Three years ago on March 30, 2018, The Weeknd surprised fans with his first extended play: the dark and emotional My Dear Melancholy,. The six-track project served as a bit of a sonic reset for Abel’s career, as he ditched the purely pop glam of Starboy to revisit the harrowing soundscapes of his early mixtape output. The result was a striking step forward that was successfully expounded upon in his sensational 2020 album After Hours. Now, in honor of its three year anniversary, the Canadian singer-songwriter recently dropped off the never before seen music video for “Try Me,” but the beloved EP is truly held in high regard for its other hard-hitting cuts, including “Wasted Times,” “Privilege,” and “I Was Never There.”
The latter of those songs, “I Was Never There,” is a perfect example of the combination of the haziness from his early output and the crisp production of his studio albums that My Dear Melancholy is typically praised for. While many fans still debate as to whether the Gesaffelstein-assisted song is about Bella Hadid or Selena Gomez, the heartfelt song is one of the most powerful cuts from The Weeknd’s 2018 EP.
It appears that “I Was Never There” may also be one of The Weeknd’s favorite cuts from My Dear Melancholy, as well, because the XO artist recently a screenshot of himself listening to the soul-bearing tune.
Three years later, what is your favorite cut from My Dear Melancholy,?
Quotable Lyrics
Ooh, now I know what love is, and I know it ain’t you for sure
You’d rather something toxic, so, I poison myself again, again
‘Til I feel nothing in my soul (in my soul)
I’m on the edge of something breaking, I feel my mind is slowly fadin’
If I keep going, I won’t make it