The crooner born Abel Tesfaye is arguably the world’s biggest R&B star du jour, spawning a genre, PBR&B — that’s Pabst Blue Ribbon & R&B meshed together — that’s alternatively known as hipster R&B, or alt R&B. Dripping sex, drugs and indie rock samples, The Weeknd evolved from being a reticent (with the press, anyway) Ethiopian kid from Toronto to one of a very elite few who has had back to back No. 1 hits. The Weeknd’s mythos, created in the age of hyperinformation, may have been the reason he shot to fame as well; that, and his super slick falsetto and made-for-sexytime songs. Still, the artist was inspired by quite a few musicians in his time; here’s 8 acts without whom the Weeknd wouldn’t be who he is.
Drake
Let’s start with the obvious: When the Weeknd first released his songs on YouTube, they blew up due to Drake's manager, Oliver El-Khatib, who posted them to the OVO blog. The atmospheric tracks eventually made their way to Drake, who featured the Weeknd on his double-platinum 2011 album, Take Care. (A lot of songs that Tesfaye wrote for House of Balloons ended up as Drake’s.) “I gave up almost half of my album,” he said in a Complex magazine interview. He may have regretted it later, but added: “It's hard. I will always be thankful — if it wasn't for the light he shined on me, who knows where I'd be. … You never know what I would say if this success wasn't in front of me now."
R. Kelly
Here’s another obvious one: the slick sophistication, every note drenched in sex, the glassy falsetto — the Weeknd owes that all to R. Kelly. It’s dirty yet romantic. It’s love, then it’s “she pops that pussy on a Monday.” How is this juxtaposition so good? It’s a deliberate homage to the man the Weeknd calls a musical genius, probably the “most prolific artist of the generation before mine.”
In the same Complex interview he said, “Some of the lines [R. Kelly] says, if you say them in a normal voice, it’s the most disgusting thing you could say to somebody. But I can say “Pussy-ass nigga” in the most elegant and sexiest way ever, and it’s accepted. If I can get away with singing that, I’m doing something right.”
Michael Jackson
You’re not a real R&B singer if you haven’t been influenced by the King of Pop in any way, but the Weeknd’s inflections, lyrics and initial inspiration was ALL MJ. Michael Jackson's music made him want to be a singer, “Dirty Diana” made him want to write songs. (Speaking of, “The Hills” could’ve totally been a song from Bad). “I Can’t Feel My Face” is full of Michael Jackson imagery — but it didn’t come without a lot of work.
After the Weeknd’s first festival gig, in 2012 at Coachella, "I hated my performance," he says. To improve, he took dance lessons, practiced performing and played lots of shows. "I was performing my ass off," he says. "I feel like I went after it and nailed it."
Prince
The Weeknd isn’t shy in naming Prince as a massive influence, and that’s nowhere more evident than in Prince’s singing and songwriting styles. He could go from sexy to innocent, funny to seductive, desperate and mysterious — and always sincere. Same with the Weeknd.
When it comes to songwriting, both know how to use the tools at their disposal — intros, outros, bridges, chord changes and samples in both the melody and lyrics. Incidentally, the Weeknd and Prince made plans to collaborate and record in the late musician's Paisley Park studio before he died; Prince’s last TV appearance was in November 2015 when he awarded Tesfaye with an American Music Award.
D’Angelo
Like D’Angelo, the Weeknd paints sonic landscapes with his songs. Sustained groove, intricate arrangements and intelligent beauty are in all their songs.
Plus, the mythology of the reclusive D'Angelo is maybe one that sustained the Weeknd being incognito for so long — fans waited 14 years before Black Messiah was released after Voodoo.
Maxwell
The manly, heartbreaking falsetto — R&B vet Maxwell made that the ultimate sex soundtrack, and it’s one that the Weeknd channels not just in style, but in swagger as well. When his debut Urban Hang Out Suite came out in 1996, it was the antithesis of everything released around it at the time. It was mellow, groove-based and chill, with elements of funk, jazz, and smooth soul. You could say that the Weeknd’s Trilogy was the same kind of genre-changing album when it dropped in 2011.
Hall and Oates
OK, don’t laugh — but the undeniable funk in Hall and Oates’ songs is also clearly seen in the Weeknd’s work. Just think: “I Can’t Feel My Face” is like the bastard child of “I Can’t Go for That” — and is just as catchy and bouncy.
Aaliyah
Aaliyah may have died at 22, but the songs she left behind — chill R&B slow jams that didn’t feature the power vocals that were so huge at the time — were definitely proto-PBR&B. And sampling experimental beats (who can forget the baby’s cry in “Are You that Somebody?”) is an act the Weeknd has carried over into his own work. He pays homage to Aaliyah by sampling "Rock the Boat" on fan favorite "What You Need."
See what else made it into our Top 8 by visiting its official page.
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