So we have an interesting one for you this week, a classic/modern influence track of the moment that was very interesting to think about and write. In one corner you have a well known pop megastar, in the other a complete newcomer. The two persons that I am talking about are none other than Michael Jackson and The Weeknd.
Lets start with Michael. I think one of the things that will be starkly different about my comparison between The Weeknd (aka Abel Tasfeye) and Jackson are their upbringings and musical backrounds. Jackson was raised from birth to be a pop star, he was given every single opportunity to succeed and all the encouragement (possibly too much encouragement) that anyone could ever want. To go on to describe the mass amount of talent that Jackson had would just be redundant, the man had talent, watch any one of his music videos and it becomes self evident. Whats interesting though, and why The Weeknd comparison rings so true is that both Abel and Jackson suffered so much. Say what you will about Jacksons child abuse scandal, but never make the mistake of thinking that MJ had it easy. Having been thrown into the limelight at a very young age resulting in your childhood being stolen from you, Jackson undoubtedly lived a strange life that made him distant and at times difficult to understand and relate too. Whats amazing and at the same time tragic about his body of work though is how well he soldiered on with his songs, how well he hid who he truly was and never let down his fans. I song I picked from Jackson is the iconic Smooth Criminal, although frankly any of his songs would have easily could be considered a stand out track.
And then there is Abel Tasfeye, a man whose story is almost stranger than Jackson’s, and just as mysterious. For those of you who haven’t heard any of his works, do yourself a real favor and head on over to his website. There you can download all three of his albums, House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence. Also you can read my take on House of Balloons, the first of whats being called the balloon trilogy here. The first thing that should be striking about his voice is how much homage it pays to Jacksons. Now in any other case I would probably phrase that sentence like this “The first thing that should be striking about his voice is how much it sounds like Jackson’s.”. But this second sentence isn’t exactly right. It wasn’t until hearing The Weeknd cover Dirty Diana on the third installment of the balloon trilogy Echoes of Silence that I made the Jackson connection, but boy does it make sense, and its not that Abel simply sounds like MJ, although he does, he also perfectly adapts his style of singing missing the loud high pitched shrills. But what makes the two distinctly different is the subject matter of which The Weeknd sings. His songs are dark drug driven ballads that are immediately disheartening and would make your mother blush if she heard it on the radio. Already he has a bright future though, his Wikipedia page says that soon he will be remixing a Lady Gaga song on an upcoming remix album. Whats more he is slated to release a new album this year, which is inconceivable when you consider that he released three albums just last year.
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