Him?
A part of it comes right down to vary. “Blinding Lights” and “Name Out My Title” may very well be from totally different artists fully. Similar with “Creepin’” and “Starboy.” However all of them sound unmistakably like him.
That flexibility means his music exhibits up throughout totally different playlists and pulls from totally different listener bases with out alienating anybody.
The collaborations matter too, however not within the apparent means. The “Die For You” remix with Ariana Grande introduced a 2016 album observe again from the lifeless and turned it right into a streaming monster.
“Standard” with Madonna grabbed her viewers. “Creepin’” with Metro Boomin and 21 Savage pulled in lure followers. Each expands his attain with out making him sound like a visitor on another person’s observe.
His new album “Hurry Up Tomorrow” dropped in January 2025, presumably his final below The Weeknd identify. Abel’s talked about desirous to kill the persona, although he’ll preserve making music below his actual identify.
The report runs 84 minutes with options from Future, Lana Del Rey, Florence + The Machine, Travis Scott, and Giorgio Moroder. Whether or not it’s truly the tip or simply one other reinvention stays to be seen.
What It Means Past Bragging Rights
Thirty billion-stream songs interprets to critical cash. The precise figures depend upon label contracts and publishing splits, however catalogue longevity is the place streaming pays off. His 2015 materials nonetheless generates income in 2025, compounding 12 months after 12 months.
Evaluate that to the outdated mannequin the place an album offered its models within the first few weeks then dropped off. Streaming rewards artists who construct catalogues individuals return to. The Weeknd’s mastered that utterly.
The place This Goes
The 30-song report will most likely lengthen. A number of tracks sit within the 800-900 million vary, and his catalogue exhibits no indicators of slowing down. Streaming rewards longevity in a different way than radio ever did. Songs don’t have to be present to rack up performs.
Gen Z finds “Blinding Lights” by way of TikTok. Longtime followers nonetheless play “Home of Balloons” from 2011. The music works throughout generations, which is uncommon sufficient by itself. That it additionally interprets to those sorts of numbers is rarer nonetheless.
Whether or not anybody catches as much as 30 billion-stream songs anytime quickly appears unlikely given the present hole. Drake at present has 17 such tracks. The extra attention-grabbing query is whether or not The Weeknd himself pushes the quantity to 40, or 50, earlier than one other artist reaches 25.
Abel Tesfaye turned mysterious R&B mixtapes into probably the most dominant streaming catalogue in fashionable music. No matter occurs with the identify, that half’s already executed.
