The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ Hits No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100, Doja Cat’s ‘Say So’ Enters Top 10

The Weeknd adds his fifth leader, while Doja Cat earns her first top 10.

The Weeknd‘s “Blinding Lights” lifts from No. 2 to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, becoming the pop/R&B singer-songwriter-producer’s fifth leader on the list.

The track is from The Weeknd’s new LP After Hours, which soars in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, marking his fourth leading title, as the set starts with the most equivalent album units earned in a week so far this year.

Plus, Doja Cat achieves her first Hot 100 top 10, as “Say So” jumps 14-9.

Let’s run down of the top 10 of the newest Hot 100, which blends all-genre U.S. streaming, radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated April 4) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (March 31).

“Lights,” released on XO/Republic Records, becomes the 1,097th No. 1 in the history of the Hot 100, which launched on Aug. 4, 1958.

The Weeknd’s fifth Hot 100 No. 1 follows After Hours lead single “Heartless,” which led the Dec. 14, 2019-dated chart, and this week soars 16-4; “Starboy,” featuring Daft Punk (one week, January 2017); “The Hills” (six weeks, October-November 2015); and “Can’t Feel My Face” (three weeks, August-September 2015).

Since his first week at No. 1, on Aug. 22, 2015, The Weeknd ties Justin Bieber and Drake for the most Hot 100 leaders.

“Lights” concurrently becomes The Weeknd’s second No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart (after “The Hills”), surging 5-1, up 54% to 32.1 million U.S. streams in the week ending March 26, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. It pushes 5-3 on Radio Songs, gaining by 15% to 82.2 million all-format airplay audience impressions in the week ending March 29, while ranking at No. 3 on Digital Song Sales (after it led the March 28-dated chart), with 15,000 sold.

“Lights” spends a fifth week atop the Hot R&B Songs chart, where it’s The Weeknd’s seventh No. 1, and becomes his sixth No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (with both rankings employing the same multi-metric methodology as the Hot 100).

The Weeknd (real name: Abel Tesfaye) adds his third Hot 100 No. 1 as a co-producer and has co-written all five of his leaders as an artist.

Meanwhile, “Lights” was co-written and co-produced by, among others, pop titan Max Martin, who earns his 23rd Hot 100 No. 1 as a writer. In the Hot 100’s archives, only Paul McCartney (32) and John Lennon (26) have notched more, thanks to their histories in The Beatles and as soloists. Martin had last led as a writer via Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!,” for a week in May 2016.

Martin earns his 21st Hot 100 No. 1 as a producer, and also his first in that role since Timberlake’s “Feeling.” The sum is second only to that of another acclaimed Martin: late Beatles producer Sir George Martin, who totaled 23 (last thanks to Elton John’s 14-week 1997-98 No. 1 “Candle in the Wind”/”Something About the Way You Look Tonight”).

“Lights” stops the 11-week Hot 100 reign of Roddy Ricch’s “The Box,” which dips to No. 2. The latter continues atop the Hot Rap Songs chart, where it leads for a 13th week.

Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now” keeps at No. 3 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 2, as it logs a third week atop Radio Songs (98.2 million, essentially even week-over-week).

Below The Weeknd’s “Heartless” at No. 4 on the Hot 100 (up 157% to 19.4 million streams), Post Malone’s “Circles” repeats at No. 5, after notching three weeks at No. 1, and Future’s “Life Is Good,” featuring Drake, slips 4-6, after peaking at No. 2 for eight weeks.

Harry Styles’ “Adore You” holds at its No. 7 Hot 100 high and Justin Bieber’s “Intentions,” featuring Quavo, likewise keeps at its No. 8 best.

Doja Cat scores her first Hot 100 top 10, as “Say So” ascends 14-9.

The track by the singer-rapper (real name: Amalaratna Dlamini) rises 17-14 on Radio Songs, up 23% to 52.1 million in audience, while dipping 13-18 on Streaming Songs (15.4 million, down 7%) and 15-21 on Digital Song Sales, although up 2% to 6,000 sold.

“Say So” became Doja Cat’s third Hot 100 entry, following “Juicy,” with Tyga (No. 41 peak in February), and “Candy” (No. 86, December).

“I always knew I wanted to entertain people my whole life; I just didn’t know exactly how I was going to do it until I was 16 and everything blossomed on SoundCloud,” Doja Cat, 24, told Billboard in November. “That’s where it was all born.”

Meow-tstanding: Doja Cat is the fourth “cat”-monikered artist ever to pounce into the Hot 100’s top 10, following The Pussycat Dolls (four, 2005-08), Stray Cats (three, 1982-83) and Cat Stevens (four, 1971-74).

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Arizona Zervas’ “Roxanne” retreats 6-10, after reaching No. 4.

Find out more Hot 100 news on Billboard.com this week, and, for all chart news, you can listen (and subscribe) to Billboard‘s Pop Shop Podcast and This Week in Billboard News podcast and follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram. And again, be sure to visit Billboard.com tomorrow (March 31), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh.

Source: billboard.com