21/12/2021 The Weeknd’s Limited Edition ‘Blinding Lights’ NFTs With Billboard Are Up for Auction

The auction for the seven-piece animated collection — created in partnership with Autograph — is taking place on OpenSea.

The Weeknd's Billboard cover NFT
Autograph

The Weekndis hitting the blockchain. To celebrate “Blinding Lights” becoming the No. 1 song onBillboard’sGreatest Songs of All Time Hot 100 Chartand earning the distinction of being the all-time No. 1 song on theHot 100with 90 weeks, the artist born Abel Tesfaye andBillboardare releasing a series ofNFTsfeaturing The Weeknd for auction on Monday, Dec. 20.

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The 7-piece animated NFT collection includes four designs: a 1-of-1 NFT featuring The Weeknd’s November 2021Billboardcover — which announced his Hot 100 achievement — as well as three trading cards inspired by the music video for “Blinding Lights.” Each one is signed by The Weeknd.

“Through this collection, we’re excited to offer music fans a new, innovative format that allows them to engage further with our rankings and deepen their connection to an important milestone in music history,” Julian Holguin, president ofBillboard, said in a statement. “The Weeknd’s NFTs capture the excitement that ‘Blinding Lights’ inspires, and music fans and collectors alike will gravitate towards these NFTs and be proud to own them for years to come.”

The collection was created in partnership with Tom Brady’s NFT platform, Autograph, as well as popular NFT marketplace OpenSea, and Karvin Cheung, aBillboardcollaborator, trading card veteran and founder of The Infinite. The NFTs go up for auction Dec. 20 at 5 p.m. ET onOpenSea; the auction ends Dec. 23 at 1 p.m. ET. Bids will be accepted in ETH. The Weeknd’s NFT collection is also available to view onAutograph; the singer-songwriter joined Autograph’s board of directors in the fall, and is helping launch its music vertical with his NFT collection.

The Weeknd x Billboard nft

Ahead of the NFT collection, The Weeknd andBillboardalso marked the award-winning artist’s Hot 100 achievement with a “Blinding Lights”trading card collectionfeaturing five different designs by Cheung. “It’s always been a dream of mine to create trading cards for the music industry, especially cards celebrating some of the world’s most renowned artists,” Cheung said at the time. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate withBillboardto highlight The Weeknd’s milestone, which will undoubtedly play a role in defining the future of music.” The card packs, which launched Nov. 23, are available onshop.theweeknd.com.

Besides the “Blinding Lights” NFTs and cards, The Weeknd — who was namedBillboard‘s No. 5Greatest Pop Star of 2021— is keeping busy with his musical endeavors. “Tears In the Club,” his collaboration with FKA Twigs, arrived on Thursday (Dec. 16). Hours later on Dec. 17, “Poison” — his collaboration with Aaliyah for her upcoming posthumous album — made its debut.

The Weeknd has also been teasing that he’s got new music of his own coming up. During an October episode of his Apple Music 1 radio showMemento Mori, he revealed thathis next album is done. Teased the artist: “Only thing that’s missing is a couple of characters who are key to the narrative — some people that are near and dear to me, some people that inspired my life as a child and some that inspire me now.”

A release date has not yet been announced for the follow-up toAfter Hours.

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https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/the-weeknd-nft-collection-auction-opensea-autograph-1235011828/