The Weeknd opened up about some tough times in his life in a rare interview.
The Weeknd has always remained a mysterious public figure, despite his major success as an artist and several high-profile celebrity romances. While he rarely talks openly about his struggles with fame, heartbreak, and drug abuse, he has always used his music to explore the most raw and vulnerable aspects of his personal history. However, the Toronto star recently sat down with Variety to open up about his past and explain how he uses music to work through different versions of himself—even those he isn’t very proud of.
During the interview, Abel delved into the backstory of the long and dark track on After Hours titled “Faith”, explaining it describes “the darkest period of his life”. He goes on to reflect on the early days of his rise to fame, around 2013, when he admits he was living dangerously.
“I was getting really, really tossed up and going through a lot of personal stuff. I got arrested in Vegas [for punching a police officer]”, he recalls in the interview. “It was a real rock-star era, which I’m not really proud of. You hear sirens at the end of the song—that’s me in the back of the cop car, that moment.”
He continues to describe what brought the song to life, saying, “I always wanted to make that song but I never did, and this album felt like the perfect time.” The Weeknd explains that much like a method actor, he felt he needed to embody the character he was playing in the song, even though it was in fact an authentic version of his past self. “I wanted to be that guy again—the ‘Heartless’ guy who hates God and is losing his f*cking religion and hating what he looks like in the mirror so he keeps getting high. That’s who this song is.”
Listen to “Faith” by The Weeknd below.
