Another recording success for The Weeknd

Was it insensitive of The Weeknd to release his latest album After Hours while the world is in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic? Here is what he had to say about his decision.

“When I started making this album, I never imagined it would be released as we face a worldwide pandemic. I always felt that music helped me in hard times and I hope that this body of work can do the same for others.

“It’s been amazing to see the real heroes shine in our world right now, the healthcare workers, the grocery store clerks and staff, delivery people, first responders, everyone putting their lives on the line to help others, this album is for them and any small joy or relief it can bring.”

Given the results, The Weeknd must be very glad he stuck to his March release date. Whether indeed good as a stress-buster for these corona times or not, After Hours is now the biggest-selling album in the planet.

After Hours made No. 1 in several charts in the U.S. of A., in The Weeknd’s native Canada and several other countries. In fact, it has already been streamed over two billion times as of this writing and sold two million copies in global consumption.

Those are sales figures that most music artists can only dream of but came fairly easy to this former homeless kid on drugs on the streets of Toronto. The rumor going around is that the After Hours became this extraordinary album because of the gorgeous Bella Hadid.

Most of you must have surely heard of Bella. Check out Vogue and you will surely find images of Bella. She is one of those supermodel sisters. The other one is Gigi, who is dating former One Direction Zayn Malik. The Weeknd and Bella were said to be talking about wedding plans only a year ago.

But the relationship turned sour. They broke up and it is now being said that Gigi is the reason for The Weeknd’s self-absorbed meanderings in After Hours. The guy who created My Dear Melancholy had become melancholy himself and he ended up with one fantastic album.

The Weeknd was born a star when his first album Beauty Behind the Madness came out five years ago. And he just kept rising and rising to the top. StarBoy followed two years later and it was another huge success. In between came EPs like My Dear Melancholy and remixes. Late last March came After Hours. It is his third and his best.

In contrast to most R&B releases of the moment, After Hours tells a story. Autobiographical even. This is a record where the words and music flow into one another into one cohesive whole. The Weeknd has brought back the concept album of old and this is such a wonderful accomplishment.

He starts out soft with broken-hearted ballads, Alone Again, Too Late, Hardest to Love and the lovely Scared to Live which samples Elton John’s Your Song. He tells his life story in Snow Child and then goes into the pounding beats of the big hits, Heartless, Blinding Lights and other possible No. 1s like In Your Eyes and Save Your Tears. He ends on the sad notes of After Hours and Until I Bleed Out, as a man broken and headed for destruction.

It is not just the album that The Weeknd harks back to in After Hours. There are echoes of Thriller and Purple Rain in the fact that the album also inspired some short films instead of the usual videos. These star The Weeknd of course as a young man in a red suit with a bleeding nose on a masochistic binge in Las Vegas. The tale is disjointed but can be easily fixed to become a full-length picture.

So is The Weeknd referencing Michael Jackson and Prince? I think he is. And why not. Those guys are excellent influences on somebody who has the chops to try. And try very well, The Weeknd does. He has the music down pat. ‘80s synth and electropop sounds fill the tracks as well as dreamy keyboards. And best of all, he has the voice, a sweet, soulful sound that is truly heavenly.