Trilogy (The Weeknd album)

Trilogy
Compilation album by The Weeknd
Released	13 November 2012
Studio	Dream House Site Sound Studios Sterling Road Studios Liberty Studios, Toronto
Genre	PBR&B[1]
Length	159:35
Label	XO Republic
Producer	Clams Casino Doc McKinney Dream Machine DropXLife Illangelo Jeremy Rose Rainer The Weeknd
The Weeknd chronology
Echoes of Silence (2011) Trilogy (2012) Kiss Land (2013)
Singles from Trilogy
"Wicked Games" Released: 22 October 2012 "Twenty Eight" Released: 13 November 2012 "The Zone" Released: 16 November 2012

Trilogy is a compilation album by Canadian singer The Weeknd, released on 13 November 2012, by XO and Republic Records. It is composed of re-mixed and remastered versions of his 2011 mixtapes House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence, and three previously-unreleased songs.

Trilogy received generally positive reviews from critics, who reinforced the previous acclaim of the mixtapes, although some found it indulgent. It was promoted with three singles and The Weeknd's concert tour during September to November 2012. The album charted at number five and number four in Canada and the United States, respectively.

Background

During 2011, The Weeknd released a series of mixtapes—House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence—^[2] and garnered both critical acclaim and a growing fan base.^[3] The mixtapes were principally recorded with producers Doc McKinney and Illangelo,^[4] at Dream House and Site Sound Studios in Toronto; additional sessions took place at Sterling Road Studios.^[5] The Weeknd released the mixtapes online as free digital downloads.^[2]

In September 2012, The Weeknd signed with Republic Records in a joint venture with his own imprint label XO.^[6] The mixtapes were subsequently remastered and compiled for Trilogy, along with three previously unreleased songs,^[3] which were recorded at Liberty Studios in Toronto.^[5] "Twenty Eight", "Valerie", and "Til Dawn (Here Comes the Sun)" were included as bonus tracks at the end of each of the compilation's discs.^[7]

To re-release the mixtapes' music for retail, The Weeknd had to obtain clearance from the recording artists he had originally sampled for certain songs, including Beach House for "The Party & the After Party" and Siouxsie and the Banshees on "House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls"; the sample of Aaliyah's "Rock the Boat" on "What You Need" was excluded from Trilogy.^[6]

Promotion

A video accompanying the track "Rolling Stone" was released on 3 October 2012, to promote the album's release.^[8] The Weeknd previewed the album at a listening party in New York City on 24 October. It was his first major media event.^[9] According to music magazine NME's website, in an open letter to his fans The Weeknd posted on his website in regards to the "Rolling Stone" video, "Because I am a man of few words, I chose to make a viral video to show you how I felt and where I stand. I usually don't like to 'spoon feed' my audience because I grew up idolising story tellers who tell stories using symbolism, so it was in my nature to do the same. The "Rolling Stone" video takes place in a dimly lit studio which represents the two worlds I have been stuck in. The gloomy side represents the mainstream world while the other side represents the underground. The girl holding on represents you."^[10]

The video for his first official single from Trilogy, a revamped version of "Wicked Games", was released just weeks later on 18 October 2012, again through his website.^[11] Chris Martins of Spin describes the video, "The clip is almost a sequel to the similarly shot "Rolling Stone" video, wherein a woman draped over the singer's back mysteriously disappears by the song's end. This time, the shot opens on a dancing, purse-lipped model type, but her shadow soon vamps away from her body, and torments Tesfaye until the track's end."^[12]

The album's lead single "Wicked Games" was released on 22 October 2012.^[13] It charted at number 43 on the Canadian Hot 100, and in the United States, it reached number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 13 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.^[14]

His fourth video release, and third to promote Trilogy, is a collaboration with fellow Toronto musician, rapper Drake. This video had been rumoured for months and was a popular track given the collaboration of OVOXO, a crew formed by Drake and The Weeknd.^[15] The video was released 7 November 2012, and is described by music blog Pretty Much Amazing's review as having "a lot of camera obscura effects, a forest of multicolored balloons, lens flare that would make J. J. Abrams jealous, a woman dancing in lace lingerie, and Drake. It's a fitting video – its film noir, Twin Peaks-y vibe perfectly matches the track's subtle sexy-creepy energy."^[16]

The second single "Twenty Eight" was released on 13 November.^[17] The Weeknd toured in support of Trilogy during September to November 2012.^[6] "The Zone" was released as the album's third and final single three days later.^[18]

With Trilogy now on iTunes and in-stores, The Weeknd turned to his fifth official video, one of his three new releases from his debut, "Twenty Eight". Dropped on 13 February 2013, and directed by up-and-coming visionary Nabil Elderkin (some may notice similarities to Frank Ocean's "Pyramids" video which he also directed).^[19] Simren Bolaria of music blog Earmilk, describes the video, "A long way from his former faceless, anti-media Internet persona, a distracted Abel Tesfaye sits down for a grey and dreary television interview with a foreign journalist while a haunting hologram girl sits in bed watching from her own television set. He's under surveillance—the crew is watching, hologram girl is watching, and the reporter is talking at him, so he dips into mental absence. The Weeknd continues to slip back into his alternate stripper world where the lights are flashing, the strippers don't get tired, the décor is decadent, and he can do the watching himself, with a camcorder in hand, of course. The line between what's real and what's imagined is blurred, but one thing is clear—this video is definitely NSFW."^[19]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.1/10[20]
Metacritic	79/100[21]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[22]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[23]
The Guardian	[24]
The Irish Times	[25]
Mojo	[26]
The Observer	[27]
Pitchfork	8.5/10[28]
PopMatters	8/10[29]
Rolling Stone	[30]
Uncut	8/10[31]

Trilogy received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 79, based on 19 reviews.^[21] John Calvert of Fact dubbed it "an r'n'b album with few equals in terms of narrational ambition".^[32] Oliver Keens of Time Out wrote that The Weeknd "communicates" his character "so engagingly on Trilogy" and found him "riveting when he juxtaposes debauchery with a delivery that finds him numb and on the verge of tears".^[33] Killian Fox of The Observer felt that the mixtapes' "production sounded great to start with" and that the "new material is unexceptional", but ultimately stated, "if you didn't pick up the mixtapes when they were going free, and can handle 160 minutes of beautifully crafted nihilism, this is an essential buy."^[27] Although he found the new songs "arbitrary in terms of sequencing", Pitchfork's Ian Cohen cited the compilation as "some of the best music of the young decade; judging by its already pervasive influence, it's safe to say Trilogy (or at least House of Balloons) will be one of those records that will be viewed as a turning point when we look at the 2010s as a whole."^[28]

In a mixed review, AllMusic's Andy Kellman felt that, despite moments when he is "distinctively gripping," The Weeknd lacks "restraint, as he is prone to repetitious whining that is more young boy than young Keith Sweat". Kellman wrote that "now that he's with a label, he'll hopefully get some kind of filter that enables him to fulfill the promise heard in these 160 minutes of one-dimensional, occasionally exhilarating overindulgence ... His potential is as obvious as his lyrics are toxic."^[22] Kevin Ritchie of Now found the music "impressive", but found the "lyrical ambivalence" to be "a bit one-note" by the album's second hour.^[34] Although he found its "excess oppressive" when listened to in its entirety, Drowned in Sound's Robert Leedlum deemed Trilogy to be "untouchable" as a "comprehensive document of a specific moment in time".^[35] Paul MacInnes of The Guardian wrote that its three discs "offer a rough trajectory of party, after-party and hangover, through which an assertive voice gives way to one that sounds more troubled", and concluded, "Trilogy does remove some of the Weeknd's mystique – lyrical formulae become apparent, and examples of engaging melody recede as the collection advances. Whatever its limits, however, Trilogy remains a striking piece of work."^[24]

Commercial performance

Trilogy charted at number 5 on the Canadian Albums Chart.^[36] In the United States, it debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 86,000 copies.^[37] On 22 May 2013, the album was certified 2× Platinum by Music Canada.^[38] By August 2015, the release has sold 558,000 copies in the United States.^[39] On 22 March 2016, Trilogy was certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).^[40]

Track listing

Disc one: House of Balloons
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"High for This"	Abel Tesfaye Adrien Gough Henry Walter	Dream Machine	4:07
2.	"What You Need"	Tesfaye Jeremy Rose	Rose The Weeknd	3:16
3.	"House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls"	Tesfaye Doc McKinney Carlo Montagnese Susan Ballion Peter Clarke John Martin Steven Severin	McKinney Illangelo	6:47
4.	"The Morning"	Tesfaye McKinney Montagnese	McKinney Illangelo	5:15
5.	"Wicked Games"	Tesfaye McKinney Montagnese Rainer Millar Blancheur	McKinney Illangelo	5:24
6.	"The Party & the After Party"	Tesfaye Rose Millar Blanchaer Victoria Legrand Alex Scally	Rose The Weeknd Rainer	7:39
7.	"Coming Down"	Tesfaye McKinney Montagnese	McKinney Illangelo	4:55
8.	"Loft Music"	Tesfaye Rose Legrand Scally	Rose The Weeknd	6:04
9.	"The Knowing"	Tesfaye McKinney Montagnese Elizabeth Fraser Robin Guthrie Simon Raymonde	McKinney Illangelo	5:41
10.	"Twenty Eight" (bonus track)	Tesfaye McKinney Montagnese	McKinney Illangelo	4:18

Disc two: Thursday
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Lonely Star"	Tesfaye McKinney Montagnese	McKinney Illangelo	5:49
2.	"Life of the Party"	Tesfaye McKinney Montagnese Björn Berglund Andy Grier Pontus Berghe Vincent Reilly	McKinney Illangelo	4:57
3.	"Thursday"	Tesfaye McKinney Montagnese	McKinney Illangelo	5:19
4.	"The Zone" (featuring Drake)	Aubrey Graham Tesfaye McKinney Montagnese	McKinney Illangelo	6:58
5.	"The Birds, Pt. 1"	Tesfaye McKinney Montagnese	McKinney Illangelo	3:34
6.	"The Birds, Pt. 2"	Tesfaye McKinney Montagnese Martina Topley-Bird Alex McGowan Nick Bird Steve Crittall	McKinney Illangelo	5:50
7.	"Gone"	Tesfaye McKinney Montagnese	McKinney Illangelo	8:07
8.	"Rolling Stone"	Tesfaye McKinney Montagnese	McKinney Illangelo	3:50
9.	"Heaven or Las Vegas"	Tesfaye McKinney Montagnese	McKinney Illangelo	5:53
10.	"Valerie" (bonus track)	Tesfaye McKinney Montagnese	McKinney Illangelo	4:46

Disc three: Echoes of Silence
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"D.D."	Michael Jackson	Illangelo	4:35
2.	"Montreal"	Tesfaye Montagnese France Gall	Illangelo	4:10
3.	"Outside"	Tesfaye Montagnese Ahmad Balshe Madeline Follin Ryan Mattos	Illangelo	4:20
4.	"XO / The Host"	Tesfaye Montagnese	Illangelo	7:23
5.	"Initiation"	Tesfaye Martin Wong Montagnese Georgia Anne Muldrow	DropXLife Illangelo	4:20
6.	"Same Old Song" (featuring Juicy J)	Tesfaye Montagnese Jordan Houston	Illangelo	5:12
7.	"The Fall"	Tesfaye Mike Volpe Montagnese	Clams Casino Illangelo	5:45
8.	"Next"	Tesfaye Montagnese Wong	Illangelo	6:00
9.	"Echoes of Silence"	Tesfaye Montagnese	Illangelo	4:02
10.	"Till Dawn (Here Comes the Sun)" (bonus track)	Tesfaye McKinney Montagnese	McKinney Illangelo	5:19

iTunes Store bonus music video[41]
No.	Title	Length
11.	"The Zone" (closed-captioned)	5:16

Sample credits^[5]

• "House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls" contains a sample of "Happy House" by Siouxsie and the Banshees
• "The Party & the After Party" contains a sample of "Master of None" by Beach House
• "Loft Music" contains a sample of "Gila" by Beach House
• "The Knowing" contains a sample of "Cherry Coloured Funk" by Cocteau Twins
• "Life of the Party" contains elements of "Drugs in My Body" by Thieves Like Us
• "The Birds, Pt. 2" contains elements of "Sandpaper Kisses" by Martina Topley-Bird
• "Montreal" contains elements of "Laisse tomber les filles" by France Gall
• "Outside" contains elements of "Go Outside" by Cults
• "Initiation" contains a sample of "Patience" by Georgia Anne Muldrow

Personnel

Credits for Trilogy adapted from liner notes.^[5]

Matthew Acton – assistant engineer, engineer Nate Albert – A&R Hyghly Alleyne – executive producer Rainer Millar Blanchaer – composer, musician, producer William Brock – guitar Noel Cadastre – assistant engineer Clams Casino – musician, producer Drake – featured artist Dream Machine – producer Drop – artwork, design, executive producer DropXLife – musician, producer Adrian Eccleston – guitar Adrien Gough – composer, musician Patrick Greenaway – guitar Juicy J – featured artist, vocals

Shin Kamiyama – assistant engineer Doc McKinney – composer, engineer, executive producer, instrumentation, musician, producer Carlo Montagnese – composer Carlo "Illangelo" Montagnese – engineer, executive producer, instrumentation, mixing, musician, producer Georgia Anne Muldrow – composer Jeremy Rose – composer, engineer, musician, producer Mark Santangelo – mastering Noah "40" Shebib – engineer Ben Swantek – design Lamar Taylor – executive producer, photography Martina Topley-Bird – composer Henry Walter – composer, engineer, musician The Weeknd – composer, executive producer, musician, primary artist, producer Jake Wilson – executive producer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2012) Peak position Australian Albums Chart[42] 93 Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[43] 60 Canadian Albums Chart[36] 5 Danish Albums Chart[43] 22 Dutch Albums Chart[43] 48 French Albums Chart[43] 128 German Albums Chart[43] 90 Swiss Albums Chart[43] 58 UK Albums Chart[44] 37 US Billboard 200[45] 4 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[46] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2013) Position US Billboard 200[47] 65 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[48] 17 US Top R&B Albums[49] 10

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[50]	2× Platinum	160,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[51]	Silver	60,000^^
United States (RIAA)[40]	2× Platinum	558,000[39]
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format
Australia[52]	9 November 2012	Republic	CD
Germany[53]
United Kingdom[54][55]	12 November 2012	Island Digital Distribution Turkey	CD digital download
Canada[56][57]	13 November 2012	Universal XO
United States[58]		Republic

See also

• List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 2012

References

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2. Wood, Mikael (7 November 2012). "First listen: The Weeknd's deceptively lovely new songs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
3. Kellman, Andy. "The Weeknd – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
4. Gill, Andy (10 November 2012). "Album: The Weeknd, Trilogy (Universal Republic)". The Independent. London. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
5. Trilogy (CD liner). The Weeknd. Republic Records. 2012. 3719793.
6. Hampp, Andrew (12 November 2012). "The Weeknd & Reps Talk Clearing Samples, Touring For 'Trilogy' Release". Billboard. New York. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
7. Aspray, Benjamin (19 November 2012). "The Weeknd: Trilogy". PopMatters. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
8. Alexis, Nadeska. "The Weeknd Releases 'Rolling Stone' Video, Trilogy Cover Art". MTV. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
9. Krishnamurthy, Sowmya (25 October 2012). "The Weeknd Previews Three-Disc Trilogy". Rolling Stone. New York. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
10. "The Weeknd unveils 'Rolling Stone' video and writes open letter to fans – watch | News". NME. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
11. "Watch the Weeknd's Shadowy "Wicked Games" Video | News". Pitchfork. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
12. "The Weeknd Shares Haunted 'Wicked Games' Video, 'Trilogy' Track List | SPIN | Videos". Spin. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
13. "Wicked Games [Explicit]". Amazon.com. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
14. "Wicked Games – The Weeknd". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
15. Lewis, Brittany (25 January 2012). "The Weeknd & Drake Shooting A Video For "The Zone" (DETAILS)". Global Grind. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
16. Genevieve Oliver (8 November 2012). "Video: The Weeknd + Drake – "The Zone" « PMA". Retrieved 2014-06-14.
17. "Twenty Eight – Single". iTunes. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
18. "The Zone (feat. Drake) – Single by The Weeknd". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
19. Bolaria, Simren (15 February 2013). "The Weeknd – "Twenty-Eight" [Video] (NSFW)". Retrieved 2014-06-14.
20. "The Trilogy by The Weeknd reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
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25. Carroll, Jim (30 November 2012). "The Weeknd". The Irish Times. Dublin. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
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29. Aspray, Benjamin (18 November 2012). "The Weeknd: Trilogy". PopMatters. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
30. Johnston, Maura (19 November 2012). "The Trilogy". Rolling Stone. New York. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
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32. Calvert, John (27 November 2012). "Trilogy". Fact. London. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
33. Keens, Oliver (November 2012). "The Weeknd – 'Trilogy' album review". Time Out. London. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
34. Ritchie, Kevin (13 November 2012). "The Weeknd – Trilogy". Now. Toronto. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
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37. Caulfield, Keith (10 October 2012). "One Direction Tops Billboard 200 Chart, 'Twilight' Debuts at No. 3". Billboard. Los Angeles. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
38. "Gold/Platinum – Music Canada". Retrieved November 5, 2015.
39. Wilson, Carl (August 27, 2015). "Billboard Cover: The Weeknd on Why 'Nobody Can Stop Me But Myself'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
40. "Gold & Platinum – RIAA". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
41. "Trilogy by The Weeknd". iTunes. Apple Inc. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
42. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 19 November 2012" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Pandora Archive (1186). November 19, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
43. "The Weeknd – Trilogy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
44. "2012-11-24 Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. 18 November 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
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47. "2013 Year-End Charts – Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
48. "2013 Year-End Charts – Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
49. "2013 Year-End Charts – Billboard R&B Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
50. "Canadian album certifications – The Weeknd – Trilogy". Music Canada.
51. "British album certifications – The Weeknd – Trilogy". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Trilogy in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
52. "Buy Trilogy Weeknd, Alternative, CD". Sanity. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
53. "Weeknd,The – Trilogy – CD". Musicline.de (in German). PHONONET GmbH. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
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56. "Trilogy : 3cd by Weeknd". Hmv.ca. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
57. "Trilogy (Explicit Version) by The Weeknd". iTunes. Apple Inc. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
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External links

• "Trilogy". AnyDecentMusic?.
• Trilogy at Discogs (list of releases)