The Neighbourhood Reacts to ‘Sweater Weather’ Making Spotify History, Says It Feels Bigger Than the Band

The Neighbourhood’s “Sweater Weather” surpassed five billion Spotify streams on Monday, Nov. 2, becoming the third song to reach the milestone, Spotify confirmed to Billboard. It is also the platform’s most playlisted song of all time, appearing on more than 103 million user-created playlists.

Bandmates Jesse Rutherford, Zach Abels and Jeremiah Freedman came up with the idea for the song as teenagers. “It’s still hard to wrap my head around,” guitarist Abels told Billboard of its ongoing success. “We wrote it in my mom’s living room when I was in high school, and now it’s up there as one of the most streamed songs.”

“The song really took on a life of its own through the internet and fans — it feels bigger than the band at this point,” Abels continued. “We’re just grateful … People seem to put their own meaning on it, which is probably why it keeps connecting.”

Released ahead of The Neighbourhood’s debut album, I Love You, “Sweater Weather” peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2013 and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart. It has seen a resurgence nearly every autumn since and first reached one billion Spotify streams in 2021. Spotify said its annual streams increased more than sevenfold between 2019 and 2024.

“I think it fits the season,” Abels said of the song’s autumn appeal. “There’s an intimate mood to it that people seem to want when it gets colder. Every fall the streams jump, and it ends up on a ton of playlists. We didn’t plan for it to become a seasonal thing, but it’s been consistent for years now.”

He added, “The hook is very visual and physical, but the overall feeling is pretty universal — that mix of wanting comfort and closeness while everything else feels a little dark.”

The song’s music video surpassed one billion YouTube views a couple of months ago.

The Neighbourhood has released four more albums since I Love You. The latest, Ultrasound, arrived in November 2025 and peaked at No. 20 on the Top Alternative Albums chart. The album accompanied a sold-out world tour across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe and North America.

Source: Billboard