When you listen to The Weeknd, his musical influences become immediately evident. The further he got into his career, the more he gleaned from Michael Jackson. The sexy 80s synth and the softness in his voice felt like you could pluck it straight from MJ’s Thriller era.
However, another big appeal about the Toronto singer is how he juxtaposes his sweet voice with crude lyrics. His songwriting early in his career would dive into extremely raunchy and hedonistic territory.
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The Weeknd has the voice of an angel, but he would sing with demonic energy in his music
But where does that come from? In one of his first interviews, The Weeknd spoke with Complex about what inspired his music. Why would he start a song like “She pops that p**** on a Monday?” Apparently, it’s all a slight nod to one of R&B’s most controversial figures: R. Kelly.
The Weeknd explained, “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. Some of the lines he says, if you say them in a normal voice, it’s the most disgusting thing you could say to somebody. But I can say ‘P***y-a** n***a’ in the most elegant and sexiest way ever, and it’s accepted. If I can get away with singing that, I’m doing something right.”
The Weeknd Explains How R. Kelly Once Influenced His Music
“All that ignorance on my records—‘When she put it in her mouth, she can’t seem to reach my…’—that’s me paying homage to R. Kelly, and even Prince to a certain extent. The things R. Kelly was saying were crazy. You can say it now, and it’s nothing, but back then you couldn’t,” Weeknd continued.
The Weeknd stressed that he didn’t necessarily feel like he was R&B, though. He argued that his vocals could absolutely be credited to the likes of R. Kelly, Prince, and Michael Jackson. However, when digging into his musicality, the artist born Abel Tesfaye leaned into the likes of Portishead to build his sound.
“That was the inspiration behind [“You Belong to The World”]. I wrote a letter to the producers of Portishead and let them know this album is inspired by them,” The Weeknd shared, noting that a lot of Kiss Land was inspired by the band. “I find a sound and run with it. It varies from Stevie Nicks to Genesis and Phil Collins. The production is very cinematic for me, and R&B was never cinematic like that.”
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