In our modern day era, a large amount of rap songs have meaningless and graphic lyrics with a catchy beats to appeal to its listeners. Therefore, it’s exciting to see an artist use their abilities to convey a story through their words. In this fashion, Canadian singer and songwriter, Abel Tesfaye, more commonly known by his stage name, The Weeknd, recently released the album “My Dear Melancholy,” which reached number one in the R&B/soul charts on iTunes at the beginning of April.
So what has made this album so appealing to The Weeknd’s fans? Well, not only are the songs musically pleasing, but lyrically as well. The Weeknd chose to include allusions to the break-up between him and pop singer, Selena Gomez, throughout the entirety of the album.
According to Elle Magazine, the Weeknd and Gomez were dating for approximately 10 months, until it abruptly ended when Gomez was spotted hanging out in public with fellow pop star Justin Bieber, who is also Gomez’s ex.
As a result, The Weeknd was very broken up about the situation, considering his previous break-up with American model, Bella Hadid. To respond to this milestone in his life, The Weeknd decided to express his feelings in his new album.
“My Dear Melancholy,” is a six song “mini-album” that possesses a gentle vibe The Weeknd uses to reach the ears of his listeners. He takes them along this journey and approaches the meaning of heartbreak in a very serious way.
Many of us know the feeling of heartbreak, and knowing our biggest icons and famous people are sharing the same emotions can really help during those times in struggle.
The most popular song on the album is “Call Out My Name,” and in this piece The Weeknd reflects mostly on the mistake of getting involved with Gomez. One of the lines that expresses this idea the most is “falling for you was my mistake.” By including this line, The Weeknd shows that what he is going through is partially his fault and that he has learned many life lessons from the relationship he has endured with Gomez.
In the song, he also states “I helped you out of a broken place,” referring to when Gomez was still recovering from her kidney transplant due to the inflammatory disease, Lupus. He goes on about how once he had helped her recover, she became stronger and realized that she no longer needed The Weeknd’s support, hence their break-up.
Because music is such an helpful accessory to have alongside the emotions we feel, The Weeknd did an amazing job of providing an outlet to those who are going through a feeling of loss and heartbreak. Without his considerate and passionate approach, many of his fans wouldn’t see the soft and delicate side of his personality.