The Weeknd

The Weeknd’s New Music For ‘The Idol’ Was Inspired By Pink Floyd And Prince, He Explained

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The Weeknd is gearing up for the premiere of his upcoming HBO series The Idol, which he co-created alongside Euphoria‘s Sam Levinson. Over the past few weeks, the “Blinding Lights” singer has been teasing new music for the series.

He previewed some new music via Instagram Live, which sounded rather dark and ominous.

In a recent interview with Interview, The Weeknd revealed that he has produced an entire album to accompany the show. He also shared that he had been listening to iconic albums by Pink Floyd and Prince for inspiration.

“I’ve been inspired by The Wall and Purple Rain,” said The Weeknd.” “But even films like Shaft, the music is literally telling the story of the film. 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?”

Elsewhere in the interview, The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, revealed that his character, Tedros, who is a cult leader, is someone who appeals to him, but he insists he is nothing like him.

“I wrote him,” he said, “but what drew me to play him was just getting to pretend to be someone else. It was a challenge, because The Weeknd, obviously, isn’t me. But I drew a lot from myself to create that character. Tedros is nothing like me.”

The Idol premieres 6/4 on HBO and will be available for streaming on Max.

The Drake & The Weeknd AI-Generated Song Was Removed From DSPs After A Statement From Universal Music Group

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It was fun while it lasted, but it looks like the era of AI-generated reproductions of rappers’ voices online is already facing its end. As I predicted a couple of months ago, it only took the right/wrong artist being unwillingly exploited for profit before the labels stepped in, shutting down some of the more notable tracks.

“Heart On My Sleeve,” one such track that had gone viral after being posted on DSPs, was the subject of a takedown request by Universal Music Group, which had it pulled from streamers. The track garnered attention for pairing the voices of Canadian artists Drake and The Weeknd for a song about The Weeknd’s ex Selena Gomez; it was a reunion of sorts for two artists who were once a dynamic duo but have since seemingly kept each other at arm’s length after a falling out.

Drake, it should be noted, wasn’t laughing when an AI-generated cover of his voice rapping Ice Spice’s “Munch” came to his attention. It’s just one of many fan-created joke tracks, which even include a phony Eminem verse on a David Guetta song.

And while proponents said “Heart On My Sleeve,” created by anonymous TikToker ghostwriter977, sounded just like something the two performers would actually make, detractors derided the song for only doing so on a surface level, throwing in additional criticism for listeners who praised it, calling them nothing short of racist for downplaying the true creativity that goes into hip-hop (you don’t see, for instance, AI-generated pop-punk or country music going viral for sounding “authentic”).

In a statement to Billboard, UMG decried the practice of generative AI copies of artists’ vocals, saying:

The training of generative AI using our artists’ music (which represents both a breach of our agreements and a violation of copyright law) as well as the availability of infringing content created with generative AI on DSPs, begs the question as to which side of history all stakeholders in the music ecosystem want to be on: the side of artists, fans and human creative expression, or on the side of deep fakes, fraud and denying artists their due compensation. We’re encouraged by the engagement of our platform partners on these issues – as they recognize they need to be part of the solution.

And hey, look: The irony of a major label complaining about “denying artists their due compensation” is not lost on me here. (Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.) But they’ve got a point: AI doesn’t just cut out the middleman (in this case, the labels), it also cuts out artists, who don’t get a say in the sort of subjects these fan-generated AI reproductions will ultimately indulge in (it’s only a matter of time until someone turns Kanye’s borderline neo-Nazi rants into a song, sung by an artist like Beyoncé or Rihanna). So, it’s probably best someone steps in sooner rather than later — at least to get some sort of legal framework in place so artists have recourse when they’re inevitably “forced” to “say” something they never said.

HBO’s New Series ‘The IDOL’ Starring The Weeknd Set for June 4 Debut

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Sunday, June 4 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT marks the premiere of the HBO Original drama series THE IDOL. The show will be broadcast on HBO and streamable on Max.

The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp star in THE IDOL, which was co-created by Sam Levinson (of HBO’s “Euphoria”), Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, and Reza Fahim. This year’s Cannes Film Festival will host the series’ world debut.

The show’s logline reads:

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. 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?

Joining The Weeknd and Depp in the series is Dan Levy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Eli Roth, Hari Nef, Jane Adams, Jennie Ruby Jane, Mike Dean, Moses Sumney, Rachel Sennott, Ramsey, Suzanna Son, and Hank Azaria.

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You can see the show’s trailer below.

The post HBO’s New Series ‘The IDOL’ Starring The Weeknd Set for June 4 Debut appeared first on The Source.

The Weeknd’s Controversial Series ‘The Idol’ Finally Has A Release Date

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The Weeknd’s long-awaited — and controversial — series The Idol finally got its release date today, along with a new teaser trailer. The Idol will make its debut on Sunday, June 4 at 9 pm ET on HBO, as well as streaming on the recently-renamed Max. The new teaser reveals few details of the plot that we didn’t already know, but does feature some steamy scenes of Abel’s cult-ish character getting close to Lily-Rose Depp’s pop singer Jocelyn.

The Idol — which was co-created by Euphoria‘s Sam Levinson before he took over as director at The Weeknd’s request — has been the subject of contentious rumors and fan speculation after Rolling Stone published a feature revealing some of the behind-the-scenes snafus with the production, including the original director Amy Seitz being replaced by Levinson when Abel apparently became worried that his character’s screen time was being curtailed to emphasize a more feminist story from Jocelyn’s point-of-view.

Some of the scripts produced after the change — which came after 80 percent of the show had already been filmed — drew criticism from the crew for containing problematic themes. The Weeknd himself took issue with the Rolling Stone article, lashing out on Twitter with a scene from the show itself that didn’t much help his case, and circumspectly addressing the rumors in an Interview magazine conversation with Jeremy O. Harris.

We’ll find out how it all plays out on 6/4 on HBO. Check out the new trailer above.

Did The Weeknd Perform At Coachella 2023?

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The Weeknd had a good weekend. He teased a potential appearance in the desert for the first weekend of Coachella 2023, but that was buried beneath his tease of The Idol Vol. 1 and news that The Idol will premiere out-of-competition at next month’s 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

Surprise, surprise: the teases were interconnected.

Metro Boomin brought out The Weeknd, Future, John Legend, Don Toliver, 21 Savage, and Diddy. The Weeknd’s portion included the live debut of “Creepin’,” the Heroes & Villains collaborative track with Metro Boomin and 21 Savage that peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and what’s believed to be “Double Fantasy” with Mike Dean (as reported by Billboard).

The latter was among last week’s teases:

Per Billboard, “For the live debut, Dean’s saxophone rumbled through the Sahara Tent while the crowd was blinded by The Weeknd’s fluorescent, all-white ensemble, along with the lights he once sang about. ‘Temperature rising, bodies united, now that I tried you in my arms. No need to fight it, no need to hide it, now that I’ve seen what’s in your heart,’ he sang before letting his vocal runs synch up with the electrifying synths.”

The Weeknd will take any good press related to The Idol, even if tangential, after the Rolling Stone‘s damning investigative report about allegedly troubling working conditions on the HBO set. He responded to the criticism, though Jeremy O. Harris didn’t explicitly ask about the March report, for Interview Magazine:

“I’m used to it more than someone like Sam [Levinson], who’s probably a little bit used to it now. And I’m sure Lily[-Rose Depp], definitely — Lily’s stronger than both of us. But I’ve been judged since the beginning. My stuff’s always kind of been provocative. I understand it’s hard for people to separate that sometimes and that some people want to have an opinion about you, even if it’s not true.

As an artist, you have to know that you can’t please everybody, and you have to accept that it comes with the job. You have to remind yourself that everybody that knows you, knows you’re a good person. If you’re going out there trying to prove to people you’re a good person all the time, then it becomes like a dead end. But what I’ve learned is, with time people will learn to understand. But I have thick skin. I’m used to it.”

Read the full interview here.

Drake & The Weeknd’s Artificial Intelligence Collab Includes Bars About Selena Gomez

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Usually, rappers only have their contemporaries to worry about as competition. Now, they’re facing the threat of artificial intelligence more fiercely than ever before. In recent weeks, a slew of videos have surfaced online, unveiling what our favourite artists would sound like singing songs from other people’s discographies thanks to the power of computer technology. Some programs are even penning new lyrics and putting vocals from artists like Drake and The Weeknd behind them to generate authentic-sounding fake singles that have been generating plenty of buzz online.

As HipHopDX notes, Friday (April 14), saw a YouTube account called ghostwriter upload a track called “heart on my sleeve.” They described it as a “Drake AI song featuring The Weeknd.” Over the beat, we hear a voice eerily similar to Drizzy’s name-dropping a fellow Canadian and his beauty guru ex-girlfriend. “I came in with my ex like Selena to flex / Bumping Justin Bieber the fever ain’t left / She know all she need, I need her she blessed, giving her my best,” the lyrics begin. “I got my heart on my sleeve with a knife in my back what’s with that? / (Aye) 21, I love him that my brother that’s my slatt,” Drake’s verse continues.

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For The Weeknd’s part, he also sings about Selena Gomez, who he previously dated. “Got these pearls on my neck, got these girls on my check like Selena baby / Oh my genie maybe yeah, she taking the Lambo for a drive using the fancy door,” The Idol star’s AI voice rings out. “When she went out the store, I throw my heart on my sleeve.” For many artists, hearing their source of revenue recreated so effortlessly online is certainly jarring, to say the least.

The Scorpion hitmaker experienced it earlier this week as well. At the time, he heard himself rapping Ice Spice’s “Munch (Feelin’ U)” thanks to modern technology. Champagne Papi shared it on his Instagram Story, giving many of his millions of followers a laugh. If hearing The Weeknd and Drake on a song together has you feeling nostalgic for their past collaborations, revisit fan favourites like “The Zone” or “Crew Love” below.

Revisit the Canadian Artists’ Real Collaborative Efforts Below

[Via]

Metro Boomin’s Star-Studded Coachella Set Included The Weeknd, John Legend, Future, And Many More Guests

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Metro Boomin played Coachella Friday, April 14, and he truly brought the heat, complete with a notable lineup of surprise guests. He opened his set with John Legend, with the two performing “On Time” together.

Future then joined Metro for six songs, including “Mask Off,” “Superhero (Heroes & Villains),” and “Wicked.” They also teased that their album is on the way.

Metro Boomin used “Metro Spider” as a solo take before then bringing out Don Toliver for “I Can’t Save You,” “Too Many Nights,” and “Around Me.”

After a brief interlude, in which he played the song he has with 21 Savage, Metro was then joined by the fellow rapper, and they went on to play six songs. Among the selections were some of their collabs, including “Bank Account” and “No Heart,” and a cover of Drake’s “Knife Talk.”

The Weeknd and Mike Dean then continued Metro Boomin’s guest lineup, where they played the live debut of “Double Fantasy,” according to Setlist.FM. During The Weeknd’s appearance, he also seemed to shade Rolling Stone, after leaving them out of the regular lyrics to “Heartless,” given a recent article came out about his upcoming HBO series, The Idol.

Future returned once more to join the two to play his song, “Low Life.”

Last but certainly not least, 21 Savage and Diddy joined Metro and The Weeknd to perform “Creepin’” as the set’s closer.

Check out clips from Metro Boomin’s special guest performances above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Weeknd Refuted The Criticism His Show ‘The Idol’ Has Received: ‘You Can’t Please Everybody’

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Abel Tesfaye — better known as The Weeknd — might be the most popular artist in the world by the numbers, but he isn’t immune to criticism — and he certainly seems not to be ignoring it, at least when it comes to the pending release of his hotly anticipated HBO show The Idol. After Rolling Stone published an investigative piece in which the show’s troubled production was castigated by crew members and Abel himself was indirectly blamed for the show’s revamped, controversial direction, he responded by posting a scene from the show in which his character derides the magazine as “irrelevant.”

It looks like he isn’t done addressing the drama just yet, either. Speaking to playwright/filmmaker Jeremy O. Harris for Interview magazine, Tesfaye defended the show and his collaborator Sam Levinson (of Euphoria fame/infamy), arguing that “you can’t please everybody” and blaming the show’s preemptive reception on hurtful rumors.

That’s what I’m learning about the film business, is that when people start rumors, it really does hurt a lot of other people,A lot of people work hard on these projects. When I’m in my world, and you guys are coming at me, it’s like, alright, cool. I’m a big boy. I can figure it out. But you have 200 people working hard on a project like this, that hurts. Especially when what they’re saying is far from the truth, but, what can you do?

While he didn’t quite get into what parts weren’t true or why, he did explain that his “thick skin” helps him to deal with the critics.

I’m used to it more than someone like Sam, who’s probably a little bit used to it now. And I’m sure Lily, definitely—Lily’s stronger than both of us. But I’ve been judged since the beginning. My stuff’s always kind of been provocative. I understand it’s hard for people to separate that sometimes and that some people want to have an opinion about you, even if it’s not true. As an artist, you have to know that you can’t please everybody, and you have to accept that it comes with the job. You have to remind yourself that everybody that knows you, knows you’re a good person. If you’re going out there trying to prove to people you’re a good person all the time, then it becomes like a dead end. But what I’ve learned is, with time people will learn to understand. But I have thick skin. I’m used to it.

The Idol is scheduled to premiere out-of-competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May, so perhaps the show really is finished after all — and we’ll start to get some sense of what its “real world” reception will actually be.