The Weeknd
Calvin Harris and The Weeknd Drop Interdimensional Video for “Over Now”
On Friday, Calvin Harris and The Weeknd released their funky new single, “Over Now.” Accompanying the song’s debut, days later, is the release of the official music video for the single. The video sees The Weeknd travel through space and time and take on a number of different forms throughout the psychedelic adventure. As he shapeshifts between human, robot, alien, and beyond, viewers are transported to sunsets, synthwave cities, outer space, and more while the collaborative tune guides the way. The visual spectacle pairs well with the smooth, futuristic sound of “Over Now.” While we didn’t know it at the time, the duo teased the theme and imagery of the new video in their release date announcement last week. “Over Now” by Calvin Harris...
MTV VMAs 2020: Watch The Weeknd Perform ‘Blinding Lights’
The Weeknd just took MTV back to the days when it would play music videos more frequently. The Toronto singer’s Sunday night, New York City rooftop performance of his chart-topping single “Blinding Lights” kicked off a night of socially distant awards. The ’80s-inspired cut off his retro After Hours record has seen some mega-performances before, notably his January gig on Jimmy Kimmel Live. But Sunday’s take on the track was bigger, bolder and synth-ier. While it mirrored his previous performances of the cut at first, it soon saw the superstar dance around on a rooftop in red akin to Spider-Man, with fireworks backing him to really drive it home. Among the weekend’s six VMA noms are nods for Artist of the Year and Video of the Year. We’ll just have to see how many Moonpeople he goes home w...
Calvin Harris and The Weeknd Return to Funk with New Single “Over Now”
The highly anticipated collaboration between Calvin Harris and The Weeknd is officially out for our listening pleasure and it does not disappoint. The track shows Harris going back to his Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 days with a slow, soulful anthem for the heartbroken souls of the world. Along with the single comes a neon-soaked CGI video that feels like you’ve entered Tron on a psychedelic trip in Miami. “Over Now” is a shimmery piece of funky, R&B-inspired production. The groove-inducing bass guitar paired with the bright synth work is reminiscent of Daft Punk and allows The Weeknd’s signature crooning to take the lead. It’s the ultimate breakup track for anyone who needs to stand their ground to a persistent ex. Last week the two superstars shoc...
The Weeknd Responds to Previous Misogynistic Lyrics
While The Weeknd has topped the charts with a number of hits, the R&B singer has also been called out for his sexist lyrics. And now he’s finally addressing the issue. In a new interview with Esquire, The Weeknd, born Abel Tesfaye, pointed to “I just fucked two bitches ‘fore I saw you” from the 2015 song “The Hills.” [embedded content] While there seemed to be a connection issue during that point of the conversation (of course), Tesfaye responded by saying that he was portraying a character. “It’s definitely a character,” he told Esquire. “When you hear some of the drastic stuff, you can tell. I mean, that’s why it’s tricky, because it is me singing the words; it is my writing. It’s like you want people to feel a certain way. You want them to feel angry. You want them to feel sad. You ...
Calvin Harris & The Weeknd Share Release Date and Artwork for Collaborative Single “Over Now”
After teasing the track on Instagram just a few days ago, fans of both Calvin Harris and The Weeknd have been begging for another look at what’s to come from their upcoming collaboration “Over Now.” Over the weekend, the duo revealed that the wait is almost over and the single will hit the airwaves on Friday. Posted across their respective social media accounts, the release date was included in the song’s official artwork. Some fans initially questioned if the track would be released by Calvin Harris’ alter-ego Love Regenerator, but the images show that this is not the case. This will be his first release as Calvin Harris since his January collaboration with Rag’n’Bone Man, “Giant.” The Weeknd has been busy as of late, as...
Calvin Harris and The Weeknd Tease Rumored Collaboration, “Over Now”
Good news in the music world has been rare lately thanks to the wrath of COVID-19, but in one fell swoop, Calvin Harris and The Weeknd delivered some that set the industry ablaze. The two superstars took to social media to tease a forthcoming dream collaboration that many are dubbing “Over Now,” simultaneously sending their fanbases into a fever pitch. The Weeknd shared an Instagram post that shows the two hanging out with a bunch of Solo cups, adding the cryptic caption, “Don’t get too confused…” Harris opted for the platform’s Stories feature, sharing a video of the purported collaboration, which features funky, acid-inspired bass and R&B falsettos that could easily be attributed to the Grammy-winning “Can’t Feel My Face̶...
The Weeknd Unearths Remix of Lana Del Rey’s ‘Money Power Glory’
Despite the Weeknd’s major label debut Kiss Land coming out seven years ago, it topped iTunes’ R&B chart for the first time this week. To celebrate the unexpected achievement, Abel Tesfaye decided to feature “a collection of records that inspired the universe and a few songs and ideas that didn’t make the album” during the latest episode of his Memento Mori radio show Friday night. He played a number of unreleased tracks and outtakes as a “special thank you episode to the fans for showing so much love to kiss land this week,” and threw in a few other surprises, including a remix of Lana Del Rey’s Ultraviolence track “Money Power Glory.” Though the song was never properly released, the singers would go on to collaborate on Del Rey’s “Lust For Life” in ...
The Weeknd Shares Posthumous Juice WRLD Collab
In September 2019, Juice WRLD let Twitter know just how successful a collab between him and the Weeknd would be, writing that the pair would make a “diamond record” together. And today, the Weeknd might have made the late crooner’s vision come to life. Me and The Weeknd would make a diamond record… — . (@JuiceWorlddd) September 11, 2019 After teasing the release on Tuesday, the Canadian heavyweight dropped a new track, which was his first collaboration with the late emo-rap trailblazer. “Smile,” which features a lyric video of a man painting both artists on canvas — showcases Juice jumping into his inner feelings (“I pray that I get it right this time”) over a delicate piano-turned-trap-beat. The Weeknd then tags along for the sec...
Watch the Weeknd’s Career-Spanning Anime Video For ‘Snowchild’
If you forgot about The Weeknd’s come-up, consider his latest video a reminder. The Canadian R&B-pop superstar dropped the visual for After Hours cut “Snowchild” Wednesday, complete with anime-styled imagery charting the singer’s career trajectory. The clip — created by D’ART Shtajio studio, the first Black-owned animation studio in Japan — takes viewers through Abel Tesfaye’s journey: walking through his city’s snowy streets, looking out the window of a house filled with balloons and being decked out in his now-iconic After Hours suit. While this isn’t the Weeknd’s first venture into animation — his appearances on Robot Chicken and American Dad remain close to our hearts — the clip hammers in the immensity of his 2020 LP: Single “Blinding Lights” spent four weeks at No....
The 101 Best Albums of the 2010s
Why now? Because — and there’s no reason to ignore the elephant in the room: SPIN stewardship has changed hands many, many times since we made the online jump — we got our chance. Because plenty of our favorite albums of the last 10 years could still use a boost. Because some of the already unanimously beloved music on this list still merits further praise. Because we relish excuses to sound off on the music that’s affected us the most and to enlist some of our favorite writers to do so. Because the works of art below serve as a reminder that the 2010s weren’t all bad. Because lord knows we need the distraction. Because it’s fun. There’s a lot of music that isn’t on this list. Which, duh, but plenty of artists whose work defined the decade for many, many people, including many of us, ...
The Weeknd Donates $1 Million to COVID Relief Efforts
After announcing the sale of his popular XO face masks and promising matching every dollar raised from it, the Weeknd has donated $1 million to COVID relief efforts. The $1 million donation sees $500,000 go to MusiCares and an additional $500,000 going directly to the front-line hospital workers at the Scarborough Health Network in his hometown. “I was raised in Scarborough and felt it was important to give back to the community that raised me during the hard times of this pandemic,” the Weeknd said in a statement. “Our vibrant and diverse community represents the best of Canada, and we are fortunate to have ambassadors like the Weeknd in our corner,” the SHN’s president and CEO Elizabeth Buller said. “This gift will help our community hospitals continue to deliver exceptional care fo...
Kygo Tells Apple Music He’s Been “Jamming” with The Weeknd
Fresh off the release of his third studio album Golden Hour, Kygo recently sat down with Apple Music‘s Zane Lowe for the Beats 1 host’s “At Home With” series to chat about the record and what he hopes listeners get out of the music. The wide-ranging interview featured a slew of topics, like Kygo’s relationship with Martin Garrix, his appreciation of Bon Iver, and his experience writing with OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder. However, it was his comments pertaining to The Weeknd that set off the sirens of his fanbase. “I would love to make sound with The Weeknd,” Kygo gushed. “That’s been in the… We’ve been jamming before. I really hope that will happen one day. Actually, we were in a studio jamming. But we...
