The Weeknd has become one of the most influential artists of the past decade, and with the recent release of his final album as The Weeknd, Hurry Up Tomorrow, it’s time to look back at his journey from his humble beginnings in the House of Balloons to being a Starboy.
At the age of 20, Abel Tesfaye, known by his stage name The Weeknd, released three dark R&B-style EPs—House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence—which together formed his famous album, Trilogy. In 2012, The Weeknd released Kiss Land, a ten-track album that, despite the support of his fans, he considers his worst work. The Weeknd’s claim to fame was his 2015 pop album, Beauty Behind the Madness. Featuring hit tracks like “The Hills” and “I Can’t Feel My Face”, the whole world was witnessing the birth of a star. Following his hit pop album, he released yet another pop album, Starboy. This album is largely viewed as the peak of Abel’s career, as his second most streamed song of all time titled “Starboy” with 3,728,820,688 streams on Spotify. In 2018, he released a 6 track EP titled My Dear Melancholy, featuring hits such as “I Was Never There” and “Call Out My Name”.
The first album of Abel’s modern-day trilogy, After Hours, houses his most streamed song of all time and the record holder for the most streams on a single song ever, “Blinding Lights”. This album marks Abel’s transition out of his addiction to drugs stemming from his childhood, into a state of peace shown through his more upbeat and happy musical style. The release of After Hours led to The Weeknd being selected to perform at the Super Bowl LV Halftime Show. Dawn FM, released in 2022, is the second album of the trilogy and is largely perceived as Abel’s best-produced album before his final album which was released on January 31, 2025, Hurry Up Tomorrow. This new album is filled with hidden messages and transitions, most notably his 22-second interlude titled “I Can’t F***ing Sing” which describes his show at So-Fi Stadium which he was unable to finish due to him losing his voice, marking a low point in his mental health throughout his newfound peace.
The Weeknd’s Albums Ranked
House of Balloons: 9.8/10
Highlighted by a new style of music categorized only by “Dark-RnB,” The Weeknd burst onto the scene with an EP that makes the listener feel every second of these 9 songs. Beginning with “High For This”, one of the greatest introductions to a music career, House Of Balloons spotlights Abel’s vocals and emotion. It is hard to talk about House of Balloons without mentioning “House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls”, “Wicked Games”, and “The Party and the After Party”, some of the most defining songs of his young career. The first mixtape of Abel’s career has proved timeless, as its creative style still resonates with fans today, earning a 9.8/10 on our rankings.
Thursday: 9.2/10
Seceding the House of Balloons, the story of Thursday centers around the exotic parties that Abel would throw at the house, specifically focusing on the story of his brief romantic partner, Valerie. Songs like “Thursday”, “Lonely Star”, and “The Birds Pt. 2” show Abel’s love for Valerie, although he lost her because his addictions only allowed for him to have time for Valerie one day of the week, Thursday. With arguably the best storytelling of Abel’s career, Thursday was a monumental album for his development both as an artist and as a person.
Echoes Of Silence: 9.4/10
Completing the Trilogy, Echoes of Silence refined The Weeknd’s early dark and emotional style with its raw lyricism and eerie atmosphere. The mixtape dives into the themes of emotional detachment, self-destruction, and recklessness, highlighted by tracks such as “Montreal”, “XO/The Host”, and “Next”. Although Echoes Of Silence is The Weeknd’s least streamed album, its impact, and artistry are appreciated by dedicated fans. It is arguably Abel’s most emotional work and the production was exceptional at such an early stage in his career. For these reasons, we gave it a 9.4/10, falling between House of Balloons and Thursday.
Trilogy: 10/10
The 30-song album, Trilogy combines all 3 mixtapes: House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence. The collection of mixtapes come together to display the story of Abel’s adolescence. From the stories of Abel’s parties in the House of Balloons, his relationship with Valerie, and the mixed emotions of Echoes of Silence, a story is painted so clearly as if a puzzle has been pieced together. Written as just a teenager, Abel shows maturity in both his voice and lyrics that of an adult. Every single song on this album has value to the project, and when combined, they form a near-perfect tale and can be argued as the best album ever. For those reasons, Trilogy earns a perfect 10/10 from us.
Kissland: 9.7/10
Kissland, a 10-song album following Abel’s big break, was released in 2012. Although Abel associates the album with the peak of his addictions, and “not his best work”, fans worldwide loved the album exceedingly more than he did due to the multiple 7-minute masterpieces titled “Kissland” and “Tears in the Rain” along with a 3-minute track “Live For” featuring Drake. The production and story of Abel’s newfound fame portrayed throughout the album culminates in his year of touring the world as The Weeknd. So, even though Abel may disagree with our 9.7/10 rating for this project, millions of fans around the world who loved the album would agree.
Beauty Behind The Madness: 8.9/10
Beauty Behind The Madness, a project featuring some of Abel’s greatest hits such as “I Can’t Feel My Face” and “The Hills” marks the height of Abel’s fame and the climax of his addictions. Most of the songs were inspired by experiences he had while using but with the intent to reflect on his past and use it as a guide of how to change and be better in the future. Despite the dark message of the album, the sequencing, and upbeat tones display a pop style of music that projects Abel’s transition from addict as a dark RnB artist to recovery as an upbeat Pop artist. Beauty Behind The Madness put Abel on the map, and his success with this album influenced his style going forward. Although Beauty Behind the Madness has its flaws, its imprint on Abel’s career is worthy of an 8.9/10.
Starboy 8.1/10
Not many artists can claim that they have a song with over one billion streams. However, Abel Tesfaye holds eighteen, four coming from this album. Starboy solidifies Abel’s transition into pop music, completely abandoning his dark RnB style altogether. Unsurprisingly, Abel took the industry by storm with songs like “Starboy” and “I Feel It Coming”, both topping over 1,000,000,000 streams on Spotify. Abel’s first true pop album may be his biggest hit of all time, and with the only critique being that he abandoned his style, this project earns a clear 8.1/10.
My Dear Melancholy: 7.9/10
My Dear Melancholy, released in 2018, marks a return to the early stages of The Weeknd’s career, as the raw and emotionally charged project is reminiscent of his first 3 releases. The seven-song EP headlined by “Call Out My Name” and “I Was Never There” features some of the best vocals of The Weeknd’s career. Additionally, it is also important to note that the production by Gesaffelstein provided an echoing soundscape, introducing a style that The Weeknd had never explored prior. Similar to previous works, My Dear Melancholy centers around themes of heartbreak and emotional turmoil. That said, unlike past albums that explored Abel’s relationships with anonymous figures such as Valerie, this time the rawness and vulnerability are tied to high-profile relationships with stars like Selena Gomez and Bella Hadid. Furthermore, The Weeknd creates an impressive storyline as the album progresses, coming to terms with the pain that is illustrated in the earlier tracks. My Dear Melancholy, although short, is a beautiful EP that fuses The Weeknd’s older style with the new, therefore rightfully deserving a 7.9/10.
After Hours: 6.4/10
I guarantee 80% of individuals reading this article have heard the song “Blinding Lights”. With 4,733,540,706 streams, it is the most listened-to song on Spotify song of all time and is largely recognized as a classic from Abel. The project solidifies his artistry with its haunting production and visceral storytelling, further exploring themes of heartbreak, self-destruction, and redemption, combining his previous albums and emotions into a 14-track album. My personal favorite, “Escape From LA” delves into themes of disillusionment, toxic relationships, and the darker side of fame and city life. Abel portrays Los Angeles as a city filled with superficiality, temptation, and betrayal, which corrodes genuine connections and exacerbates his inner struggles. After Hours, although largely influential, lacks the tension and meaning that Abel has previously displayed in projects like “Beauty Behind The Madness” and “Echoes Of Silence”, earning a 6.4/10 from us.
Dawn FM: 5.2/10
Dawn FM, widely considered the most polarizing album of The Weeknd’s career, is one that listeners either love or hate. Fans of Abel’s older work aren’t as fond of Dawn FM, while newer listeners tend to be more enthusiastic about its experimental nature. Released in 2022, Dawn FM leans into the 1980s style, heavily drawing from the authentic synthesizer sound, especially in the songs “Gasoline”, “Sacrifice” and “Less Than Zero”. Dawn FM was a stark contrast to the Weekend’s previous work as he sought to establish himself as a new artist, Abel Tesfaye, ultimately in an attempt to distance himself from the person he once was. While the production is impressive, the lack of emotional depth in the lyrics restricted Dawn FM from reaching its full potential. The album fails to create an intimate connection between The Weeknd and the listener, therefore falling short of the expectations set by his earlier works. Even though it is not Abel’s best work, it deserves to be commemorated as it continued to build on his versatile discography. In our opinion, Dawn FM is a 5.2/10 album.
Hurry Up Tomorrow: 8.2/10
Hurry Up Tomorrow, Abel’s latest project completes his modern-day trilogy with a bang. His flawless transitions, most notably from “Baptized in Fear” into “Open Hearts” along with his angelic vocals on tracks such as “Cry For Me” and “Given Up On Me” allow for a true conclusion of The Weeknd into ascension as Abel Tesfaye. Abel associates the stage name “The Weeknd” with his addictions and dark times in his life, which is why after this project, he will no longer be releasing records under the name. Abel does a tremendous job of propelling his message regarding new beginnings and forgiveness through his expression of sadness in “Wake Me Up” and his illuminated tone in “Hurry Up Tomorrow”, which transitions perfectly into his debut song from House of Balloons back in 2011, “High For This”; symbolizing that The Weeknd’s story is a closed loop whilst Abel Tesfaye ascends onto better things. Abel’s farewell album earns an 8.2 but does not discredit him from his amazing career. As far as his intention with this album, it’s nearly perfect, but his lack of blockbuster hits degrades it slightly.
