The Daft Punk-assisted smash title track evoked a confidence from within the loneliness, with lyrics boasting of the riches and stardom that fame has given him. The WeekndвЂ™s third studio album, Starboy, brightened his sound with an intergalactic retro vibe.

Beauty Behind The Madness put The Weeknd at the forefront of pop and R&B music, winning him Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2016 Grammys. The heart-racing horror and dramatic urgency lying in вЂњThe HillsвЂќ also helped that song to the top spot, while heвЂ™d receive an Academy Award nomination for вЂњEarned It,вЂќ which appeared on the sultry soundtrack of the box office smash Fifty Shades Of Grey. Come the release of his 2015 follow-up, Beauty Behind The Madness, and that sound can be traced to the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper вЂњCanвЂ™t Feel My Face.вЂќД«eauty Behind The Madness catapulted The Weeknd to a stratosphere of his own with international success. Kiss LandвЂ™s standout track, вЂњWanderlust,вЂќ continued on a retro wave reminiscent of the 80s Thriller-pop that Michael Jackson perfected. ItвЂ™s almost as if he married Trilogy with the post-punk sonics of Depeche ModeвЂ™s classic album Violator. In 2013, The Weeknd released his debut studio album, Kiss Land, also via XO/ Republic, and on which he paired his style of cloud R&B with dark wave tones. Aided by lead single вЂњWicked Games,вЂќ Trilogy added a throwback psychedelic rock aura to The WeekndвЂ™s presentation with their moody lighting and depictions of lonely journeys on highways, his stark, dark music videos also helped draw fans in, as did the signature unruly locks that he piled on top of his head. Trilogy would go on to be certified double-platinum in the US, ultimately rising to the top of criticsвЂ™ decadeвЂ™s-best lists. A featured cameo on that album, with a few writing and production credits on other songs such as вЂњShot For MeвЂќ and вЂњThe Ride,вЂќ would make for The WeekndвЂ™s first taste of the international mainstream spotlight. Drake raps вЂњShe in love with my crew,вЂќ a sly foreshadowing of the duoвЂ™s next collaboration, вЂњCrew Love,вЂќ which appears on the rapperвЂ™s 2011 sophomore opus, Take Care. Like its SoundCloud-branched companion, cloud rap, the sonics of cloud R&B are all about the trippy effects of drugs and how thatвЂ™s reflected in the production, singing, and romanticized lyricism.ДЄmid The WeekndвЂ™s three-mixtape run, he gained a notable fan: Drake, and itвЂ™s on the sedated midtempo Thursday track вЂњThe ZoneвЂќ that TesfayeвЂ™s fellow-Canadian appears.

If there is an all-encompassing term for what subgenre The Weeknd primarily occupies on Trilogy, вЂњcloud R&BвЂќ might best describe it. All three mixtapes would be compiled into 2012вЂ™s remastered, three-part compilation album Trilogy вЂ“ which was released under his Republic Records imprint, XO. His style mirrors the penmanship and flavor of The-Dream and Bobby Brown, but itвЂ™s his longing falsetto-tenor that distinguishes The WeekndвЂ™s signature voice as his own.ДЇollowing House Of Balloons with two more critically acclaimed mixtapes, Thursday and Echoes Of Silence, The Weeknd further cemented his melancholic vibe. His attitude and raspy, almost spoken vocal delivery on вЂњGlass Table GirlsвЂќ and the repetitive encouragement вЂњGirl put in work, girl, girl put in workвЂќ on вЂњThe MorningвЂќ set him as R&BвЂ™s latest bad boy. House Of Balloons quickly set a theme of вЂњsex, drugs and rockвЂ™nвЂ™rollвЂќ for The WeekndвЂ™s lyrical subject matter. The opening track, вЂњHigh For This,вЂќ holds a distorted, razor-edge grind, while the titular track trips over a loopy interpolation of вЂњHappy HouseвЂќ by UK punk/new wave pioneers Siouxsie And The Banshees. An alchemy of genres ranging from moody, alternative R&B to 80s-centric dream-pop, House Of Balloons contains cuts that feel as if they were from another galaxy. Those who stumbled upon the Toronto nativeвЂ™s mysteriously uploaded YouTube videos would learn this after the 2011 release of his first mixtape, House Of Balloons. Musically, The WeekndвЂ™s central sound is more complex than it first sounds.

Xo the weeknd