OCC: The Weeknd's Biggest Songs

Posted February 6, 20214 yr

The Weeknd's biggest songs on the Official Chart
05 February 2021 | By Rob Copsey

The Weeknd may have almost a decade of chart success under his belt, but it feels like he's only just getting warmed up. 2020 saw him finally, after several close calls, land his first Number 1 on the Official UK Singles Chart with Blinding Lights, while his Super Bowl halftime show and year-long world tour in 2022 look set to propel him to even greater heights.

In the UK, the Canadian singer-songwriter has racked up 20.1 million chart sales - including an eye-watering 2.5 billion streams - across all of his Top 100-charting songs, currently totaling at 51.

Below we dive into The Weeknd's Top 10 biggest tracks, before revealing the full list at the bottom of the page.

10. Love Me Harder with Ariana Grande (2014)
Official Chart peak: 48
UK chart sales: 546,000
Despite missing the Top 40 (thus becoming an underrated favourite of fans), Ariana Grande collaboration Love Me Harder was one of the key turning points in The Weeknd's shift from cult favourite to mainstream star, bringing his moody R&B sound to this highly charged midtempo banger.

9. Pray For Me with Kendrick Lamar (2018)
Official Chart peak: 11
UK chart sales: 547,000
A blockbuster collaboration for a blockbuster film. Recorded for the Black Panther soundtrack, Kendrick and The Weeknd both bring their A game to this pulsing, drama-packed gloom bop.

8. Call Out My Name (2018)
Official Chart peak: 7
UK chart sales: 607,000
The trailer single from his My Dear Melancholy EP was a reminder of The Weeknd's alt-R&B beginnings after 2016's pop-heavy Starboy. Over a sample of Nicolas Jaar's 2016 song Killing Time he sings in typical angst: "I almost cut a piece of myself for your life."

7. Often (2014)
Official Chart peak: 65
UK chart sales: 682,000
The lead release from his second album Beauty Behind The Madness, the trap-influenced Often, which samples Ben Sana Vurgunum by Turkish singer Nükhet Duru, may not be his most radio friendly single, but it served as the perfect bridge between his atmospheric R&B sound and the Big Pop productions that would soon follow.

6. I Feel It Coming with Daft Punk (2016)
Official Chart peak: 9
UK chart sales: 1.1 million
The Weekend infused his sound with disco-funk on 2016's Starboy album, aided by kings of the genre Daft Punk. I Feel It Coming, his fouth UK Top 10, drew comparisons to Daft Punk's 2013 global smash Get Lucky, as well as disco-era Michael Jackson.

5. Earned It (2015)
Official Chart peak: 4
UK chart sales: 1.21 million
The lavish strings and classical underpinnings of Earned It made it a natural fit for Fifty Shades Of Grey film soundtrack. Even better, its inclusion opened The Weeknd up to a wider fanbase, earning him his first UK Top 10 single and a Grammy for Best R&B performance.

4. Can't Feel My Face (2015)
Official Chart peak: 3
UK chart sales: 1.72 million
Can't Feel My Face was the start of a considerable shift in The Weeknd's trajectory. It was his first team up with pop mega-hitmaker Max Martin, and the result - a funk-driven, Michael Jackson-styled finger snapper - dominated the airwaves that summer and became his first US Number 1.

3. The Hills (2015)
Official Chart peak: 3
UK chart sales: 1.81 million
The hypnotic, horror-inspired The Hills (its hook is taken from Wes Craven's classic film The Hills Have Eyes), is a harrowing yet sonically adventurous reflection on fame, lust and drugs. It secured The Weeknd his second US chart-topper, and narrowly missed the top spot in the UK.

2. Starboy (2016)
Official Chart peak: 2
UK chart sales: 1.88 million
The title track from his third album features typcial Weeknd tropes on the dark side of fame and celebrity, offset by Daft Punk's stuttering electropop production. In the video, he appears to be destroying evidence of his past - no doubt making way for the huge run of success that was about to follow.

1. Blinding Lights
Official Chart peak: 1
UK chart sales: 2.41 million
It's easy to forget that Blinding Lights wasn't an immediate runaway success, debuting at Number 12 before climbing to Number 1 nine weeks later to become his first UK chart-topper. Another collaboration with Max Martin, Blinding Lights adds a hefty dose of crisp, '80s-inspired synths into The Weeknd's soundscape - drawing comparisons and Rockwell's Somebody's Watching Me. It already feels like a classic; and with 2.41 million UK chart sales (including 273 million streams), it's by far his biggest song to date.

The Weeknd's Official Top 20 biggest songs
POS TITLE ARTIST PEAK YEAR
1 BLINDING LIGHTS WEEKND 1 2019 2.41m
2 STARBOY WEEKND FT DAFT PUNK 2 2016 1.88m
3 THE HILLS WEEKND 3 2015 1.81m
4 CAN'T FEEL MY FACE WEEKND 3 2015 1.72m
5 EARNED IT WEEKND 4 2015 1.21m
6 I FEEL IT COMING WEEKND FT DAFT PUNK 9 2016 1.1m
7 OFTEN WEEKND 65 2014 682k
8 CALL OUT MY NAME WEEKND 7 2018 607k
9 PRAY FOR ME WEEKND/KENDRICK LAMAR 11 2018 547k
10 LOVE ME HARDER ARIANA GRANDE FT WEEKND 48 2014 546k
11 LOW LIFE FUTURE FT WEEKND NA 2016
12 CREW LOVE DRAKE FT THE WEEKND 37 2011
13 REMINDER WEEKND 39 2016
14 PARTY MONSTER WEEKND 17 2016
15 IN YOUR EYES WEEKND 17 2020
16 IN THE NIGHT WEEKND 48 2015
17 HEARTLESS WEEKND 10 2019
18 WICKED GAMES WEEKND NA 2012
19 LOST IN THE FIRE GESAFFELSTEIN FT WEEKND 9 2019
20 DIE FOR YOU WEEKND 74 2016

©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/t...l-chart__32366/

February 6, 20214 yr

Author

Previous Top 20 from March 2020:

The Weeknd's Top 20 song on the Official UK Chart
TITLE ARTIST PEAK YEAR
1 STARBOY WEEKND FT DAFT PUNK 2 2016 1.71m
2 THE HILLS WEEKND 3 2015 1.65m
3 CAN'T FEEL MY FACE WEEKND 3 2016 1.61m
4 EARNED IT WEEKND 4 2015 1.11m
5 I FEEL IT COMING WEEKND FT DAFT PUNK 9 2016 1.001m
6 BLINDING LIGHTS WEEKND 1 2020 667k
7 OFTEN WEEKND 65 2015
8 CALL OUT MY NAME WEEKND 7 2018 508k
9 LOVE ME HARDER ARIANA GRANDE FT THE WEEKND 48 2014
10 PRAY FOR ME WEEKND/KENDRICK LAMAR 11 2018
11 LOW LIFE FUTURE FT WEEKND NA 2016
12 CREW LOVE DRAKE FT THE WEEKND 37 2011
13 PARTY MONSTER WEEKND 17 2016
14 REMINDER WEEKND 39 2016
15 IN THE NIGHT WEEKND 48 2015
16 WICKED GAMES WEEKND NA 2011
17 LOST IN THE FIRE GESAFFELSTEIN FT WEEKND 9 2019 216k
18 ACQUAINTED WEEKND 90 2015
19 DIE FOR YOU WEEKND 74 2016
20 SIDEWALKS WEEKND FT KENDRICK LAMAR 30 2016

©2020 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

February 6, 20214 yr

5, million plus selling singles.

August 4, 20213 yr

Author

Another update:

10. Love Me Harder with Ariana Grande (2014)
Official Chart peak: 48
UK chart sales: 584,000
Despite missing the Top 40 (thus becoming an underrated favourite of fans), Ariana Grande collaboration Love Me Harder was one of the key turning points in The Weeknd's shift from cult favourite to mainstream star, bringing his moody R&B sound to this highly charged midtempo banger.

9. Call Out My Name (2018)
Official Chart peak: 7
UK chart sales: 666,000
The trailer single from his My Dear Melancholy EP was a reminder of The Weeknd's alt-R&B beginnings after 2016's pop-heavy Starboy. Over a sample of Nicolas Jaar's 2016 song Killing Time he sings in typical angst: "I almost cut a piece of myself for your life."

8. Often (2014)
Official Chart peak: 65
UK chart sales: 739,000
The lead release from his second album Beauty Behind The Madness, the trap-influenced Often, which samples Ben Sana Vurgunum by Turkish singer Nükhet Duru, may not be his most radio friendly single, but it served as the perfect bridge between his atmospheric R&B sound and the Big Pop productions that would soon follow.

7. Save Your Tears (2020)
Official Chart peak: 2
UK chart sales: 856,000
The most recent addition to his all-time Top 10, Save Your Tears has quickly established itself in The Weeknd's hall of fame. The track is one of the most pop-driven from his After Hours album, though its hefty dose of dark melancholy is signature Weeknd stuff. The song narrowly missed out on becoming his second Number 1 in the UK, boosted to the upper echelons by an exquisite rework with Ariana Grande.

6. I Feel It Coming with Daft Punk (2016)
Official Chart peak: 9
UK chart sales: 1.2 million
The Weekend infused his sound with disco-funk on 2016's Starboy album, aided by kings of the genre Daft Punk. I Feel It Coming, his fouth UK Top 10, drew comparisons to Daft Punk's 2013 global smash Get Lucky, as well as disco-era Michael Jackson.

5. Earned It (2015)
Official Chart peak: 4
UK chart sales: 1.28 million
The lavish strings and classical underpinnings of Earned It made it a natural fit for Fifty Shades Of Grey film soundtrack. Even better, its inclusion opened The Weeknd up to a wider fanbase, earning him his first UK Top 10 single and a Grammy for Best R&B performance.

4. Can't Feel My Face (2015)
Official Chart peak: 3
UK chart sales: 1.8 million
Can't Feel My Face was the start of a considerable shift in The Weeknd's trajectory. It was his first team up with pop mega-hitmaker Max Martin, and the result - a funk-driven, Michael Jackson-styled finger snapper - dominated the airwaves that summer and became his first US Number 1.

3. The Hills (2015)
Official Chart peak: 3
UK chart sales: 1.92 million
The hypnotic, horror-inspired The Hills (its hook is taken from Wes Craven's classic film The Hills Have Eyes), is a harrowing yet sonically adventurous reflection on fame, lust and drugs. It secured The Weeknd his second US chart-topper, and narrowly missed the top spot in the UK.

2. Starboy (2016)
Official Chart peak: 2
UK chart sales: 2 million
The title track from his third album features typcial Weeknd tropes on the dark side of fame and celebrity, offset by Daft Punk's stuttering electropop production. In the video, he appears to be destroying evidence of his past - no doubt making way for the huge run of success that was about to follow.

1. Blinding Lights
Official Chart peak: 1
UK chart sales: 2.96 million
It's easy to forget that Blinding Lights wasn't an immediate runaway success, debuting at Number 12 before climbing to Number 1 nine weeks later to become his first UK chart-topper. Another collaboration with Max Martin, Blinding Lights adds a hefty dose of crisp, '80s-inspired synths into The Weeknd's soundscape - drawing comparisons and Rockwell's Somebody's Watching Me. It already feels like a classic; and with almost 3 million UK chart sales (including 340 million streams), it's by far his biggest song to date.

The Weeknd's Official Top 20 biggest songs
POS TITLE ARTIST PEAK YEAR
1 BLINDING LIGHTS WEEKND 1 2019
2 STARBOY WEEKND FT DAFT PUNK 2 2016
3 THE HILLS WEEKND 3 2015
4 CAN'T FEEL MY FACE WEEKND 3 2015
5 EARNED IT WEEKND 4 2015
6 I FEEL IT COMING WEEKND FT DAFT PUNK 9 2016
7 SAVE YOUR TEARS WEEKND 2 2020
8 OFTEN WEEKND 65 2014
9 CALL OUT MY NAME WEEKND 7 2018
10 LOVE ME HARDER ARIANA GRANDE FT WEEKND 48 2014
11 PRAY FOR ME WEEKND/KENDRICK LAMAR 11 2018
12 LOW LIFE FUTURE FT WEEKND NA 2016
13 CREW LOVE DRAKE FT THE WEEKND 37 2011
14 IN YOUR EYES WEEKND 17 2020
15 REMINDER WEEKND 39 2016
16 PARTY MONSTER WEEKND 17 2016
17 HEARTLESS WEEKND 10 2019
18 WICKED GAMES WEEKND NA 2012
19 IN THE NIGHT WEEKND 48 2015
20 LOST IN THE FIRE GESAFFELSTEIN FT WEEKND 9 2019

©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

August 4, 20213 yr

I'm quite surprised to see 'Starboy' above 'Can't Feel My Face' and 'The Hills', I know there's barely anything in it but I feel like those are better remembered these days (and felt bigger at the time).