How Do I Make You Love Me? Explained

How Do I Make You Love Me?
Cover:How Do I Make You Love Me?.jpg
Caption:Remix cover
Type:song
Genre:Synth-pop[1]
Length:3:34
Label:
Producer:

"How Do I Make You Love Me?" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd, and serves as the third track from his fifth studio album Dawn FM (2022). The song was written and produced by the Weeknd, OPN, Max Martin, Swedish House Mafia, Oscar Holter and Matt Cohn.

On July 22, 2022, the Weeknd released both an animated music video for "How Do I Make You Love Me?", and a remix created by Sebastian Ingrosso and Salvatore Ganacci.

Background and promotion

The song's name was first revealed on January 5, 2022, when the Weeknd posted the track listing for his Dawn FM album.[2] [3]

On January 7, 2022, alongside the release of Dawn FM, the Weeknd hosted a live event with Amazon Music, in which he served as a disc jockey and played the entire album, including "How Do I Make You Love Me?", in front of a small crowd.[4] Various different shots of the livestream were turned into lyric videos for the album.[5]

Music video

An animated music video for "How Do I Make You Love Me?" was released on July 22, 2022. It was directed by Jocelyn Charles with some creative direction from Cliqua.[6]

Synopsis

The video's events take place after the video of another song from Dawn FM, "Out of Time", with a masked Tesfaye in a hospital. As Tesfaye attempts to escape while being held back by hospital staff, his arm is ripped out, before he jumps out of a window.[7] After Tesfaye lands on the floor, a terrified driver runs him over as butterflies and insects fly out of his eyes. A large moth then appears and causes the pedestrians to go into flight by flapping its wings, before Tesfaye blows up a balloon version a himself, which engulfs the city. Tesfaye escapes through the sewage system, where he faces a demon-like creature and loses more of his limbs. He later is seen attempting to break into a woman's house, before his head falls off and his body is dismembered, revealing a child version of himself.[8]

Reception

Rolling Stone called the video "nightmarish", further writing that the video had the "perfect ingredients for a nightmare," mentioning the giant moth and the dismemberment present in the video.[8] Vibe wrote that the video is an exploration of "beauty behind the madness of love, life, mortality, and youth".

Live performances

The Weeknd first performed "How Do I Make You Love Me?" in a television music special titled as The Dawn FM Experience, and its live performance was included on a ten-track EP which consisted of all the track he performed on the special, released exclusive on Amazon Music.[9]

The song was performed again at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival during the Weeknd's 2022 headlining set, and was later included as part of the set list for the Weeknd's After Hours til Dawn Tour.[10]

Charts

Chart (2022)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Australia Hip-Hop/R&B Singles (ARIA)[11] 8
Greece International (IFPI)[12] 9
Iceland (Plötutíðindi)[13] 7
India International Singles (IMI)[14] 14
Lithuania (AGATA)[15] 19
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[16] 22
Vietnam (Vietnam Hot 100)[17] 98

Notes and References

  1. The 50 Best Weeknd Songs. Rolling Stone. It takes a lot of skill to make desperation sound catchy, but the Weeknd barely bats an eye as he combines iridescent synth-pop with his urgent, pleading falsetto on “How Do I Make You Love Me.”. March 29, 2022. March 14, 2023. March 14, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230314133334/https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-weeknd-songs-38999/how-do-i-make-you-love-me-2022-39030/. live.
  2. The Weeknd Reveals Tracklist For 16-Song 'Dawn FM' Album. Gil. Kaufman. . January 5, 2022. March 2, 2023. January 7, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220107090807/https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/the-weeknd-tracklist-dawn-fm-album-1235015639/. live.
  3. Web site: The Weeknd Enlists Jim Carrey and Quincy Jones for His New 'Dawn FM' Album. January 5, 2022. GQ. March 2, 2023. January 7, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220107230555/https://www.gq.com/story/the-weeknd-new-album-dawn-fm-trailer-jim-carrey-everything-we-know. live.
  4. How to Watch the Weeknd's '103.5 Dawn FM' Livestream on Amazon Music. Rolling Stone. Lonsdale. John. January 6, 2022. March 2, 2023. March 2, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230302173935/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/how-to-watch-the-weeknd-dawn-fm-livestream-amazon-music-1279094/. live.
  5. Web site: The Weeknd – Sacrifice Video. January 9, 2022. Contactmusic.com. March 2, 2023. February 23, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230223165719/https://www.contactmusic.com/the-weeknd/video/the-weeknd-sacrifice-video. live.
  6. Web site: The Weeknd Drops Bizarre Animated Video For 'How Do I Make You Love Me'. HipHopDX. Elibert. Mark. July 22, 2022. March 2, 2023. March 2, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230302173937/https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.71940/title.the-weekend-new-music-video. live.
  7. The Weeknd Makes a Dramatic Escape in Trippy 'How Do I Make You Love Me?' Video: Watch. Billboard. Bowenbank. Starr. July 22, 2022. January 24, 2024.
  8. The Weeknd Drops Nightmarish 'How Do I Make You Love Me' Animated Video, New Remix. Rolling Stone. Mier. Tomás. July 22, 2022. January 24, 2024.
  9. Web site: The Dawn FM Experience. April 7, 2022. Amazon.com.
  10. Web site: Watch The Weeknd debut 'Dawn FM' songs live during Coachella 2022 headline set. Will. Richards. NME. April 18, 2022. January 31, 2024.
  11. Web site: ARIA Top 40 Hip Hop/R&B Singles Chart. Australian Recording Industry Association. January 17, 2022. March 2, 2023. January 14, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220114121133/https://www.aria.com.au/charts/hip-hop-r-and-b-singles-chart/2022-01-17. live.
  12. Web site: Official IFPI Charts - Digital Singles Chart (International) - Week: 01/2022 . March 2, 2023 . ifpi.gr . https://web.archive.org/web/20220118183039/https://www.ifpi.gr/digital_iel.html . live . January 18, 2022.
  13. Web site: Tónlistinn – Plötur – Vika 2 – 2022. https://archive.today/20220115212640/https://plotutidindi.is/tonlistinn/. dead. January 15, 2022. Plötutíðindi. is. The Music - Albums - Week 2 - 2022. March 2, 2023.
  14. Web site: Top 20 Charts. Indian Music Industry. International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. January 17, 2022. March 2, 2023. https://archive.today/20220117162639/https://imicharts.com/. January 17, 2022.
  15. Web site: 2022 2-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100). AGATA. lt. January 14, 2022. March 2, 2023. January 14, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220114092041/https://www.agata.lt/lt/naujienos/s02/. live.
  16. Web site: ČNS IFPI. IFPI ČR. March 2, 2023. March 2, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230302173936/https://ifpicr.cz/hitparada/43/the-weeknd/how-do-i-make-you-love-me/168199. live.
  17. The Weeknd Chart History (Billboard Vietnam Hot 100). Billboard. March 2, 2023. April 22, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220422035249/https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-weeknd/chart-history/vtm/. live.