| Hurt You | |
| Type: | song |
| Artist: | The Weeknd and Gesaffelstein |
| Ep: | My Dear Melancholy |
| Genre: | Alternative R&B |
| Label: | XO Records, Republic Records |
"Hurt You" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd and French producer Gesaffelstein. Released as the fifth track from the Weeknd's debut extended play My Dear Melancholy (2018), it was written by the Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye), Gesaffelstein (Mike Lévy), Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk, and Cirkut, with the latter three producing the track.
The song received mixed reviews from critics. Jordan Bassett of NME referred to the melody of the track as "sliding into in a squealing cacophony of electronic beats, howling synths and sound effects that evoke a ray gun blasting into your heart".[1] While ranking every song on My Dear Melancholy, Michael Saponara of Billboard ranks the song at fourth place; "The second collaboration with Gesaffelstein is reminiscent of classic Abel," says Saponara, "'Hurt You' sees The Weeknd exude his wide-ranging singing abilities here more than any other track on the EP".[2]
Craig Jenkins of Vulture described that the track, in particular the lyric "between your legs, not between your heart", as "feel[ing] like eavesdropping on a gross couples’ squabble teetering between high drama and base chauvinism".[3] Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork stated that "Homem-Cristo and fellow Frenchman Gesaffelstein draw from the same well that produced Starboy’s title track and 'I Feel It Coming,' but fail to match the radiance of either".[4]
"Hurt You" is an alternative R&B song. In the song's lyrics, Tesfaye warns his partner to keep her distance, as he is, in reality, not fully in love with his partner.