The Weeknd

Fans Still Think The Weeknd Is Playing Bella Hadid Voicemail At Concerts

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In the music video for Chromatics’ remix of The Weeknd’s gargantuan hit “Blinding Lights,” the 4:33 mark contains quite the interesting voicemail clip. It goes as follows: “Hey, it’s me,” a female voice says somberly. “I know it’s been a while but I was just thinking about you and I’m sorry about everything.” This is a clip that the Canadian superstar continues to play at his shows before performing the track, with the most recent example being at his Lisbon concert in Portugal. While most believe that the voice belongs to Chromatics’ lead signer Ruth Radelet, many others think it’s actually his ex, Bella Hadid.

Of course, this debate emerged as soon as that remix video dropped, so this speculation is nothing new. Also, it’s worth noting that The Weeknd has never publicly confirmed either theory, although he probably enjoys the mystery. While some wouldn’t put it past the R&B star to leak a private voicemail like that, it still seems like a stretch. Another speculative element of his recent performances is his new silver mask, which many compared to the late legend MF DOOM- and Abel doesn’t mind that comparison at all.

Read More: The Weeknd Performs “Popular” For The First Time: Watch

The Weeknd Plays Voicemail At Concert

Just like with the voicemail, though, it’s unclear how much of that is intentional and how much is pure coincidence. It’s been about four years since The Weeknd and Bella Hadid called it quits for the last time, and both have grown a lot since. Furthermore, he might have processed a lot of these emotions and feelings on his 2018 EP, My Dear Melancholy. Back in 2020, the 33-year-old called the project “cathartic” despite refusing to comment on whether it was specifically about Hadid and his other famous ex, Selena Gomez.

Regardless, there’s bigger fish to fry these days for the Dawn FM creative, including his new HBO show “The Idol.” Sure, reviews ranged from excited to less than enthusiastic, but mostly downright negative in a lot of aspects. But he expressed comfort with the backlash, as he mostly cares about the show sparking discussion and portraying the darkness and disgust of the show’s themes within their desired vision. For more news and the latest updates on The Weeknd and Bella Hadid, log back into HNHH.

Read More: Is HBO’s “The Idol” Worth The Hype? Twitter Sounds Off On The Weeknd’s New Show

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The Weeknd Is ‘Loving’ The (Not-So-Great) Response To ‘The Idol,’ His Controversial New HBO Show

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the weeknd the idol
Eddy Chen/HBO

The Weeknd and Sam Levinson’s new HBO series The Idol is here, and so far, the response has been… not great: It has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score for any HBO show ever, currently at 26 percent (with a 58 percent audience score). The Weeknd doesn’t seem fazed by this, though. In fact, it looks like he’s happy with how things are going, as he indicated in a new GQ interview.

At the top of the conversation, he was asked how he’s feeling about the response to the show after the first two episodes, and he responded, “I’m loving it. It’s definitely shaken up the culture for sure [laughs]. We knew we were making something dark and controversial but true to what we want to say.” When asked if he thinks “the audience is engaging with it in the way” he intended, he replied, “I just think discussion is healthy, no matter what. To me it’s like, I’m just happy that there’s conversation. That’s important for anything I do, especially this new medium that I’m in.”

Meanwhile, The Weeknd continues busting out new music as new episodes premiere. The fresh tracks that followed this past weekend’s episode were “Family” by The Weeknd with Suzanna Son and “Devil’s Paradise” by Mike Dean.

“The Idol” Reaches Massive Streaming Debut Numbers

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Whether you love it or hate it, odds are that you’re watching HBO’s new series with The Weeknd, “The Idol.” If you’re not, there’s still plenty of time to join the 3.6 million viewers that streamed the series’ premiere episode in its first week on their service. According to HBO, this represents one of the biggest-ever streaming debuts (and viewership debuts, for that matter) in the network’s history within that timeframe. To put things in perspective, “The White Lotus” premiered in 2021 with 3 million viewers in its first week, whereas “Euphoria” (also helmed by Sam Levinson) nabbed 3.3 million in 2019.

The second episode of “The Idol” is already out, and it’s caused no shortage of shocked, outraged, or entranced reactions online. While the show seems to have one foot in controversy and another in critique, it’s definitely caused a stir online that reflects in its commercial success. At least some credit has to go to the show’s cast and crew for that very reason, as it’s always possible that it will age like fine wine for its detractors. With two-thirds of the season to go, it’s still quite early to say whether numbers will keep rising by the finale or dip out eventually.

Read More: The Weeknd’s Biggest Hits: From “Losers” To “Blinding Lights”

“The Idol” Nabs Big Numbers For Its Premiere

Regardless, if you don’t like “The Idol,” The Weeknd is at least releasing a lot of new music- each week, in fact– to accompany it. As such, Abel die-hards can turn to tracks like “Family” and “Popular” to get a taste of the HBO series if they don’t want to see its lewd and provocative subject matter. What’s more is that the show might just open up more avenues for the Canadian superstar external to the show’s success. Recently, he expressed interest in writing and co-producing an album for Madonna after their collaboration for the series’ soundtrack.

Meanwhile, Twitter continues to dish out its hot takes surrounding the show, whether for its story, acting, or otherwise. Social media conversation has been integral to the show’s critical reception thus far, especially considering The Weeknd’s built-in fanbase, fans of “Euphoria,” and the 3.6 million views it got in its first week. It’s a lot of pressure and even more division, but maybe that’s exactly what a show like this aimed for. For the latest news, updates, and recaps concerning HBO’s “The Idol,” stick around on HNHH.

Read More: The Weeknd Net Worth 2023: What Is The Megastar Worth??

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Episode 2 Of The Weeknd’s “The Idol” Leaves Social Media Shook With Self-Harm & NSFW Scenes

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We’re now two weeks deep into Abel Tesfaye’s The Idol series, and what audiences have seen so far has elicited nothing short of shock. When the show premiered at Cannes Film Festival last month, critics made it clear that they weren’t impressed with the abundant nudity and hypersexualization present on-screen. The premiere previously showed off a scantily clad Lily-Rose Depp in practically every scene, and the second episode wasn’t much better. If you haven’t tuned in already, spoilers are ahead, so you may want to stop reading here.

In “Double Fantasy,” we see the 23-year-old actress in character as Jocelyn – a beloved pop star trying to boost her image by any means possible. Last week she connected with Tedros (played by The Weeknd) for some wild intimate play that literally took her breath away. The same NSFW themes continued on Sunday (June 11), along with more of Jocelyn engaging in self-destructive behaviours and touching herself as Tedros watches on.

Read More: The Weeknd Says He’s Dropping New Music With Every “The Idol” Episode

The Weeknd Teases E2 of His HBO Series

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Abel Tesfaye (@theweeknd)

Those who are curious about The Weeknd’s bone-chilling character will be happy to know that E2 gives more insight into his day-to-day life. Not only does he own the nightclub where he and Jocelyn met, but he also runs a cult-like management company where clients have been known to receive shock treatment.

The Idol‘s vision is obvious, but it seems many viewers aren’t into the raunchy nature of the series. “Wait, ‘The Idol’ is so good when they focus on Jocelyn’s life until that corny The Weeknd came and ruined the show with the oversexualized WattPad dialogue,” one user ranted on Twitter. “Tedros gets creepier by the minute,” another person expressed after tuning in.

Read More: “The Idol” Episode 2 Recap: “Double Fantasy”

Viewers React to The Idol

Keep scrolling to read more of Twitter’s shocked reactions to episode two of HBO’s The Idol. For HNHH‘s full recap of the The Weeknd’s controversial new series, make sure to click the link above.

[Via]

The post Episode 2 Of The Weeknd’s “The Idol” Leaves Social Media Shook With Self-Harm & NSFW Scenes appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

The Weeknd And Mike Dean Released More Eerie ‘The Idol’ Music After The HBO Show’s Second Episode

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The Idol aired its second episode on Sunday, June 11, and while many viewers were focused on the increasing role of Blackpink’s Jennie Kim, The Weeknd is committed to releasing singles from the HBO series’ soundtrack.

“World Class Sinner” and “The Lure” arrived ahead of Sunday’s episode — joining the previously released “Double Fantasy” featuring Future and “Popular” featuring Madonna and Playboi Carti — and two new singles joined the mounting batch after the episode: “Family” by The Weeknd with Suzanna Son and “Devil’s Paradise” by Mike Dean.

Tesfaye was particularly excited about Son’s The Idol character, Chloe, as evidenced by his Instagram activity, including a clip of Chloe playing “Family” at the piano.

The Weekend (real name Abel Tesfaye) shared his The Idol music plan last Wednesday, June 7.

“I was planning on dropping the whole soundtrack for [The Idol] by the finale, but I’m too hyped… instead, I wanna drop new music from the show every week with each episode,” Tesfaye captioned an Instagram post. “I’m excited for you guys to hear what we’ve been cooking and all these incredible artists that are a part of this show… this week… Jocelyn’s pop song ‘world class sinner’ and ‘the lure’ (theme score)… episode 2 this Sunday [purple devil emoji].”

The Idol was co-created by Tesfaye, Sam Levinson (Euphoria), and Reza Fahim.

“After a nervous breakdown derailed Jocelyn’s (Lily-Rose Depp) last tour, she’s determined to claim her rightful status as the greatest and sexiest pop star in America,” HBO’s official synopsis reads. “Her passions are reignited by Tedros (Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye), a nightclub impresario with a sordid past. Will her romantic awakening take her to glorious new heights or the deepest and darkest depths of her soul?”

Listen to the latest offerings from The Idol soundtrack below.

Madonna is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Weeknd Got A Kick Out Of Chloe Fineman’s Impression Of Lily-Rose Depp On ‘The Idol’

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the idol hbo
Getty Image / HBO

The Saturday Night Live writers may be on strike, but their actors are still delivering on the laughs. This week, Chloe Fineman took to social media to give us an uncanny imitation of a fictional pop star from a buzzy new show.

Though only one episode of Sam Levinson and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye’s new series, The Idol, has aired so far, Fineman has her imitation of pop sensation Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) down to a T.

In a video shared by Fineman, the SNL actress dresses as Jocelyn, wearing a red lacy coat, and smoking cigarettes. In another clip, Fineman is seen wearing a black lingerie set and practicing choreography, recreating a scene from The Idol in which Jocelyn is practicing choreography for an upcoming music video. At one point, Fineman also recreates the shocking scene, in which The Weeknd’s character, a club owner and cult leader named Tedros, places red fabric over Jocelyn’s head, although Fineman’s recreation was less dark and more humorous.

The Weeknd caught wind of Fineman’s imitation, and simply replied with a series of crying emojis, implying that he couldn’t keep it together.

You can take a look at Fineman’s imitation above.

The Idol airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. EST on HBO. Episodes are available to stream on Max.

The Weeknd And Mike Dean Share ‘The Lure,’ The Ominous Theme Score From ‘The Idol’

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HBO’s new music industry drama The Idol has everyone talking, in more ways than one. But good or bad, the show’s co-creators Sam Levinson and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye are sure enjoying the buzz. Tonight (June 9), The Weeknd and superproducer Mike Dean have shared the latest taste of new music from the show.

On The Idol soundtrack’s latest song, “The Lure,” The Weeknd and Mike Dean put their production skills on full display, offering a chilling, instrumental theme song that encapsulates the terrifying, ominous nature of the show.

Only one episode of The Idol has aired so far, however, The Weeknd is in good spirits having finally begun sharing it with the world. He planned to drop all of the show’s music on the soundtrack, which will arrive shortly before the season finale. However, The Weeknd took to Instagram to reveal that he will share a good amount of the show’s music on a more frequent basis.

“I wanna drop new music from the show every week with each episode,” he said. “I’m excited for you guys to hear what we’ve been cooking and all these incredible artists that are a part of this show.”

You can listen to “The Lure” above.

The Weeknd Drops “The Lure” And “World Class Sinner,” Featuring Lily Rose-Depp

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In an Instagram post on Wednesday, The Weeknd revealed his plans to release new music in conjunction with each episode of HBO’s The Idol. Alongside a photo from the show, he announced that he would be kicking off this initiative this week. He did so by dropping Jocelyn’s pop song titled “World Class Sinner” and the theme score called “The Lure.” Jocelyn, for those who have not watched the show, is Lily Rose-Depp’s character. She is a pop star on the rise who is readying a new single for release in the first episode. In an Instagram post, The Weeknd shared his excitement for fans to hear the soundtrack.

“I was planning on dropping the whole soundtrack for idol by the finale, but I’m too hyped…” Abel said in his Instagram post. “Instead, I wanna drop new music from the show every week with each episode. I’m excited for you guys to hear what we’ve been cooking and all these new incredible artists that are a part of this show… this week… Jocelyn’s pop song ‘world class sinner’ and ‘the lure’ (theme score)… episode 2 this Sunday.” So, it looks like the songs from the previous week’s episode may be dropping the week after they air. That means that we can likely expect whichever songs are in this week’s episode to drop next Friday. For the time being, however, fans can enjoy the show’s first two offerings.

The Weeknd And Lily Rose-Depp Are Word Class Sinners

The first two songs that The Weeknd dropped from The Idol may not please his fans. However, that is not because they are bad – they are just not extremely focused on The Weeknd as an artist. “The Lure,” a dreamy score for the opening of the show, does feature some of Abel’s vocals near the end. “World Class Sinner,” on the other hand, is almost entirely Lily Rose-Depp. She sings about how open-minded she is, sexually speaking. “You can pull my hair, touch me anywhere,” she coos on the chorus.

While the music may be good, many fans complained about the explicit nature of the show. Some had some very strong insults for the first episode. However, The Weeknd contends that people just don’t understand it. In fact, he compared it to the response when he first released music. “When I first started making music, it was the exact same thing,” Abel said. “It was provocative, and I knew it was going to be tough for people. And a lot of people didn’t like it. Not to compare it, but I feel that this is kind of like that again. This is not going to be for everybody, and that’s fine. We’re not politicians.” What do you think of the new tracks? Sound off in the comments below to let us know!

Quotable Lyrics:

‘Cause I know that you
Don’t really know how to handle it
So get down on your knees and
Get ready to become my b*tch

The post The Weeknd Drops “The Lure” And “World Class Sinner,” Featuring Lily Rose-Depp appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

The Weeknd Is ‘Too Hyped’ About ‘The Idol,’ So He’s Dropping Singles From The Soundtrack Every Week

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The Weeknd Cannes 2023
Getty Image

The timeline of The Weeknd actually killing “The Weeknd,” as he told W Magazine he plans to do, is not yet known. But the artist born Abel Tesfaye went ahead and killed the original release schedule for The Idol soundtrack.

“I was planning on dropping the whole soundtrack for [The Idol] by the finale, but I’m too hyped… instead, I wanna drop new music from the show every week with each episode,” he posted on Wednesday, June 7. “I’m excited for you guys to hear what we’ve been cooking and all these incredible artists that are a part of this show… this week… Jocelyn’s pop song ‘world class sinner’ and ‘the lure’ (theme score)… episode 2 this Sunday [purple devil emoji].”

The Idol debuted at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival before the premiere episode aired on HBO last Sunday, June 4. The sinister (and controversial) series was co-created by Tesfaye, Sam Levinson (Euphoria), and Reza Fahim. Tesfaye also stars alongside Lily-Rose Depp.

“After a nervous breakdown derailed Jocelyn’s (Depp) last tour, she’s determined to claim her rightful status as the greatest and sexiest pop star in America,” reads the official synopsis. “Her passions are reignited by Tedros (Tesfaye), a nightclub impresario with a sordid past. Will her romantic awakening take her to glorious new heights or the deepest and darkest depths of her soul?”

So far, Tesfaye has released “Double Fantasy” featuring Future and “Popular” featuring Madonna and Playboi Carti. Tesfaye performed “Double Fantasy” as a surprise guest during Metro Boomin’s Coachella set, as reported by Billboard in April.

Also in April, Tesfaye explained his The Idol soundtrack influences to Jeremy O. Harris for Interview Magazine.

“I’ve been inspired by The Wall and Purple Rain and when Bowie was doing it, but even films like Shaft, the music is literally telling the story of the film,” he said. “But I want to take it to the next level. I want to challenge myself and I feel like, as a musician, I’m the best I’ve ever been. But I have ADD. I can’t focus on just that. It’s like, how do I throw a wrench in it?”

He could impulsively decide he’d rather release weekly singles than wait until The Idol finale to drop the full soundtrack. It only took two-ish months to answer his own question.

The Idol‘s second episode, “Double Fantasy, will air at 9 p.m. EST on HBO.

Madonna is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Weeknd Details Interest In Writing & Co-Producing Madonna Album After “The Idol” Soundtrack Collab

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Once again, The Weeknd is proving that his creativity knows no bounds. His latest project, The Idol, finds him not only sitting in the producer and writer’s seats but also starring in and creating the soundtrack alongside some other huge artists. The controversial HBO series made its debut at Cannes Film Festival last month, with many reviews condemning the show for over-sexualizing 23-year-old Lily-Rose Depp in virtually every episode. Fans will be able to tap into the show at home this coming weekend, and ahead of that, Abel Tesfaye gave us a taste of the music that’s to come.

This New Music Friday (June 2) he joined forces with Playboi Carti and Madonna for “Popular,” which brings about a seriously nostalgic sound. The Weeknd spoke with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 about the single, as well as his aspirations for future work with the Queen of Pop. “The thing is, I’ve always wanted to work with her. I’ve always wanted to write and produce a Madonna album… Well, co-produce with her, of course,” the Canadian shared.

Read More: The Weeknd, Madonna, & Playboi Carti Being A Nostalgic Sound On “Popular”

The Weeknd Chats with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1

He specifically praised Madonna for being “such a visionary” and keeping her sights set on a singular outcome. “I just want to come into her world and create a classic Madonna album. That was always my dream. So this can be… hopefully, this is the appetizer for that,” Tesfaye teased. Elsewhere, he spoke about “Popular” and how “proud” he is of how the track came together.

“Me and Carti had this… I mean, we’ve jammed out before. We’ve had a different version of this song prior. So I’ve had these vocals for a while and I’ve kind of just worked around it, and then kind of kept it in the tuck. But now it felt like it was time. It was time,” the genre-bending vocalist reflected. Would you be excited to stream a joint album from Madonna and The Weeknd? Let us know in the comments, and check back later for more music/pop culture news updates.

Read More: Madonna Reportedly Wants Her Old Face Back

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