There is no beauty nor madness here. Abel Makkonen Tesfaye aka The Weeknd has impressed the charts with his second album Beauty Behind The Madness but he failed to impress me. He is in the center of attention ever since he has released his first compilation Trilogy. In 2013, his debut Kiss Land peaked at No 2 on Billboard 200 and it was just the matter of time when The Weeknd was going to rule the music world. Why? Well, it’s pretty clear. Naming R.Kelly, Prince and Michael Jackson as his influences, he exists as a mixture of these three artists. There is a lot of mainstream pop with powerful rnb matrix. Ofc it is going to be popular.
It is a typical success story based on following commercial safety road. The Weeknd has recognized it and started walking the easy road of popularity. Even though he has a distinctive voice, his vocal abilities are spent on la-la-la numbers with elements of hip hop and funk. Everything is far away from his idols, too expected and cliché. The Weeknd is a mix of all those little things that youngsters adore – pop rnb hip hop electronic dance. I must salute him for being able to recognize mainstream desires. When you dig a little bit under the surface, there is nothing that would make you listen to this album more than once. Lyrics are pretty infantile and banal, accentuating partying and sex, with pretentious try to show it with no critical consciousness. Often, often girl I do this often, make that pussy poppin, do it like I want it. This is a really bad copy of R.Kelly and his infamous sexual allusions. Maybe this could be tentative sarcasm but it seems to me it is just the notion that sex sells.
Acquainted starts as a dark track and has its climax in stupid chorus about the dangers of love. Most of the songs are not subtle at all. Choruses sound similar and singing is just boring falsetto. Examples are Earned it and Angel. Reinterpretation of old school is valid. When there is no passion, music sounds like this. Duets with Ed Sheeran (Dark Times) and Lana Del Rey (Prisoner) are meh, while Can’t Feel My Face might be the only solid track on the album.
Once again, here is the proof that popularity brings fame, and not quality.
