The Weeknd
The Weeknd Lists Swedish House Mafia As Inspiration for New Album, Fueling Speculation of Collab
During the latest episode of his Memento Mori radio program, The Weeknd fanned the flames of ongoing speculation that a collaboration with Swedish House Mafia may be on the horizon. “Album is pretty much done,” The Weeknd said at the top of his show. “Just doing some final tweaks, some mixing notes, additional vocals.” As he spoke, the introduction to Swedish House Mafia’s “It Gets Better” began to loop in the background. Prior playing the track, the “Blinding Lights” superstar introduced the theme of the show: music that is inspiring the “new Dawn era”—a reference to his next album. Over the course of the hour, The Weeknd explored a wide variety of sounds including music from Swedish House Mafia, Britney Spears, Kanye W...
The Weeknd Returns With ‘Take My Breath’
A little over a year after dominating the airwaves, internet and eventually the Super Bowl, The Weeknd isn’t ready to rest just yet. The artist also known as Abel Tesfaye released his latest song, “Take My Breath,” which has been teased for the better part of a week. Beginning with a clip that was shown during the Olympics (and a subsequent ad) on Monday and then as news spread that it wouldn’t be aired at IMAX theaters due to strobe lighting (which could cause seizures), the artist himself confirmed its release on Thursday afternoon. Now, you can check out the footage below. [embedded content] Around this time last year, The Weeknd said that he was at work on new material despite After Hours having released just a few months prior. That collection featured powerhouse singles “Blindin...
A Collaboration Between Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd Could Be On the Way
New music from The Weeknd is imminently arriving and after hearing a teaser of his next release, speculation is abound it might just be a collaboration with Swedish House Mafia. Fans know that Swedish House Mafia are arguably the most cryptic musicians in the business, but this time the teaser that might indicate their next release has come from The Weeknd himself. The “Blinding Lights” artist recently posted a clip of a molten sun beaming over a shadowy landscape as a synthwave-inspired production plays in the background. There’s a confluence of factors fueling the rumors of a new collab. First, from a musical perspective, the style of the production falls within the trio’s wheelhouse after their last release, the downtempo “Lifetime” with Ty...
The Weeknd Can Now Feel His Face, Says He Is “Sober Lite” After Quiting Hard Drugs
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Kevin Winter / Getty The Weeknd’s music might be sounding a whole lot different going forward. It’s no secret that some of The Weeknd’s biggest hits were referencing drug use, but now the Canadian-born singer will be singing a different tune. In the cover story for GQ’s upcoming September issue, The Weeknd revealed that he now considers himself “sober lite” after stopping his use of hard drugs and alcohol as a means of coping. The 31-year-old singer, born Abel Tesfaye, isn’t going cold turkey, admitting that he still will puff on weed and drink “occasionally,” but he now considers himself to be clean outside of that. “I’m not a heavy drinker, as much as I used to be. The romance of drinking isn’t there,” he tells GQ. The “Save Your Tears” crafter ad...
This UFO-Inspired Spotify Playlist Features Daft Punk, Jack Ü and Frank Sinatra
What do Jack Ü, Led Zeppelin and Nicki Minaj all have in common? If you’re coming up blank, you’re not alone. Luckily, Spotify has found a peculiar way to put these artists in conversation with each other: UFOs. Inspired by a recent uptick in UFO sightings across the globe, the streaming giant has launched an eclectic playlist called “cl0se ënc0ūnteRs.” “We can’t explain this playlist,” its description reads. “Just like we can’t explain those UFO sightings.” Featuring 25 tracks across a wide range of genres and musical eras, “cl0se ënc0ūnteRs” manages to find space for songs like “Levitating” by Dua Lipa and DaBaby, “Creep” by Radiohead and “Come Fly With Me”...
Songs by Daft Punk, ODESZA Among the Most Popular Music to Code to
Ever wondered what kind of music produces the most productivity? In search of the most popular music to code to, recruiting company KO2 conducted a study by analyzing various Spotify playlists curated specifically for coding before determining the most popular songs and artists amongst coders. Their study analyzed over 58,000 songs, with The Weeknd‘s “Blinding Lights” coming out on top. Second place was a tie between Hans Zimmer‘s “Day One” and [bds.u]’s “French Inhale, followed by Idealism’s “Both of Us,” Daft Punk‘s “Solar Sailer,” and two additional tracks by Zimmer: “Cornfield Chase” and “Time.” Daft Punk, the legendary electronic music duo who abruptly split in February 2021 aft...
KAYTRANADA Nabs 2021 Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year
The 2021 Juno Awards saw The Weeknd dominate, as the international pop superstar added even more accolades to his trophy case after winning in the categories of Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Album of the Year. In the Dance Recording of the Year category, renowned producer KAYTRANADA took home the award for his Bubba LP. The seminal 17-track album features major contemporary artists such as Pharrell Williams, GoldLink, Estelle, and Iman Omari, among others. Though it was released in December 2019, Bubba, which also swept the Grammys back in March, still qualified for this year’s Juno Awards. Earlier this month, the organizers of the Juno Awards ceremony announced that a new category for Underground Dance Single of the Year wo...
Dua Lipa wins album of the year at Brit Awards
Dua Lipa won the coveted British Album of the Year prize at the Brit Awards on Tuesday, in a ceremony that saw female artists dominate the mixed categories. Around 4,000 guests streamed into London’s O2 Arena for the biggest night in British pop music, as the ceremony welcomed guests for the first time in two years as part of the government’s pilot scheme easing coronavirus restrictions. The Brit Awards have been criticised in the past for nominations seen as skewing heavily male, but this year almost all of the main prizes went to female artists. Little Mix won best British group — becoming the first female act ever to do so. Singer and poet Arlo Parks took the Breakthrough Artist award, and best international group went to the American band HAIM. In another history-making moment, Taylor ...
The Weeknd Calls The Grammys Corrupt, Boycott Still In Effect
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: MEGA / Getty The Weeknd is going ten toes down with his feelings towards The Grammys. He has called out the committee as being unscrupulous and more. As spotted on The New Post the Canadian performer is unimpressed by the Recording Academy’s recent announcement. On Friday, April 30 the organization released a statement saying they will no longer choose award winners via secret committees. “Among the changes are the elimination of Nominations Review Committees, a reduction in the number of categories in which voters may vote, two GRAMMY® Award category additions, and more” the press release read. “These updates are a result of extensive discussions and collaboration over the course of the last year amongst a special subcommittee of Recording Academy m...
The Grammy Award Nomination Process is Changing
Harsh criticism toward the Grammy Awards ceremony from pop superstar The Weeknd has led the Recording Academy to reconsider its nomination process. After The Weeknd—the world’s second most-streamed artist on Spotify—was snubbed at last year’s ceremony, the artist called for increased transparency around the organization’s nomination process. The Recording Academy has taken that criticism into consideration and will now forgo using anonymous review committees to determine its nominees. The Academy has also changed the number of categories in which Academy members can vote, and added two additional award categories. With the changes, the Academy seeks to “reflect its ongoing commitment to evolve with the musical landscape and to ensure that the GRAMMY Awards...
The Weeknd Will Continue to Boycott Grammys Despite Rule Change
The Recording Academy announced Friday (April 30) that it would eliminate its “secret” nomination-review Grammy committees — but The Weeknd, who was famously shut out of all 2021 nominations, isn’t satisfied. “The trust has been broken for so long between the Grammy organization and artists that it would be unwise to raise a victory flag,” he told Variety. The Weeknd’s hit After Hours and singles were absent from the nominees and as a result, in November 2020, he committed to withholding his music from award consideration, and he reaffirmed that commitment, despite the recent statement from Grammy chief Harvey Mason Jr. The Weeknd says, “I remain uninterested in being a part of the Grammys, especially with their own admission of corruption for all these ...
The Weeknd Releases Remix of ‘Save Your Tears’ Featuring Ariana Grande
Two of the biggest stars in the world just released a brand new collaboration tonight, with Ariana Grande joining The Weeknd on the remix of “Save Your Tears.” The two have been teasing their song together for the last few days on social media, so the new take on the After Hours hit isn’t exactly a surprise. But perhaps the part that people didn’t see coming was the video featuring animated versions of both artists. Check out the video below. [embedded content] Of course, the original version of “Save Your Tears” is, was, and likely will continue to be one of the biggest songs of the pandemic times. Officially released as a single just over a year ago after appearing on The Weeknd’s massive 2020 album, the track has gone double platinum and picked up over a billion streams on its...
