House of Balloons, 10 Years Later
The mixtape that introduced us to The Weeknd
In 2011 Abel Tesfaye was a mere blip on the radar. Having dropped out of high school a few years prior, he was living in Parkdale with a few friends, dabbling in excessive drug use and partying, but behind all this, a true star was being made. On March 21st, Abel would become The Weeknd when he released his first official project titled House of Balloons. A mixtape that would start his journey from a lowly misfit out of Scarborough to one of music’s biggest artists. Moreover, his dark, atmospheric, and moody take on R&B would shift the genre in a new direction. Blending elements of indie rock, electronica, and pop alongside his submissive lyricism and aesthetic would break the stagnancy of R&B music at the time, resulting in a breath of fresh air.
Before House of Balloons, Abel was widely unknown at the time, he had dropped a few songs off the tape in late 2010 through Youtube. Namely “Loft Music”, “What You Need” and “The Morning” with the help of producer Jeremy Rose, whose involvement with Abel and producing/songwriting credits have been questioned. Nevertheless, these songs that appeared randomly out of thin air would start to draw attention to a 21-year old Abel thanks to a Drake co-sign. He maintained this mysterious persona throughout the first few months of his career, declining interviews and only communicating with his fans via Twitter. This would only fuel The Weeknd’s image even further, making him out to be this unknown sultry enigma. His mysterious guise would extend past his public appearance as it would be exemplified even more through his aesthetic.
I can’t necessarily comment on R&B music during the early 2010’s, I was in my early teen years and thought Disturbed made the best music period so that should say a lot. However, from what I’ve gathered through re-listening to some of the top songs from that era, R&B was somewhat stale prior to The Weeknd’s arrival. Namely in aesthetic and lyricism, which is what House of Balloons set out to change. Take a look at the photo used for this article above. The picture has this gothic look to it with its use of black and white shading. The shadowy silhouette of Abel hides his face, making it hard to distinguish who he is.
Even the mixtape’s cover art embellishes this mysterious look, a topless woman in a bathtub with balloons dropping from above. Shot in a way that the picture doesn’t look staged or like it wasn’t a professional photoshoot. Abel’s choice of employing this dark aesthetic was such a smart move because it made listeners ask a lot of questions. Who is this girl in the tub? Where are the balloons coming from? Where is this all taking place? He maintains this intrigue with the cover art for each track on Youtube as well, photos of himself or women all shot with the same shadowy look. I’d argue that this aesthetic choice tapped into some sort of unconscious feeling in people where we want to dig deeper into something that comes off as subversive or intriguing in some way. Call that reaching but if this was Abel’s reason, I’d say he succeeded.
From a production standpoint, Abel alongside producers such as Illangelo, Doc McKinney, and the aforementioned Rose would create a sonic world that ushered in a new sound for R&B. Look through the sampling credits and you’ll find bands such as Beach House, Siouxsie and the Banshees or the Cocteau Twins. Looking towards indie bands and dream pop would add another layer to his sound because no one else in the genre was looking to experiment like the way Abel did. Songs such as “House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls” sound nothing like your typical R&B track with its unconventional use of “Happy House” by Siouxsie and the Banshees throughout the track’s hook. His sound was very much “underground” so to speak in comparison to singers at that time like Trey Songz, Usher, Jason Derulo, etc. To be able to pull from a variety of different genres that other R&B artists weren't paying attention to would set him apart from his contemporaries. His influence would carry on throughout the 2010’s as more artists were starting to take notes, singers such as Bryson Tiller or 6LACK whose ballads about lost love can be attributed to Abel’s own style. Even after House of Balloons Abel was still finding ways to reinvent himself as showcased on his latest album After Hours. Combining U.K. garage, house, and 80’s synth-pop to bring that album to life.
The most notable thing Abel would become known for is undoubtedly his lyricism. He wasn’t singing ballads about being in love, rather his songs are drenched in hedonism and self-destructive behaviour. If his mysterious, shadowy aura wasn’t being made clear enough through his visuals or production, his lyrics would surely do the trick. House of Balloons is dark in its own way as Abel’s toxic lifestyle takes center stage, an aspect that would carry his music throughout his career. Drugs and sex characterize the mixtape right out of the gate with “High for This”, the hollow drums and eerie synths set the backdrop as Abel convinces a girl (or the listener) to take a step into his life as he supplies them with ecstasy and alcohol to make them become more submissive to him. The drug-riddled party begins on the title track where he attempts to soothe them amidst their paranoia/anxiety as he sings on the chorus: (“This is, a happy house, we’re happy here in a happy house.”). His falsetto tone delivered in a sinister, Joker-like sense. The party continues through the second half “Glass Table Girls” where he freestyles about his excessive use of cocaine, weed, and mindless sex over the track’s ominous beat. He entices the girl with more on “The Party & The After Party” (“Ride with it, ride with it I know you know, I know you wanna ride with it, don’t be shy with it, I’ll supply with it. I got you, girl, oh, I got it, girl.”). The party continues with tracks like “The Morning” and “Loft Music” as he croons about his XO crew, money, and the one-night stands. Hopefully, you get the idea, Abel really likes drugs, hooking up with random women, and pouring Alize over his cereal, but there’s more to it that made House of Balloons the masterpiece it is.
Abel’s toxic nature moves past his vices as we get a little closer into his contemplations about loneliness and love, an aspect that I believe is what made The Weeknd resonate with listeners so much. While he does showcase his confidence throughout songs — like “What You Need” — where Abel is convincing the girl that he is the man she needs and will only need, it gets shattered on the highlight ballad “Wicked Games” as he romances a hooker or stripper because the girl he wants isn’t giving him the attention. He begs her to tell him she loves him despite knowing their situation is essentially a transaction: (“So tell me you love me, even though you don’t love me.”). His feelings become a byproduct of “Coming Down” as his inhibitions for the girl only show when all the drugs begin to wear off. On the original release, it samples the anime Fate/Stay Night on the bridge. Through translation, it could be interpreted as the girl being fed up with Abel and his ways, despite his desire for her. He confronts her on the final track “The Knowing”. A searing track where he discusses their infidelity, he knows everything and he knows that she won’t confess her sins to him. It’s a powerful ending to the mixtape that shows despite all of the temporary fun he has throughout, deep down he’s seated with insecurities about his own love life, using the drugs and pointless sex as a mere distraction.
As a start to his career, The Weeknd solidified his place in R&B with his debut House of Balloons. Everything from his anti-publicity, his approach with shadowy visuals and unusual production, topped off with his dark hedonism that showcased his toxic nature couldn’t have been any better. It’s amazing to see how much Abel has grown artistically since 2011, don’t be fooled into thinking he’s turned into a mega pop star who sold out for fame, as he’s still singing about the very same drug/sex lifestyle he was living as a 21-year old, albeit with that catchy radio edge. If anything, his debut showcased that he was an artist destined to change the way R&B functioned, doing away with what other singers were doing by bringing his own toxicity into the mix. Did it work? 10 years, 6 albums, countless award wins, and a stellar halftime show later, it’s safe to say that it did.
Check out more pieces like this on Modern Music Analysis!
