[pdf-embedder url=”https://popmusic.commons.gc.cuny.edu/files/2021/04/Infographic-pic.pdf” title=”Infographic BPM”]

BPM (Beats per minute) is exactly what it sounds like. It refers to how many beats take place per minute. For example, if a song has 60 BPM, that will mean that one beat takes place every second per minute. Most popular music is made in the “adante” range which is from 76-108 BPM. Some of the most notable recent songs that are within this range are Childish Gambino’s “Redbone” which has 81 BPM, Travis Scott and Drake’s “Sicko Mode” which has 78 BPM, Kanye West’s “Runaway” which has 86 BPM, and Ed Sheeran’s “Photograph” which has the higher upper limit of this range at 108 BPM. The BPM does not determine the danceability of a song, the tempo, or anything like that, it simply just states how many beats there are.

The graph above shows some of The Weeknd’s most popular songs within the past decade and their BPMs, as well as the number of streams to date (February 2021). “Starboy” has received the most streams at 2,237,519,142, however, this song has been out for close to five years now. Contrary to this, “Blinding Lights,” the single off of his most recent album is exceptionally close to the number of streams as “Starboy” despite having just turned one-year-old last month. This graph represents the level of success The Weeknd has experienced in the adante BPM range. “Starboy” and “Blinding Lights” combine to over four billion streams while “Call Out My Name” and “The Hills,” both also popular songs of his, have significantly higher BPMs at 136 and 112 respectively, but have been less successful on streaming charts.