I think someone will but the fact that it’s been almost 20 years shows how hard it is

Only person with an equivalent album is Adele with 21 tbh

Drakes gotten semi close - if views was universally acclaimed and deemed a classic maybe

He’s reached icon status but not legend status yet

Why would you do that? It’s a lot easier to say Future than Nayvadius in conversation. Just like it’s easier to say Abel than The Weeknd

i always call him the weeknd but ngl it sounds off but i still do it

F*** Bruno Mars

What you or I like/dislike doesn't really matter when those albums are certified rnb classics 10+ years after the fact and have become a reference for future generations
Chris and usher are amazing performers as well (dance skills on point)

Bruno mars performing is a standard in and of itself and his ability to craft hits for himself and others +crossover appeal isn't something to gloss over either

For the weeknd, it's too early to tell imo of he has reached their level before talking about if he surpassed them

Maybe he's not that type of rnb performer either hence the numerous frank comparisons maybe... Idk

Easier tbh

he hates his f***ing name

The Weeknd sounds like a group name

No kizzy

Abel just sounds better

Star presence no but that’s because he’s really just a singer, and he mainly focuses on performance art to supplement the music

In terms of impact I’d say yeah dude was lw responsible for defibrillating rnb and even then he just kept doing his own s***

prince had the number 1 movie in america over ghostbusters, let that sink in

Views is meh and 21 is decent, though it doesn't seem to be as relevant in the discussion of R&B albums

When The Weeknd made Tell Your Friends he didn’t mean Tell Your Friends My Name is Abel

I'd say it was longer than that. His run from debut to the Rihanna incident was his first run and his 2nd run was from 2010-2014. F.A.M.E is an undeniable classic and X is very good. But even after that, while his next couple of albums were hit and misses, he has continued to be one of the most successful artists. One of the very few R&B artists who is able to sell a lot of singles and albums. All that while being 15 years into his career and 'cancelled'

also abel's influence on music is very prominent, we are just far too close to the source of exposure to full fathom it in the long term

Expand on this please.

The people saying he’s a legend but he’s no where near the level of actual legends makes absolutely no sense

T.I. would've had a better halftime performance tbh.

He’s only not a legend if you’re comparing him to past legends. Why are you doing that?

Abel really did have an incredible impact on r&b in fairness though.

MBDTF is up there as well considering it sold 450k with the circumstances

I really don't think so but okay

Bait

valid

But yea I think we tend to hold Weeknd to a view of being an all round entertainer which he’s getting better at being but he’s still primarily a studio artist

Might just be me but I think he’s notably ahead of Bruno and Chris in terms of studio discography