Despite the opinions of some highly placed Grammy voters, The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” positively dominated radio in 2020, as evidenced by the year-end charts from the largest network in the U.S., iHeartRadio. The charts present total audience spins and streams across the network’s broadcast stations and digital outlets — and “Blinding Lights” was far in the lead, with more than 2 billion total audience spins on the network.
“The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ was by far the biggest song of the year,” says Tom Poleman, iHeartMedia’s chief programming officer. “Broadcast radio continues to dominate overall listening, reaching about 90% of Americans every month; it’s that kind of mass audience exposure that enabled ‘Blinding Lights’ to hit an incredible 2.1 billion total audience spins on iHeart stations and our app — and making it America’s most listened-to song.”
In terms of genre, Morgan Wallen’s “Chasin’ You” topped the country charts; Mustard and Roddy Ricch’s “Ballin’” took hip-hop; Twenty One Pilots’ “Level of Concern” topped alternative; and Shinedown’s “Monsters” topped rock.
Top Overall Songs of 2020
| 1 | THE WEEKND Blinding Lights (2+ Billion) |
| 2 | POST MALONE Circles (1.87+ Billion) |
| 3 | HARRY STYLES Adore You (1.81+ Billion) |
| 4 | DUA LIPA Don’t Start Now (1.7+ Billion) |
| 5 | LEWIS CAPALDI Someone You Loved (1.2+ Billion) |
| 6 | DOJA CAT Say So (1.17+ Billion) |
| 7 | LEWIS CAPALDI Before You Go (1.13+ Billion) |
| 8 | MAROON 5 Memories (1.13+ Billion) |
| 9 | BLACKBEAR Hot Girl Bummer (1+ Billion) |
| 10 | DUA LIPA Break My Heart (1+ Billion) |
| 11 | HARRY STYLES Watermelon Sugar |
| 12 | THE WEEKND Heartless |
| 13 | DABABY Rockstar f/Roddy Ricch |
| 14 | RODDY RICCH The Box |
| 15 | MAREN MORRIS The Bones |
| 16 | GABBY BARRETT I Hope f/Charlie Puth |
| 17 | JUSTIN BIEBER Intentions f/Quavo |
| 18 | BILLIE EILISH everything i wanted |
| 19 | JONAS BROTHERS Sucker |
| 20 | MUSTARD Ballin’ f/Roddy Ricch |
| 21 | SAM SMITH & NORMANI Dancing With A Stranger |
| 22 | RODDY RICCH High Fashion f/Mustard |
| 23 | CAMILA CABELLO My Oh My f/DaBaby |
| 24 | FUTURE & DRAKE Life Is Good |
| 25 | JONAS BROTHERS Only Human |
Top iHeart Artists (U.S. only)
| 1 | THE WEEKND |
| 2 | POST MALONE |
| 3 | DUA LIPA |
| 4 | HARRY STYLES |
| 5 | LEWIS CAPALDI |
| 6 | MAROON 5 |
| 7 | DABABY |
| 8 | DOJA CAT |
| 9 | RODDY RICCH |
| 10 | JONAS BROTHERS |
Top CHR Songs
| 1 | THE WEEKND Blinding Lights |
| 2 | HARRY STYLES Adore You |
| 3 | DUA LIPA Don’t Start Now |
| 4 | POST MALONE Circles |
| 5 | BLACKBEAR Hot Girl Bummer |
| 6 | DOJA CAT Say So |
| 7 | DUA LIPA Break My Heart |
| 8 | LEWIS CAPALDI Before You Go |
| 9 | HARRY STYLES Watermelon Sugar |
| 10 | THE WEEKND Heartless |
Top Country Songs
| 1 | MORGAN WALLEN Chasin’ You |
| 2 | BLAKE SHELTON Nobody But You w/Gwen Stefani |
| 3 | MAREN MORRIS The Bones |
| 4 | GABBY BARRETT I Hope f/Charlie Puth |
| 5 | LUKE COMBS Even Though I’m Leaving |
| 6 | DUSTIN LYNCH Ridin’ Roads |
| 7 | THOMAS RHETT Beer Can’t Fix f/Jon Pardi |
| 8 | LUKE BRYAN One Margarita |
| 9 | TRAVIS DENNING After A Few |
| 10 | SAM HUNT Kinfolks |
Top Hip-Hop Songs
| 1 | MUSTARD Ballin’ f/Roddy Ricch |
| 2 | RODDY RICCH The Box |
| 3 | RODDY RICCH High Fashion f/Mustard |
| 4 | FUTURE & DRAKE Life Is Good |
| 5 | DABABY Bop |
| 6 | POP SMOKE Dior |
| 7 | CHRIS BROWN X YOUNG THUG Go Crazy |
| 8 | DABABY Rockstar f/Roddy Ricch |
| 9 | ROD WAVE Heart On Ice f/Lil Durk |
| 10 | JACK HARLOW What’s Poppin |
Top Alternative Songs
| 1 | TWENTY ONE PILOTS Level Of Concern |
| 2 | CAGE THE ELEPHANT Social Cues |
| 3 | BILLIE EILISH everything i wanted |
| 4 | MEG MYERS Running Up That Hill |
| 5 | UNLIKELY CANDIDATES Novocaine |
| 6 | POWFU Coffee For Your Head |
| 7 | SHAED Trampoline |
| 8 | PANIC! AT THE DISCO High Hopes |
| 9 | LOVELYTHEBAND Broken |
| 10 | AJR Bang! |
Top Rock Songs
| 1 | SHINEDOWN Monsters |
| 2 | BAD WOLVES Remember When |
| 3 | GODSMACK When Legends Rise |
| 4 | OZZY OSBOURNE Under The Graveyard |
| 5 | BAD WOLVES Zombie |
| 6 | BREAKING BENJAMIN Angels Fall |
| 7 | LIT My Own Worst Enemy |
| 8 | NIRVANA Smells Like Teen Spirit |
| 9 | OFFSPRING Self Esteem |
| 10 | OFFSPRING Gone Away |
Top R&B Songs
| 1 | CHRIS BROWN No Guidance f/Drake |
| 2 | KHALID Talk |
| 3 | H.E.R. Focus |
| 4 | WALE On Chill f/Jeremih |
| 5 | ELLA MAI Boo’d Up |
| 6 | CHILDISH GAMBINO Redbone |
| 7 | BRUNO MARS That’s What I Like |
| 8 | RO JAMES Permission |
| 9 | ELLA MAI Trip |
| 10 | KEM Lie To Me |