Four years after the release of his last project Starboy, the Weeknd is finally bringing back the sad boy vibes with brand new album After Hours. But with the new music comes new drama, and no, it has nothing to do with his love life this time. It’s Usher, of all people, that the singer has a bone to pick with.
Two weeks after the debut of After Hours, The Weeknd (Abel Makkonen Tesfaye) opened up about the highs and lows of his ten-year career in conversation with Variety. Approaching the second decade of his career as a singer, the Weeknd is very nostalgic. The new project is reminiscent of the dark sounds of his earliest works, a throwback to the standout moody vibes of his early mixtapes. Those sounds, he told Variety, were jacked by some of his fellow musicians — Usher, namely.
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"House of Balloons literally changed the sound of pop music before my eyes," The Weeknd explained. "I heard 'Climax,' that [2012] Usher song, and was like, ‘Holy fuck, that’s a Weeknd song.’"
"It was very flattering, and I knew I was doing something right, but I also got angry" the singer added. "But the older I got, I realised it’s a good thing.”
Jem Aswad, who interviewed the singer for the feature, agreed, pointing out that The Weeknd's debut mixtape may have set the tune for many a sad boy to come after him. She may have a point — artists like PARTYNEXTDOOR, Sampha, and 6lack now have a niche. But the Internet, specifically the R&B community, is not having it.
The Weeknd out here doing Micheal Jackson and The Dream impressions on every song talking about Usher took his sound on Climax 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/1USyVP8QUb
— Sasha (@Baby_sashaaaa) April 8, 2020
The Weeknd would need to know how to sing first to ever be compared to Usher. Blasphemy!! https://t.co/NyOQ3ethrU
— Karabo (@KaraboParkins) April 8, 2020
Climax sounds nothing like the weeknd. Song structure, falsetto, it sounds 100% like signature usher.
— Elizabeth Warren hive (@Mr_GoodBaba) April 8, 2020
All I’m saying is Usher can sing StarBoy but can The Weeknd sing Confessions?
— Kay. (@lovemakaylahh) April 8, 2020
Several Twitter accounts pointed out that The Weeknd's vocals are clearly inspired by the musical stylings of Michael Jackson, marked by a nasally falsetto. Usher was also inspired by the King of Pop, but MJ's influence shows up more so in the Atlanta superstar's penchant for dancing than in his singing. That could be where The Weeknd is seeing a convergence between his discography and that of someone who's been in the game for 20 years longer than he has.
Whether delusions of grandeur or a valid point (personally, I'm thinking the former — Usher has been making music since 1994), I feel like we can put this to rest with a very simple solution: an Instagram live battle between the R&B singers. After 20 songs from each of their catalogues will prove whose got the right sound. Someone get Timbaland and Swizz Beats on the phone!
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