The Weeknd Quotes

I feel like the way I was raised was to be able to see through all the titles in this world – from religion to race.

I didn’t have a father figure in the house.

Going to a therapist is not something you do when you’re growing up as a street kid in Toronto.

I’m all about surprises. If you watch a horror movie, and it’s called ‚Kiss Land,‘ it’s probably going to be the most terrifying thing you’ve ever seen in your life.

‚Thursday‘ is a conceptual album. Whatever that situation was, I spent the whole album focusing on that situation.

I knew the second I finished the first record – ‚House Of Balloons‘ – and had all this material leftover that a trilogy would be best.

It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that there are people who can’t or won’t see what Black Lives Matter is trying to accomplish.

I always use Michael as, first and foremost, a vocal inspiration, and ‚Off the Wall‘ was definitely the one that made me feel like I could sing.

I just kept touring and touring until it became second nature to go onstage, perform, and sing.

Nothing feels better than going onstage and everybody is singing every word – and actually wanting to see you.

When I was performing the songs on ‚Kiss Land,‘ it was a great singalong. But there were moments where I realized some parts were catchier than the others. There’s maybe two choruses on all of ‚Kiss Land.‘

I feel like I’m the kind of guy that would have kids before getting married. The first thing would be kids.

I sang a lot of low stuff on songs like ‚Secrets‘ and ‚Rockin‘,‘ almost like Toni Braxton. On ‚Secrets,‘ I’m a different person.

When I was making the early stuff, I never expected it to be so big. I was in my own kind of bubble. I never wanted to tour; I just wanted to create music and make a diary I could put out into the world. And sometimes, I became the characters.

I think that’s why my career is going to be so long: Because I haven’t given people everything.

I was everything an R&B singer wasn’t. I wasn’t in shape. I wasn’t a pretty boy.

I didn’t like the way I looked in pictures – when I saw myself on a digital camera, I was like, ‚Eesh.‘

I probably could have toured off ‚Trilogy‘ for the rest of my life. It definitely changed the culture. No one can do a trilogy again without thanking The Weeknd.

I couldn’t ever go back home without being something. I probably would never have gone back home. That was definitely a big motivation. To get back home, and not empty-handed.

The vibe on ‚Starboy‘ comes from that hip-hop culture of braggadocio, from Wu-Tang and 50 Cent, the kind of music I listened to as a kid.

For the chorus of ‚Secrets,‘ we used The Romantics‘ ‚Talking in Your Sleep‘ and ‚Pale Shelter‘ by Tears for Fears. It’s like hip-hop: just grab it.

I just love Bowie. I think he’s the ultimate inventor.

I don’t think I’d ever apologise for music I make, no.

My production and songwriting and the environment around those vocals are not inspired by R&B at all.

Even though I’ve been putting out bodies of work for years, ‚Beauty Behind the Madness‘ felt like the beginning.

I’m a studio rat.

‚Eastern Promises‘ is great.

I’m mainstream.

Image, lyrics, content, storytelling, cohesive body of work – that’s Prince to me.

My mother, my grandmother, my uncles would play Ethiopian artists like Aster Aweke and Mulatu Astatke all the time in the house.

My closet is like Bart Simpson’s.

Going home helps the content.

You aren’t normal if you sing to people. You aren’t a normal person. It’s nerve-racking.

I was 14, and I fell in love with Pink Floyd.

The game is changing with songs like ‚Earned It‘ as opposed to it changing me.

Alternative R&B is in my soul. It’s not going anywhere.

The Joker that Christopher Nolan created in ‚The Dark Knight‘ had the scar across his mouth, and the first time you heard his explanation for it, he makes you believe that’s how he got it. But then you get into the film, and every time he talks about his scar, it’s a totally different story.

I feel like everything we do comes down to how it looks. Even no branding is branding. For example, you had no face or image to put to my music at first. That was branding.

I spend just as much time on how people hear my music as I do the actual music, no matter how long it takes. I’m such a visual artist as well that it always goes hand-in-hand.

A chorus is not easy.

I get naturally uncomfortable when I’m put under a magnifying glass.

I love trying new things.

When I write, I write about my surroundings. Sometimes it’s light, and sometimes it gets very dark.

I want to produce the music to a movie that I’m working on, like what Prince did with ‚Purple Rain.‘

‚Kiss Land‘ wasn’t about what people wanted to hear on the radio. It was the state of mind I was in – introverted, like David Cronenberg’s ‚Naked Lunch.‘ You didn’t know if you were hearing a chorus or a verse. It was just my thoughts.

At one point, I didn’t care. Now I want as many people to hear my music as possible.

I feel like I’m changing pop culture.

I have a good team. It’s good to have a good team.

Music is like film to me.

I’m the most boring person to talk to.

I’m a huge fan of R. Kelly’s. He’s a musical genius and probably the most prolific artist of the generation before mine.

The last thing you want is to not be recognized for all of the hard work you put in.

I’ve had sleep paralysis.

I want to make pop cool again, and the only way I can do that is by being ambitious and grand.

The Joker is my favorite villain of all time: You don’t know his past; you just know what his plans are.

Nothing is stopping me from doing what I love to do.

I want to be remembered as iconic and different.

I’m all about evolution. I’m the first person to judge myself.

The mind of a 19-year-old is very different from the mind of a 26-year-old. You grow. You get into better relationships. You experience more, meet more people, better people. But when you’re in a dark hole at an earlier point in your life – you write about the mindset you’re in at that moment.

We’re all insecure, aren’t we? I’m not walking around like I’m macho man or anything.