The Weeknd came onto the music scene in 2011 with the release of three mixtapes: House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence. At the time of House of Balloons’ release, not much was known about the man behind the music; people were unsure whether it was one person or a group, and the singular project released to SoundCloud was the only real information about the artist. However, as the subsequent mixtapes were released, later known together as Trilogy, and once Drake got involved with bringing this artist into the spotlight, more and more people came to know the real identity of Abel Tesfaye. Since then, Abel has cemented himself as one of the most popular R&B singers of the decade, with critically acclaimed albums Beauty Behind the Madness and Starboy, as well as huge features with artists like Future, Travis Scott, and Kanye West. Since 2016, though, The Weeknd has remained pretty quiet in music, other than a six song EP released in 2018 and some other singles here and there. With this, I thought it would be appropriate to look back on the mysterious character’s career thus far, giving a little bit of info about some of his most defining tracks.
The Hills
This track, released as the first single off Beauty Behind the Madness, was my own introduction to the Weeknd and many others’ as well. The single was a huge success with it’s grimy bass, distorted vocals, and catchy hook. It took the listeners into the mind and dark imagination of the Weeknd, showing the world a glimpse of what he was all about.
Kiss Land
With Abel’s debut album, he went all-out cinematic, with songs that sounded huge and ethereal at times. While this was sometimes hit or miss, Kiss Land was definitely an interesting time in his career. On the song of the same name, The Weeknd sounds as darkly confident as ever, his voice smooth and soft over an energetic instrumental. His wide vocal range is displayed greatly on this song as well, with his high-pitched “don’t hold back! let it out” breaking through the chorus. It’s a great developmental track that, when looked back on, demonstrates the direction Abel was going in and how he wanted to grow as an artist.
Wicked Games
Coming off of Abel’s very first project, House of Balloons, the song was going viral upon its release, along with the rest of the album, due to his unique sound in the R&B scene of the time. Abel’s voice sounds damaged and forlorn, while his lyrics of addiction, sex, and depression were done in a way that made The Weeknd a recognizable name in the industry.
Can’t Feel My Face
Another single off of Beauty Behind the Madness, “Can’t Feel My Face” was a huge directional swing for the Weeknd, having a very pop-oriented sound, a funky bass line, and a radio-friendly sound. The lyrics were still very much the same content of drugs, sex, and relationships, but it was done in a way that Weeknd fans had never heard before. It was a huge success, and remains as one of the Weeknd’s best polished songs.
Starboy
Coming off the album of the same name, “Starboy” sees The Weeknd continuing in the pop direction he hinted to on “Can’t Feel My Face”. A feature from Daft Punk, groovy synths, and an infectious hook all come together on this track to provide The Weeknd with one of his biggest hits, and it helped him remain a mainstay on popular music radio.
Call Out My Name
This track, released in 2018, was the first material that The Weeknd had released since 2016’s Starboy, and it showed him once again going in a different direction as an artist. It seemed to meld together elements from his pop-oriented discography while sticking pretty tightly to the themes all the way back from his mixtape days. The lyrics and performance are some of Abel’s strongest ever, with some points of the song sounding like he might just break down from emotional stress.
While there are certainly many, many more songs that could be gone into detail and have had an impact on Abel’s career, these are the most defining of the defining tracks. Each of these songs represents a different era in his discography, and if you like any of them, I’d recommend checking out the rest of The Weeknd’s material if you aren’t familiar with it already. Let me know in the comments if you’re a Weeknd fan and your favorite songs/album if you have some.