Glass Animals react to record-breaking US number one hit: ‘Absolutely can’t believe it’

‘Heat Waves’ has been on the American music chart for 56 weeks

Glass Animals has scored their first number one single in the US after a record-breaking 56 weeks on the charts.

The British band released “Heat Waves” in June 2020, and it has remained popular since.

The song’s success is partly due to its presence on TikTok, as parts of the track have accompanied over 1.1 million videos.

“Heat Waves” was on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 56 weeks prior to making it to No 1. This is the longest a track has appeared on the chart before reaching the top spot.

This record was previously held by Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You”, which took a total of 35 weeks on the chart before hitting number one.

Glass Animals’ lead singer Dave Bayley addressed their achievement in a video posted to social media early on Tuesday.

“We just woke up on our tour bus and found out that we have a number one single in the United States of America,” Bayley began, with the remaining group members Edmund Irwin-Singer, Drew MacFarlane and Joe Seaward visible around him.

“A Billboard Hot 100 number one, which is ridiculous. I absolutely can’t believe it.”

Reaching the top of the charts with “Heat Waves” is particularly meaningful for Bayley, as he describes it as “one of the most personal songs I’ve ever written”.

“The song came out at the beginning of the pandemic, and we didn’t think it would really go anywhere because of that,” he continued.

“It has because you guys have embraced it so much. Thank you so much for doing that, it has meant the world and this is like the cherry on top of the world, on top of a cake, everything. It’s everything.”

Glass Animals is also nominated for Best New Artist at this year’s Grammy Awards.