Karl Martin Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish record producer and songwriter. He rose to prominence in the late 1990s making a string of hit singles such as Britney Spears's "...Baby One More Time" (1998), the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" (1999), Céline Dion's "That's the Way It Is" (1999) and NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" (2000).
"Peek-a-Boo" is a song by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released in 1988 as the first single from the band's ninth studio album, Peepshow. Melody Maker described the song as "a brightly unexpected mixture of black steel and pop disturbance" and qualified its genre as "thirties hip hop". "Peek-a-Boo" was rated "Single of the Week" in both Sounds and NME. Sounds wrote that it was a "brave move", "playful and mysterious". NME described it as "Oriental marching band hip hop" with "catchy accordion." They then said : "If this nation was served by anything approaching a decent pop radio station, "Peek A Boo" would be a huge hit."
Ahmad Balshe, known professionally as Belly, is a Palestinian-Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Jenin, Balshe was raised in Ottawa. At 21 years old, he moved on to his main love hip-hop with the release of his debut mixtape, Death Before Dishonor: Vol. 1. He then released eight additional projects in a span of six years, including his debut studio album The Revolution (2007), as well as two collaborative mixtapes, The Lost Tapes and The Greatest Dream I Never Had, with Kurupt and DJ Drama, respectively.
Pop Airplay is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the United States. The rankings are based on radio airplay detections as measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, a subsidiary of the U.S.' leading marketing research company. Consumer researchers, Nielsen Audio, refers to the format as contemporary hit radio (CHR). The current number-one song on the chart is "Cruel Summer" by Taylor Swift.
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is noted for his unconventional music production, artistic reinventions, and his signature use of the falsetto register. His accolades include 4 Grammy Awards, 20 Billboard Music Awards, 22 Juno Awards, 6 American Music Awards, 2 MTV Video Music Awards, a Latin Grammy Award, and nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
The discography of Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd consists of five studio albums, nine extended plays, three mixtapes, three compilation albums, one soundtrack album, one live album, 72 singles, and seven promotional singles. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Weeknd has accumulated 18.5 million certified album units and 113 million certified digital single units in the US, based on sales and on-demand streaming, as of July 2023.
Jason Quenneville, professionally known as DaHeala, is a Canadian record producer and songwriter managed by SAL&CO. He has produced for artists such as the Weeknd, Halsey, Lil Uzi Vert, and Belly, among others. He was nominated for three Grammy Awards for his production work on the Weeknd's 2015 album, Beauty Behind the Madness. Over the course of his career, he has collaborated with producers like Max Martin, Daft Punk, Rick Rubin, and Metro Boomin.
"Blinding Lights" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released on November 29, 2019, through XO and Republic Records, as the second single from his fourth studio album, After Hours (2020). The song was written and produced by the Weeknd alongside Swedish musicians Max Martin and Oscar Holter, with fellow Canadian musicians Belly and DaHeala receiving additional writing credits. The song was met with universal acclaim.
"Heartless" is a song recorded by Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released on November 27, 2019, through XO and Republic Records, as the lead single from his fourth studio album After Hours (2020). The Weeknd wrote and produced the song alongside Metro Boomin, Illangelo, and Dre Moon. The song combines R&B and trap with elements of electroclash.
After Hours is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer the Weeknd, released on March 20, 2020, by XO and Republic Records. Primarily produced by the Weeknd, it features a variety of producers, including DaHeala, Illangelo, Max Martin, Metro Boomin, and OPN, most of whom the Weeknd had worked with previously. The standard edition of the album has no features, but the deluxe edition features Ariana Grande and the remixes edition contains guest appearances from Chromatics and Lil Uzi Vert. Thematically, After Hours explores loneliness, self-loathing, and escapism.
"Scared to Live" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd from his fourth studio album After Hours. He performed the song for the first time on March 8, 2020, with American musician Oneohtrix Point Never, during an episode of Saturday Night Live. The SNL version of the song was officially released alongside the deluxe edition of its parent album on March 23, 2020. The Weeknd wrote and produced the song with Max Martin and Oscar Holter, writing credits also going to Belly and Oneohtrix Point Never. Elton John and Bernard Taupin received additional songwriting credits for the interpolation of John's 1970 single "Your Song".
"Save Your Tears" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd from his fourth studio album, After Hours (2020). The Weeknd wrote and produced the song with Max Martin and Oscar Holter with Belly and DaHeala receiving additional writing credits. The record was met with universal acclaim with praise for The Weeknd's vocals.
"In Your Eyes" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd, from his fourth studio album After Hours (2020). The song was serviced to contemporary hit radio on March 24, 2020, by XO and Republic Records as the album's third single. It was originally released four days before, alongside the rest of its parent album. The Weeknd wrote and produced the song with Max Martin and Oscar Holter, with Belly receiving additional writing credits. The original studio recording of the track features Wojtek Goral on alto saxophone, while the live version and remix of the song features Kenny G on soprano saxophone.
"Hardest to Love" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd from his fourth studio album After Hours (2020). The Weeknd wrote and produced the song alongside Max Martin and Oscar Holter.
The Billboard Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing singles of the United States. Its data, published by Billboard magazine and compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, is based collectively on each single's weekly physical and digital sales, as well as airplay and streaming. At the end of a year, Billboard will publish an annual list of the 100 most successful songs throughout that year on the Hot 100 chart based on the information. For 2020, the list was published on December 3, calculated with data from November 23, 2019, to November 14, 2020.
"Take My Breath" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released on August 6, 2021, through XO and Republic Records, as the lead single from his fifth studio album, Dawn FM (2022). The song was written and produced by the Weeknd, Max Martin and Oscar Holter, with Belly, Andrea Di Ceglie, and Luigi Tutolo receiving additional songwriting credits.
"Sacrifice" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released on January 7, 2022, through XO and Republic Records, as the second single from his fifth studio album Dawn FM. The song was written by the Weeknd, Max Martin, Oscar Holter, Carl Nordström and Swedish House Mafia; with Kevin McCord receiving songwriting credits for the sampling of the 1981 track "I Want to Thank You", performed by Alicia Myers. Production was handled by the Weeknd, Martin, Holter and Swedish House Mafia.
"Best Friends" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd. Released as the ninth track on his fifth studio album, Dawn FM (2022), it was written by the Weeknd and Jason Quenneville and produced by the two with additional production by OPN, Max Martin and Oscar Holter. The track peaked at number 54 on the UK Singles Chart and number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Out of Time" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released to American urban adult contemporary radio through XO and Republic Records on January 25, 2022, as the third single from his fifth studio album Dawn FM. The song was written and produced by the Weeknd and Oneohtrix Point Never; with Tomoko Aran [ja] and Tetsurō Oda receiving songwriting credits for the sampling of Aran's 1983 song "Midnight Pretenders". Max Martin and Oscar Holter received additional production credits. The track also features additional vocals by Jim Carrey, who provides narration throughout the album. The song also won an MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B Video in 2022.
