Five hits we want the Weeknd to play at his Hong Kong debut on Friday
- From Can’t Feel My Face to Starboy, The Weeknd has taken the music charts by storm
- The Canadian R&B star plays his first gig in the city on Friday
The Weeknd – the Canadian R&B star born Abel Tesfaye – will be raising the roof at AsiaWorld-Expo with his soaring, dexterous vocals (and gravity-defying quiff) when he makes his Hong Kong debut this Friday night.
He’s only a few years into his career, but The Weeknd is already playing the sort of arenas normally filled by the likes of the Rolling Stones. He’ll be bringing a slew of hits that have crashed the charts around the world. Here are five hits we’d most like to hear him play.
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The Hills
Unabashed about his drug use, Tesfaye’s punishing second single from his Beauty Behind the Madness album is the sound of indulgence and the dark side of hedonism. Its heavy beats and queasy metre gave it an edge that earned a range of 2015 single-of-the-year accolades around the world. A live favourite, The Hills has been one of the cornerstone songs that’s been getting the party started at Tesfaye’s most recent gigs.
Can’t Feel My Face
Another anthem to party drug use from his highly rated second album, this time Tesfaye channels Michael Jackson in his biggest hit to date. The modern take on disco-funk revives a pop trope as its hopeless lovers hurtle headlong into delirious but dangerous chemical oblivion.
Starboy
Potty-mouthed as always and with yet more cocaine references, Starboy is Tesfaye’s paean to the trials of celebrity life. This time the groove is slinkier, coming from his 2016 R&B-heavy album of the same name. On Tesfaye’s current tour, the dark and grimy number enables the star to play with the audience’s emotions, juxtaposing it with the sunnier …
I Feel It Coming
French electronica giants Daft Punk lend The Weeknd a classy edge, co-writing, co-producing and co-performing this fan favourite. Even the most casual of fans – and the fans’ parents – will know this one, thanks to its use in what feels like every other Netflix TV show or video game.
In the Night
It’s no wonder this rates as The Weeknd’s sexiest song – it was written with Max Martin, the Swedish songwriter who made Britney Spears a star. Another Jacksonesque hit, it was left off Tesfaye’s most recent gig list but has been a live favourite since it stormed the global charts in 2015.
