The Morning (song) explained

The Morning
Type:song
Artist:the Weeknd
Album:House of Balloons Trilogy
Recorded:2010
Length:5:15
Label:XO
Producer:

"The Morning" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd which serves as the fourth track from his debut mixtape, House of Balloons (2011). It was written by the Weeknd alongside its producers, Doc McKinney and Illangelo. In 2012, the song was remastered and released on the Weeknd's compilation album, Trilogy (2012).

Background

"The Morning" was first uploaded to YouTube by the Weeknd under the username "xoxxxoooxo" in early December 2010 alongside "What You Need" and "Loft Music".[1] A demo of the song that had a different instrumental than its final version surfaced in late 2011.[2]

"The Morning" was included in the 2019 film Uncut Gems, in which the Weeknd appeared in and performed the track live.[3]

Critical reception

The song received critical acclaim. Pitchfork placed the track at number 15 for its top 100 songs of 2011, citing its "large and rich" production along with Tesfaye's soft vocals, stating that it messes with how you would expect R&B tracks to sound.[4] Pitchfork would later place it at number 115 of its top 200 songs of the 2010s, regarding it as "the greatest song the Weeknd ever made" and calling it the "pop American Psycho".[5]

Rolling Stone would declare the track as the Weeknd's 11th best song, citing that the song is a "surprisingly radiant hustler's anthem" and calling it "expected Weeknd club sleaze."[6]

Charts

Chart (2012)! scope="col"
Peak
position
US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles (Billboard)[7] 9

Notes and References

  1. News: Caramanica . Jon . Jon Caramanica . Screams That Charmed, and Other Overlooked Highlights . . live . December 31, 2010 . limited . https://web.archive.org/web/20150210094135/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/arts/music/02playlist.html?_r=4&ref=music . February 10, 2015.
  2. Web site: 2011-11-23 . The Weeknd - The Morning (Original Version) . 2023-12-22 . Hypebeast.
  3. How the Weeknd Came to Play Himself in the Safdie Brothers' Berserk 'Uncut Gems'. Variety. Chris. Willman. September 9, 2019. February 3, 2024.
  4. Web site: The Top 100 Tracks of 2011. Pitchfork. December 12, 2011. March 3, 2023. November 16, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121116045929/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/8726-the-top-100-tracks-of-2011/9/. live.
  5. Web site: 2019-10-07 . The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s . 2024-01-22 . Pitchfork . en-US.
  6. Web site: 2022-03-28 . 'The Morning' (2011) . 2024-01-22 . Rolling Stone Australia . en-AU.
  7. Web site: The Weeknd Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Chart History. Billboardbiz. March 10, 2023.