Friday at midnight, The Weeknd released a six-song EP to the surprise of both his hardcore and most casual of fans.
“My Dear Melancholy,” (yes, that comma is a part of the title) is his first music release after the commercially successful, 2X platinum album “Starboy.” The Weeknd also lent his recognizable vocals to the “Black Panther” soundtrack and Trouble’s album, “Edgewood.”
Upon its release, the EP ranked number one on iTunes.
Given the “star boy’s” popularity, it’s no surprise. However, listeners just joining the XO train, especially after the pop-house, Daft Punk infused sounds of “Starboy,” probably thought “My Dear Melancholy,” was completely out of left field. Not untrue to its name, the EP is reminiscent of 2011’s “House of Balloons,” and pulls comparisons to 2012’s “Trilogy.”
This said melancholy is the presumed result of The Weeknd’s split with Selena Gomez. The couple, beloved by fans and immediately dubbed Abelena, went their separate ways in October. A month prior, Gomez had shared that she’d undergone a kidney transplant in order to treat her lupus. In the EP’s first track, The Weeknd seems to allude to this, singing:
In case you’re wondering about that last bit, Gomez was photographed smooching longtime on-again-off-again boyfriend, Justin Bieber, just a month after the break-up.
If that’s not enough tea, just wait for track three–“Wasted Times.”
Wasted times I spent with someone else/She wasn’t even half of you.
The song is chock full of references to ex-girlfriend Bella Hadid, which would put Gomez in the awkward position of that “someone else.”
How can we be sure? Fans who have followed the Hadid family from the beginning, or at least their Instagrams, would know they are horse fanatics. Bella Hadid had planned to compete at the 2016 Olympics in the equestrian events, a dream that was sadly dashed after a battle with Lyme disease. On the same track, The Weeknd sings:
You were equestrian, so ride it like a champion (I’ll beat it).
Unpleasant when not melodic, but telling. The final track on the EP, “Privilege,” is rumored to be about Gomez as well.
And I don’t want to hear that you are suffering/You are suffering no more.
