"The Hills" | ||||
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Single by the Weeknd | ||||
from the album Beauty Behind the Madness | ||||
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Released | May 27, 2015 | |||
Recorded | 2014 | |||
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Length | 4:02 | |||
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Songwriter(s) |
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The Weeknd singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"The Hills" on YouTube |
"The Hills" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on May 27, 2015, as the second single from his second studio album, Beauty Behind the Madness (2015). The song was written by the Weeknd alongside producers Emmanuel "Mano" Nickerson and Illangelo, with Belly receiving additional writing credits.
In the United States, "The Hills" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, replacing his own "Can't Feel My Face", and topped the chart for a total of six weeks. On June 28, 2019, the song received a diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling more than ten million copies in the United States, becoming his first diamond-certified record. [3] It was also certified diamond in Canada and Australia.
Elsewhere, "The Hills" reached number one in his native Canada, and charted in multiple territories, including the top ten in the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and Ireland. "The Hills" has two official remixes, both released on October 10, 2015, one with the rapper Eminem, and another with the rapper Nicki Minaj.
The Weeknd premiered a demo at a South by Southwest party in 2015. [4]
In an interview with Paul Tingen, Illangelo stated that the song was their way of going back to the style of the Weeknd's first mixtapes with "a pop arrangement and chords in a faster tempo". revealed the process behind the recording of "The Hills". Written, recorded, produced, and mixed in the Weeknd's home studio in Toronto, Ontario, the initial demo for the song was created by producer Emmanuel "Mano" Nickerson. Nickerson sent the demo to the Weeknd, which Illangelo began work on. Shortly after, the Weeknd had an idea for the song's top line. Illangelo wanted the vocals to be "very spacey and lo-fi", taking out a lot of low end, and wanting everything to come together at the song's chorus. The bridge and the outro were the last sections of the song to be written. [5]
The song's sheet music, published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing at Musicnotes, shows that the song is written in the key of C minor in common time with a tempo of 113 beats per minute. The vocals in the song span from C3 to E♭5. [6]
That's probably the most important song in my career because it is the Weeknd and the irony being it was the most successful song that I had ever done.
— The Weeknd on "The Hills" [7]
"The Hills" received critical acclaim, with most reviewers praising the Weeknd's return to form after his pop-oriented direction with "Earned It". Billboard wrote, "His recent singles ditched his murky sound for shinier, poppier fare, but R&B outlier The Weeknd goes back to basics with "The Hills," an ode to druggy, illicit booty calls. "When I'm f–ed up, that's the real me," he sings over a dissonant synth haze in an arresting update to the woozy hedonism of his influential early mixtapes." [8] Brian Mansfield of USA Today noted that "when a song takes its hook from a horror film—Wes Craven's 1977 cult classic The Hills Have Eyes —you know there's bound to be trouble". [9]
In an analytical piece for Pitchfork , Hannah Giorgis called "The Hills" "a dark, almost discordant meditation on lust, drugs, and fame" while noting that "to those familiar with his repertoire, the only twist in 'The Hills' is how it ends: as the final chords fade, a woman's voice, syrupy and sedate, closes with a lullaby of sorts—not in English, but in Amharic, the primary language of Ethiopia and the Weeknd's own native tongue". She goes on to trace the song's melodic and lyrical origins to the Ethiopian diaspora. She continues, writing that "the familiarity of Tesfaye's strained vibrato makes him the inheritor of musical legacies that Abyssinia has birthed for generations..." [10]
Rolling Stone ranked "The Hills" at number 11 on its "50 best songs of 2015" list: "The Weeknd's second Number One smash of 2015 is much more like the guy we knew from his old mixtapes: Horror-movie shrieks and stormy electronics punctuate his seductive moans about a nihilistic affair, and somehow it's all catchy as hell." [11] Billboard ranked "The Hills" at number 10 on its year-end list for 2015: "Number one hits aren't supposed to be this sonically adventurous and dark, but The Weeknd can do no wrong in 2015. There's barely a pop hook to speak of here—just a beguiling, harrowing soundscape that's impossible to forget". [12] Time named "The Hills" the sixth-best song of 2015: "The music video for the year’s darkest No. 1 single finds 25-year-old Abel Tesfaye a.k.a. the Weeknd pulling himself out of a smoking car wreck. It’s a fitting visual, as listening to his twisted brand of R&B can feel like rubbernecking when he brags about dysfunctional relationships and being on so many drugs that getting high feels like decaf. Yet the song’s throbbing bass and Tesfaye’s horror-movie vocal delivery make the song, like some accidents, hard to turn away from." [13] Stereogum ranked it at number 11 on its "The 50 Best Pop Songs Of 2015" list: "With "Earned It" and "Can't Feel My Face," Abel Tesfaye climbed the charts by moving his sound toward the center. What's crazy is that after he got his foot in the door, "The Hills" became an even bigger hit without compromising his illicit, art-damaged aesthetic in the slightest." [14] news.com.au named it as the 24th best song of 2015: "This made No. 1 in America. Let’s just let that sink in. Donald Trump is trying to make them even more conservative and this ultra-dark song filled with way more than just swear words tops the charts." [15] The Village Voice ranked "The Hills" at number 22 on their annual year-end critic's poll. [16]
On December 9, 2015, Cutting Edge Music filed a lawsuit against Tesfaye, the producers of the track, and the labels who released the song, for allegedly using the bassline from the score of the film The Machine . The complaint also alleges that a producer who worked on the piece, Emmanuel “Mano” Nickerson, sent a message to the score's composer on Twitter stating that he had sampled the composer's work and that it might appear on the next Weeknd album. [17] As of July 2022, the case remains unsettled. [18]
In the United States, "The Hills" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 20 for the chart dated June 13, 2015, and was the week's highest debut. [19] Its debut was overwhelmingly powered by first-week digital download sales of 109,000 copies and 5.2 million domestic streams, aided by the simultaneous premiere of its music video on the single's release date. [20] The following week, the single declined by one position but earned the largest gain in streams on the chart. [21] It has since become the Weeknd's second number-one single in the United States on the issue dated October 3, 2015, replacing the singer's own "Can't Feel My Face", becoming the first artist since Taylor Swift to replace themselves at the top spot. [22] "The Hills" spent six consecutive weeks at number one before being replaced by Adele 's "Hello" on the issue dated of November 14, 2015. It remained in the chart's top ten for 21 consecutive weeks before finally dropping out on January 16, 2016, and also ending the Weeknd's 45-consecutive weeks in the top 10.[ citation needed ] As of June 2016, "The Hills" has sold 2,946,000 copies in the country. [23]
In the UK, "The Hills" entered the UK Singles Chart at 51, for the week ending June 6, 2015. For the week ending September 10, 2015, it climbed from 35 to 29. For five more weeks, the song reached 23, before skyrocketing to number 5 the week later. On the week ending October 29, 2015, it reached number 3 on its 20th week, being held off by Perfect by One Direction (at number 2) and Turn the Music Louder (Rumble) by KDA (at number 1). The song spent 7 weeks altogether in the top 10 and 12 in the top 20 and was number 25 on the end of year chart.
The music video for "The Hills" was directed by Grant Singer. It was uploaded to YouTube on May 27, 2015, and features a cameo from Rick Wilder, who also appears in both the "Can't Feel My Face" and "Tell Your Friends" music videos. [24] As of 2024, the video has been viewed over 2 billion times.
The video begins showing a wrecked Lincoln Town Car that has flipped over, and the reason it flipped is unknown. The Weeknd is seen crawling out of the car before helping two women to get out. As the song progresses, the Weeknd is seen walking by himself down South June Street in Los Angeles, [25] and at the beginning of the second chorus, the wrecked Town Car explodes behind him. [26] He occasionally is pushed repeatedly by one of the women from the car. At the end of the song, he enters an abandoned mansion, and goes upstairs to a room illuminated with red light. A man (played by Rick Wilder) holding an apple sits waiting for him, next to two other women, and the video cuts to black.
Another music video was filmed for the Eminem remix in collaboration with GoPro and United Realities. [27] It is a 360-degree virtual reality video in which the Weeknd is seen leaving a venue and heading to his limo (taking him to the afterparty featured in an Apple Music commercial, with John Travolta [28] [29] as his driver). [30] [31] [32] As the viewer changes the angles, it is shown that comets are raining down and the raining debris causing fiery explosions around the area. The car that's flipped over in the original music video is also in view. As he approaches his limousine, a fiery explosion consumes him.
"The Hills" was performed live for the first time during the Weeknd's set, on April 11, 2015, at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. [33]
On October 10, 2015, two remixes of the song were released online. One featured American rapper Eminem and the other featured Trinidadian-American rapper Nicki Minaj. [34] The remix by Minaj was performed on Saturday Night Live along with the Weeknd. The Eminem remix was a personal request from Tesfaye, [35] and a virtual music video was released for it. [36] American rapper Lil Wayne remixed the song for his mixtape No Ceilings 2 . [37]
On August 9, 2016, a remix was released by the Belgian DJ duo, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, as one of the free downloads of their "Summer of Madness" tracks. [38] Another remix was released on Tesfaye's YouTube channel by RL Grime.
Weekly charts | Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
All-time charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [119] | 12× Platinum | 840,000‡ |
Belgium (BEA) [120] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [121] | 3× Diamond | 750,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada) [122] | Diamond | 800,000‡ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [123] | 2× Platinum | 180,000‡ |
Germany (BVMI) [124] | 3× Gold | 600,000‡ |
Italy (FIMI) [125] | 2× Platinum | 200,000‡ |
Mexico (AMPROFON) [126] | 2× Platinum | 120,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [127] | 2× Platinum | 30,000* |
Norway (IFPI Norway) [128] | Gold | 20,000‡ |
Poland (ZPAV) [129] | 4× Platinum | 200,000‡ |
Portugal (AFP) [130] | 3× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [131] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
Sweden (GLF) [132] | 3× Platinum | 120,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [133] | 4× Platinum | 2,400,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [134] | 11× Platinum | 11,000,000‡ |
Streaming | ||
Greece (IFPI Greece) [135] | 2× Platinum | 4,000,000† |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
The discography of Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd consists of five studio albums, nine extended plays, three mixtapes, four compilation albums one live album, 75 single releases, and 13 promotional singles. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), The Weeknd has accumulated 18.5 million certified album units and 126 million certified digital single units in the US, based on sales and on-demand streaming, as of August 2024.
"Earned It", alternatively titled "Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)", is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. The song was released as the lead single from the soundtrack to the 2015 film Fifty Shades of Grey and was included on the Weeknd's second studio album Beauty Behind the Madness (2015).
"Watch Me" is the debut single by American rapper Silentó. In March 2015, he was signed to Capitol Records, which released the track as a single with an accompanying music video. The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, where it spent six non-consecutive weeks. With a viral clip on YouTube, the song was popular for its dance despite negative reviews, a combination of two popular moves cited in the title: the "Whip" and the "Nae Nae" as well as other hip hop dances from various songs, such as "Crank That " and "Stanky Legg". As of 2024, it remains his most well known song.
"Can't Feel My Face" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd from his second studio album, Beauty Behind the Madness (2015). The song was released on June 8, 2015, as the album's third single. It was written by Max Martin, Peter Svensson, Ali Payami, Savan Kotecha and the Weeknd, and produced by Martin and Payami.
"Often" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on July 31, 2014, as the lead single from his second studio album, Beauty Behind the Madness (2015). The song contains a sample from "Ben Sana Vurgunum" by Turkish singer Nükhet Duru.
"Acquainted" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd, from his second studio album, Beauty Behind the Madness (2015). It was sent to urban contemporary stations on November 17, 2015, by XO and Republic Records, serving as the album's fifth single. He wrote and produced the song with DaHeala, DannyBoyStyles, Illangelo, and Ben Billions.
"Without Me" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his fourth studio album The Eminem Show (2002). "Without Me" was released on May 14, 2002, as the lead single from the album, and re-released on his greatest hits compilation album Curtain Call: The Hits (2005). "Without Me" is one of Eminem's most successful singles, reaching number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and number one in fifteen countries.
"Low Life" is a song by American rapper Future featuring Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was originally released on February 6, 2016, as a track from the former's fourth studio album Evol, before being sent to radio on March 1, 2016, as the lead single. The song was written by Future, the Weeknd, Metro Boomin, Ben Billions, and DaHeala, and produced by the latter four.
"Starboy" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd featuring the French electronic duo Daft Punk. It was released on September 21, 2016, through XO and Republic Records, as the lead single from his third studio album of the same name (2016). The artists wrote and produced the song with Doc McKinney and Henry "Cirkut" Walter, with Jason "DaHeala" Quenneville receiving additional credits. It is an R&B and electropop song that reflects themes of extravagance and celebrity life.
"Party Monster" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd, from his third studio album Starboy (2016). The song was released for digital download on November 17, 2016, as the album's fourth single. It was later sent to US urban contemporary radio on December 6, 2016. The song was written and produced by the Weeknd, Ben Billions, and Doc McKinney, with additional writing credits going to Belly and Lana Del Rey, the latter of which providing background vocals.
"Reminder" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd from his third studio album, Starboy (2016). It was written by him with Dylan Wiggins, DaHeala, and its producers Doc McKinney, Mano and Cirkut. The song was released to rhythmic contemporary radio on May 9, 2017, as the album's fifth single in the United States.
"Die for You" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd, from his third studio album, Starboy (2016). The song was sent to US rhythmic contemporary radio on September 19, 2017 as the seventh single from the album. It was written by the Weeknd, Doc McKinney, Cirkut, Prince 85, Cashmere Cat, Dylan Wiggins, and Billy Walsh, and produced by the former five.
"Pray for Me" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd and the American rapper Kendrick Lamar from the soundtrack album of the Marvel Studios superhero film Black Panther. The song was released by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records on February 2, 2018, as the album's third and final single. It serves as the second overall collaboration between the two artists. The song appears in the movie during the scene where the titular hero along with his allies, Nakia and Okoye, enter a secret casino in Busan.
"Try Me" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd from his debut extended play, My Dear Melancholy, (2018). The song was written by the Weeknd, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Quenneville, Adam Feeney, Michael Williams and Marquel Middlebrooks. It was produced by Mike Will Made It, Marz, Frank Dukes, and DaHeala.
"Heartless" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter 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.
"Godzilla" is a song by American rapper Eminem featuring fellow American rapper Juice Wrld, released as a single on January 31, 2020, from the former's eleventh studio album Music to Be Murdered By (2020). The song was Juice Wrld's first posthumous release following his death the previous month in December 2019. It topped the charts in Finland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom and reached the top ten in Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.
"Save Your Tears" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd from his fourth studio album, After Hours (2020). It was released to Dutch contemporary hit radio on August 9, 2020 as the album's fourth and final single. The song was written and produced by the Weeknd, Max Martin, and Oscar Holter, with Belly and DaHeala receiving additional writing credits.
"Snowchild" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd from his fourth studio album After Hours. It was released on March 20, 2020, alongside the rest of its parent album. A music video for the song was released on July 22, 2020. The song was written and produced by The Weeknd, Illangelo, and DaHeala; with Belly receiving additional writing credits.
"Out of Time" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter 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 from Jim Carrey, who provides narration throughout the album. The song also won an MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B Video in 2022.
"Creepin'" is a song by American record producer Metro Boomin, Canadian singer the Weeknd, and British-American rapper 21 Savage. It was sent to Italian contemporary hit radio through Republic Records and Boominati Worldwide as the lead and only single from Metro's second studio album, Heroes & Villains, on January 27, 2023. It is a remake of "I Don't Wanna Know" (2004) by Mario Winans featuring Enya and P. Diddy, which is based on a sample of the Fugees' song "Ready or Not" (1996), and itself samples Enya's "Boadicea" (1987). Winans himself returned to contribute to the song as a backing vocalist along with Travis Scott. Diddy himself would also join the artists on a remix of the song on March 17, 2023.
...Horror-movie shrieks and stormy electronics punctuate his seductive moans about a nihilistic affair...