The Weeknd Drops New Album ‘Beauty Behind The Madness’ [Watch]
When "House of Balloons" debuted in 2011, Canadian songwriter Abel Tesfaye, whose stage name is The Weeknd, offered lyrics and a high tenor voice mixed with scratchy moans that seemed to represent a drugged, self-destructive and loveless state of being.
On Friday, fans were treated to a completely different sound and style when The Weeknd released his new album "Beauty Behind The Madness," which includes singles "Can't Feel My Face," "Earned It," "The Hills" and "Often." Kanye West provided production for the track "Tell Your Friends," while Ed Sheeran and Lana Del Rey made guest appearances on the song "Prisoner."
The New York Times reports The Weeknd's latest effort shows "a slightly nicer, and much more firmly structured, songwriter on his bid for pop outreach." The album is well crafted with top notch collaborators, including Stephan Moccio, known as a songwriter on Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball," and Max Martin, a Swedish music producer and songwriter who created mega hits in the mid-1990s for the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears.
The Weeknd credits personal growth for his new and improved style and sound.
"I still loosen up, but I have much more control. I can go overboard, but nobody can stop me but myself. Me and myself have a better relationship now than we did back then," he told Billboard.
He also reconciled with his Ethiopian-Canadian single mother. Mother and son had become estranged when he dropped out of high school to make music.
"I couldn't face her until I made something out of myself," he said. "I couldn't go back home as a nobody."
The singer has already been rewarded with two hit songs from the album: "Earned It," from the "Fifty Shades of Grey" movie soundtrack, of which Moccio was a songwriter, and "Can't Feel My Face," which featured Martin and others.
Three of the singer's tracks have remained on the Billboard Hot 100 single chart since May.
Fans can stream the album on Apple Music or purchase it on iTunes.
The Weeknd is joining Beyoncé and J. Cole in headlining the 2015 Budweiser Made In America Festival on Sept. 5 and Sept. 6 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Fans can see him perform live on The Madness Tour with Travi$ Scott and Banks Halsey, which kicks off in November.
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