The Weeknd is one of only two artists with over 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Any music he puts out will get listened to by the masses, no matter what. But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t songs in his catalog that deserve more love.
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Since 2011 (the year he released his debut mixtape House of Balloons), The Weeknd has delivered five studio albums, mixtapes, compilation projects, soundtracks, and EPs. With this much output, there are bound to be a few tracks whose star potential was overlooked. We’re here to bring them to the forefront.
Check out our list of The Weeknd’s best deep cuts below.
1. “Coming Down” (2011)
For his aforementioned 2011 mixtape House of Balloons, The Weeknd introduced his dark, atmospheric R&B sound to the world. Though songs off this LP like “Wicked Games,” “High for This,” and “The Morning” were the ones that aided his breakthrough into the mainstream, there were still a few tracks that were overlooked and added to the mystique of the young artist. The best example of this was “Coming Down.”
Over the dreamy production with hip-hop beats, The Weeknd perfectly encapsulates the feeling of “coming down” back into sobriety. His vocals about desiring his significant other more when his drugs wear off, while toxic, are perfectly sung to match the song’s atmosphere.
2. “Scared to Live” (2020)
The fourth track on The Weeknd’s 2020 album After Hours, “Scared to Live” perhaps includes one of the best performances of the entire project. Outshined by up-tempo, radio hits like “Blinding Lights,” “Heartless,” and “In Your Eyes,” the more somber “Scared to Live” instead showcased The Weeknd’s emotional intensity and sympathy towards a partner.
I am not the man I used to be
Did some things I couldn’t let you see
Refuse to be the one who taints your heart
So don’t be scared to live again
Be scared to live again
No, don’t be scared to live again
Be scared to live again
3. “Reminder (Remix)” feat. A$AP Rocky and Young Thug (2017)
Though “Reminder,” from The Weeknd’s 2016 album Starboy, was already a noteworthy cut off the LP, its eventual remix brought multiple new and exciting dimensions. Adding spontaneous ad-libs and a light-hearted, melodic verse from Young Thug, as well as a slick, punchy verse from A$AP Rocky to close the song, “Reminder” transformed from a neat R&B/pop song to a gnarly hip-hop banger.
Young, young n***a, same OG, stayin’ lowkey
Stand ten toes deep, roll fleeces
G says, made a thesis, I’m a G
I’m a weakness like The Weeknd, so the remix…
[RELATED: The Weeknd Celebrates Taylor Swift Earning 100 Million Monthly Spotify Listeners]
4. “Don’t Break My Heart” (2022)
In early 2022, The Weeknd spontaneously released his most recent studio album Dawn FM. As one of his most conceptually-focused full-length efforts, with skits from Jim Carrey and a cohesive synth-pop, dance club sound, many songs from the track list fell to the wayside. Likely due to their lessened appeal for playlists and radio play, several Dawn FM tracks have still not surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify, which is almost unheard of for songs by The Weeknd.
One of these is the LP’s thirteenth song “Don’t Break My Heart.” Over the frenetic, electronic pop beat, The Weeknd croons about a woman who has him entranced, as he hopes her attractive aura isn’t a trap.
5. “Ordinary Life” (2016)
The fourteenth song on Starboy, “Ordinary Life” does perhaps the best job of any song on the album of demonstrating the project’s theme. Seeing The Weeknd address his qualms about the fast life as a superstar, the stripped-back, ethereal beat on “Ordinary Life” allows the iconic Canadian’s commanding singing to take center stage.
Angels all singin’ in monasteries, yeah
My soul is burning in LaFerraris
Father, sorry, Father, sorry
Halos are given to ordinary lives
No, but this ain’t ordinary life
Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for dcp
