BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 8 times during The Seeger Sessions Tour , all in November 2006 in Europe. The song was played in a radically revamped full-band arrangement. The live 11 Nov 2006 version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was released on the Wembley Arena, November 11, 2006 official live download in 2020. The live 19 Nov 2006 version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was released on the Live In Dublin album and home video in 2007.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 6 times during the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour . The live 25 Jun 2005 version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was released on the Stockholm 2005 official live download in 2020. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed on 04 Apr 2005 at Rechnitz Theater in Red Bank, NJ, during the taping of Bruce Springsteen's episode of VH1's Storytellers television series. An edited version of the concert was released on the VH1 Storytellers home video in 2005.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 4 times during the Wrecking Ball Tour . On this tour, the song was played twice times in a solo acoustic guitar arrangement (on of which during the solo acoustic pre-show) and twice in a full-band arrangement. The Weeknd has said the dark message of this song is about drunk driving and going to see someone while impaired. There seems to be a dual meaning also with drugs which is a reoccurring theme in most, if not all of The Weeknd's songs. "Blinded by the lights" could also be about the blinding lights of fame. The not sleeping until he feels the touch seems like an outright drug reference.
So it would seem like a duality of drugs/alcohol while driving to see the one he loves and misses. The visual opens with the Weeknd laughing as blood drips down his face, then jumps back in time to show the mayhem that led to this gruesome end — the pop star speeding around a deserted city, dancing gleefully in the streets. The visual follows the events of the music video for "Heartless" and sees the Weeknd go on a hallucinated joyride after waking from a trance. The video depicts various actions performed by the singer amid a story inspired by the films Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Joker, and Casino. On December 2, 2019, a commercial video containing footage from the Weeknd and Mercedes-Benz commercial, and the song's audio video, was released. The lyric video for "Blinding Lights" was released on December 6, 2019.
Its official music video was released on January 21, 2020 via YouTube, where it has accumulated 500 million views by October 3, 2021. A behind-the-scenes music video for the song was released on February 28, 2020. On May 5, 2020, a music video for the Chromatics remix of the song was released. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed off-tour on 20 Feb 2003 at Somerville Theatre in Somerville, MA, during the DoubleTake Magazine benefit shows.
A music video for the track was released on January 21, 2020. The video is a continuation of the music video from "Heartless," starting with Abel stopping his manic run through Las Vegas, which is where the video for "Heartless" ended. From there, Abel continues his tear through the city while under the influence of many substances, this time going to a strip club as well as driving a different luxury Mercedes Benz AMG-GT in the video. A lyric video featuring behind-the-scenes footage of the single's photoshoot was released the same day.
The song was performed on January 22, 2020, at Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The performance picked up right where the "Blinding Lights" visual left off, as the Weeknd remained in the red suit and his face was still bloodied with a bandage over his nose from the beatdown he vaguely remembered in the music video. He bounced around the stage for the lively performance, as thunderbolts and lightning strikes at his back filled the darkness in the venue.
Appearing once again in a red suit, black gloves and bloody-faced with a bandage over his nose, he performed the single alongside "Scared to Live" on Saturday Night Live on March 7, 2020. In the United Kingdom, "Blinding Lights" debuted at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart on December 6, 2019 – for the week ending date December 12, 2019. It eventually peaked at the top of the chart in February 2020, becoming the Weeknd's first number-one single in Britain. After two weeks at number one, it dropped a place number two.
However it rebounded to number one the week after, and remained there for three consecutive weeks. The week after it fell a place to number two and also stayed at the runner-up spot for another week. The following week, it once again rebounded to number one, and stayed there for another three consecutive weeks.
Overall, the single spent eight non-consecutive weeks atop the singles chart. As a result, "Blinding Lights" dropped a place to number two and remained at number two the following week, behind another charity single, "Times Like These". According to the Official Charts Company, "Blinding Lights" became Britain's biggest-selling song of 2020 with 2.2 million combined sales, including 250 million streams and 195,000 downloads. "Blinding Lights" has been certified 5x Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for selling 3,000,000 units. In the singer's native Canada, "Blinding Lights" debuted at number two on the Canadian Hot 100, one place higher than "Heartless".
It later managed to reach number one after the release of its parent album on the issue dated April 4, 2020, becoming the Weeknd's fifth number-one single in the country. It spent seven weeks atop the chart, tying "Starboy" as his longest-running chart-topper. In May 2021, "Blinding Lights" dropped off the Canadian Hot 100 after 75 weeks on the chart, leaving it one week short of the all-time record set by "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas in 2010. For the first half of 2020, "Blinding Lights" was the top Canadian song overall, with 484,000 units. It has been certified Diamond by Music Canada for selling 800,000 units.
"Blinding Lights" has spent 57 weeks in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and 43 weeks in the top five, breaking the record for the most time logged in the region over the chart's 62-year history. On the Digital Song Sales chart, the song peaked at number one for the week of March 23, 2020, and became the Weeknd's fifth Digital Songs number one. The single reached a peak of number one on the Streaming Songs chart on March 30, becoming his first topper on the listing since "The Hills" led five years earlier.
On April 13, the song reached number one on Pop Songs chart, where it led for 6 non-consecutive weeks, as it slid to number two on the Hot 100. It later rose back up to number one for the two following weeks. On May 18, the song became his first number one on the Adult Pop Songs chart, leading for 20 non-consecutive weeks. On November 7, "Blinding Lights" became his first number one on the Adult Contemporary chart, where it led for 35 non-consecutive weeks.
"Blinding Lights" topped Radio Songs for a record-breaking 26 weeks, passing Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris", which held the record as the longest-running chart-topper for almost 22 years. "Blinding Lights" fell out of the Hot 100 for the week dated January 2, 2021, but it re-entered at number 3 the next week, breaking the three-way tie for the highest song to re-enter the Hot 100. Meanwhile, "Blinding Lights" tied for the most time totaled in the Hot 100's top three, 21 weeks, equaling the sums of The Chainsmokers' "Closer" and Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk!". "Blinding Lights" debuted at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated December 14, 2019, but fell 41 places to number 52 in its second week. In its 12th week on the chart, the song became the Weeknd's tenth top ten hit by rising to a new peak at number ten. On the issue dated March 28, 2020, the song rose two places to reach number two.
The song reached number one on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs on April 4, 2020, leading for 11 non-consecutive weeks. On March 30, 2020, the song rose to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, dethroning Roddy Ricch's "The Box" on the issue dated April 4, 2020. The single kept at its peak position the following week, becoming the Weeknd's third multi-week leader after "The Hills", which topped the chart five years earlier. "Blinding Lights" spent four weeks atop the Hot 100 and finished 2020 as the year's top Billboard Hot 100 song. The accompanying music video, which sees The Weeknd navigate a Mercedes at high speeds on route to get laid, has an additional 200 million views. But what exactly is one of 2020's most popular tracks about?
The Weeknd revealed the meaning behind "Blinding Lights" in the September cover of Esquire. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed once during the High Hopes Tour . On this tour, the song was played in a full-band arrangement. Audio recordings for most High Hopes Tour shows are officially available for purchase. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT is known to have been performed at least 8 times during what is considered the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour . Many of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song must have been played on some more dates during the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour.
On this tour, the song was played in a full-band album-style arrangement, usually played as the penultimate song of the set, before THUNDERCRACK or another show-closer. Starting from October, both artists started to comment on each other's social media posts. In November, some insiders reported that a "Save Your Tears" remix featuring the Spanish singer would be released on the 20th. However, on December 1, another insider reported that a duet version of "Blinding Lights" would be released on December 4.
Both artists shared a picture of them on set a couple hours prior to the single's release without specifying the project. During the filming for the street scenes, the roads were not completely shut down, hence random cars and pedestrians were passing by while the Weeknd danced in the street. Production was held up temporarily as somebody was arrested in the tunnel. The shooting required at least three vehicles driving through the nighttime streets. The Mercedes-AMG GT roadster was a specially equipped towing vehicle that allowed the Weeknd to act and lip-sync inside the moving convertible without needing to drive, and a chase SUV with a crane camera strapped to the top. Director of photography Oliver Millar said that he loves the music video format and talked about how intense it is to try and create iconic images during high-pressure shoots that don't last very long.
"Blinding Lights" peaked at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, giving The Weeknd his fifth number-one hit on the chart. It is also the longest charting song on the Hot 100 of all-time at 90 weeks, ending the week of September 11, 2021. The song finished 2020 as the year's top Billboard Hot 100 song.
It has also topped the record charts in the United Kingdom and 31 other countries. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT is known to have been performed at least 5 times during the so-called Chicken Scratch Tour . Some of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates during the Chicken Scratch Tour. On this tour, the song was played in a full-band album-style arrangement. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT is known to have been performed at least 15 times during what is considered The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour . Some of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song must have been played on some more dates during The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour.
On this tour, the song was played in a full-band arrangement, much like the versions from the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour, but with a somewhat more experimental, "Dylanesque" vocal. In the 1974 part of the tour, the song also featured a three-to-four minute extended jazzy instrumental opening, perhaps the closest the E Street Band ever came to progressive rock. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was usually played at or near the end of the shows. The album received mixed but mostly positive reviews and some critics found it under-produced, as Appel and Cretecos tried to spend as little as possible from Columbia's $65,000 advance and recording budget. The album sold 25,000 copies only in its first year of release and did not chart until the summer of 1975 when the hype over the BORN TO RUN single attracted buyers to Springsteen's earlier albums. He also mentioned that he used a rhyming dictionary to write the song after Clive Davis didn't hear any "hits" for his debut album.
In particular, the single "Blinding Lights" has blown up, topping charts and dominating radio waves across the world. Fans can't help but speculate on the lyrics of the song, which seem to point to heartbreak and desire. Given The Weeknd's very public on-and-off relationship with model Bella Hadid, it's easy to see where he may have gotten inspiration for the song. While he may not divulge who the song is specifically about, The Weeknd has given us more insight into the song and what it really means. YouTube metal cover artist, Leo Moracchioli, released a version in April 2020 playing all instruments and the vocals himself.
On July 1, 2020, quintet vocalist group Pentatonix released a video for their rendition of "Blinding Lights." In the clip, the group is seen in their respective homes. On July 3, 2020, Christine and the Queens released her studio cover of "Blinding Lights". "Her version is an emotive yet airy rendition. The artist's pillowy voice glides effortlessly no matter the heights", Consequence of Sound editor Lake Schatz stated. London Grammar covered "Blinding Lights" at the BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, backed by piano and guitar players. After a five-month social media hiatus, the singer returned to Instagram on November 20, 2019, and posted six days later on November 26, 2019.
He previously announced a project referred to as Chapter VI in June 2019. On November 24, 2019, a Mercedes-Benz commercial first aired on German TV featuring a clip of "Blinding Lights". It shows the Weeknd driving a Mercedes-Benz EQC SUV and asking the system to play his new song. The full-length version of the commercial premiered on November 29, alongside the single. In the days after, he took to social media to announce his return to music with the captions "the fall starts tomorrow night" and "Tonight we start a new brain melting psychotic chapter! Let's go!". The most explicit explanation of the song's meaning came in The Weeknd's Esquire cover interview, where he indicated that parts of the lyrics were actually connected to the feeling of driving while intoxicated.
Many believe that the reason his After Hours performances have featured him heavily bandaged and bloodied is actually a warning against the dangers of driving drunk. We did some sleuthing, and it seems to touch on his on-again, off-again relationship with model Bella Hadid, and he's spoken about the song's connection to drunk driving, too. Some of the above info about the studio recording and the live performances is taken from Brucebase.
Scans and info for the some of the above official Springsteen releases are taken from the Lost In The Flood website. Info for some of the above BLINDED BY THE LIGHT cover releases is taken from the Nebraska website. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 4 times during the Magic Tour , all in 2008.
The live 23 Oct 1999 version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was released on the Los Angeles October 23, 1999 official live download in 2019. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was recorded late during the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. The track, as well as the whole album, was produced by Mike Appel and Jimmy Cretecos. According to Sony's logs of Bruce Springsteen's studio sessions, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was cut on 11 Sep 1972 at 914 Sound Studios.
The version that was released on the album is possibly from that 11 Sep 1972 session. Bruce Springsteen's BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was most notably covered and released by Manfred Mann's Earth Band whose version became a #1 hit single in 1977. See Manfred Mann's Earth Band's cover version for more details. "Blinding Lights" is the second single off of The Weeknd fourth studio album. Though The Weeknd doesn't specify who he's driving to see in "Blinding Lights," it's easy to see why fans are convinced that it's Hadid. The couple started dating in 2015, before breaking up in late 2016, according to People.
The Weeknd went on to enjoy a 10-month romance with Selena Gomezbut ultimately ended up back with Hadid by 2018, per Us Weekly. Oddly enough, the most famous version of the opening track of the record was not recorded by Springsteen. "Blinded by the Light" was turned into a whirling dervish of a prog-pop song by Manfred Mann's Earth Band, who took it to number one on the charts in 1977. The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights," which appears on his massively successful, Billboard 200 No. 1-sellingAfter Hoursalbum, first arrived in November of 2019.
The track is the second single from the effort and was No. 1 in 34 countries including the U.S. and Canada, where The Weeknd is from. "Blinding Lights"is Abel's fifth song to peak at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on April 4, 2020. "I'm blinded by the lights / No, I can't sleep until I feel your touch," The Weeknd sings on the song.
