_ _

5y

I like after hours, and probably listened to it almost as much as MBDTF. But no way. Can’t really compare them due difference in legacy and the context behind the two albums.

Cam Skattebo Fan

5y

A lot of you are getting too caught up on me saying ‘MBDTF tier’

I’m not saying it’s as good as that album, I’m saying that the things that made MBDTF such a figure in pop culture are the same things that make After Hours get put into the same category of albums that are “moments”.

Quality isn’t really a big factor here.

Cam Skattebo Fan

5y

Time will tell.

RareRarFiles

5y

man I love Abel, he's probably in my top 5 favorite artist ever but you're delusional

Day One Isher

5y

did you even listen to the album

Cam Skattebo Fan

5y

How is that a delusional statement?

Blinding Lights
In Your Eyes
Save Your Tears
Scared To Live
Hardest To Love

Are the songs I would categorize as pop. What else on the tracklist would go into that list?

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5y

The whole album is pop, it’s not regular radio pop like Katy Perry, but it’s pop like how The Knife is pop

_ _

5y

The whole album is pop, it’s not regular radio pop like Katy Perry, but it’s pop like how The Knife is pop

Day One Isher

5y

did you even listen to the album

Cam Skattebo Fan

5y

I guess, just feels weird to me categorizing songs like Alone Again, AH, and UIBO as pop

Marble

5y

Y’all forgot about Partymobile

deleteduser2863

5y

If you think After Hours was MBDTF tier…

Jbreezyondeck

5y

I’ve tried listening to this album multiple times and although I don’t think it’s bad I honestly feel like the weakest part about the era is the actual music excluding the monumental singles. I can’t get into it like other projects of his even if they may have had lower lows. This could be just me so I’m cool with the flack. I think everything else that is a part of this era is phenomenal though and I’ll always commend him for dropping when everyone else was too afraid to

Cam Skattebo Fan

5y

Yes, I posted this in the other thread but I’d like to see some discussion about it.

When people big up MBDTF (which they should) often times they bring up critical and fan reception, cultural significance, radio hits, aesthetic, dominance of its respective lane, and overall execution of the era itself. (Copied from my own post)

Critical and Fan Reception - After Hours is The Weeknd’s highest critically acclaimed studio album in his discography, garnering a higher score than Kiss Land, Beauty Behind The Madness, and Starboy. Critics lauded its cohesive sound throughout, and the multiple storylines told throughout the album and the music videos. Many fans of The Weeknd would also place this album very highly in The Weeknd’s discography, and loved it due to its mixture of The Weeknd’s old sound and his new sound in one album.

Cultural Significance - After Hours dropped at the height of the pandemic, when other artists in the mainstream simply would not drop due to a number of factors, whatever they are. It became the soundtrack to quarantine for many people, and is now one of the staple albums, and pop culture figures in general people think of when they think of 2020 and the pandemic in general. The red suit character was also a hit with the general public, even becoming a popular Halloween costume for two years in a row.

Radio Hits - Not much needs to be said here, Blinding Lights is an all-time great pop song, which smashed records left and right, and has an unprecedented (literally) amount of longevity. Save Your Tears is following a similar trajectory, with it still being in the Top 40 of the BBH100 to this day. In Your Eyes was also a brief hit for a while. That’s 3 from this album alone.

Aesthetic - I touched on this in cultural significance, but the aesthetic for the album is nothing short of iconic. The red suit, bruised/wrapped face, and even the plastic surgery look of the SYT video which had news outlets going crazy for days. As previously said, the red suit became an iconic staple piece of The Weeknd, overtaking the famous free form dreads he was rocking in 2013-2016. Obviously the music videos come into play here, with the music videos flowing from one after the other creating a narrative completely separate from the one in a cohesive fashion. Not only do the music videos play a role in this storyline, but multiple live performances (including Jimmy Kimmel and the AMA awards) play a factor in the storyline as well. You can watch it here:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzucIuZj05NwJ9tDljs8tZV-wLu5hok7B

Dominance - You could not escape After Hours in 2020 even if you tried. The songs were everywhere, the look was everywhere, and The Weeknd himself was everywhere. The stronghold this album had on the mainstream was enough to lend him to the biggest stage in the world, the Super Bowl. Not many artists are able to achieve this feat in a single year alone, and that’s due to the dominance After Hours had on the music industry during its run.

Overall Execution - The Weeknd & Co. clearly had a vision for this era.

And they executed it perfectly. Despite being dealt a s***ty hand with the pandemic, XO played their cards with such precision to the point where they had the industry in their hands. From the music, to the videos, to the performances, everything lined up for them and they hit a grand slam in terms of what an album can do for an artist. Just like MBDTF, After Hours elevated The Weeknd to a level above his peers, and time can only tell where he goes from here.

I’m expecting a bunch of angry reactions and tons of trolling and like-bait posts ITT, but look past your initial anger from the title and think about the things I’m saying, it may open your eyes a bit.

Thank you for reading if you’ve made it this far