"The Morning"
Song by the Weeknd
from the album House of Balloons and Trilogy
ReleasedMarch 21, 2011 (2011-03-21)
Recorded2010
Length5:15
LabelXO
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

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

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 beat than its final version surfaced in late 2011.[2]

"The Morning" was included in the 2019 film Uncut Gems, in which Tesfaye appeared in and performed the track live.

Critical reception

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.[3] 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".[4]

Rolling Stone would declare the track as the Weeknd's 11th best song, citing that the song is a "suprisingly radiant hustler's anthem" and calling it "expected Weeknd club sleaze."[5]

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "The Morning"
Chart (2012) Peak
position
US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles (Billboard)[6] 9

Certifications

Certifications for "The Morning"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[7] Platinum 80,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[8] Gold 45,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[9] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[10] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Caramanica, Jon (December 31, 2010). "Screams That Charmed, and Other Overlooked Highlights". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015.
  2. ^ "The Weeknd - The Morning (Original Version)". Hypebeast. November 23, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  3. ^ "The Top 100 Tracks of 2011". Pitchfork. December 12, 2011. Archived from the original on November 16, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  4. ^ "The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s". Pitchfork. October 7, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  5. ^ "'The Morning' (2011)". Rolling Stone Australia. March 28, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  6. ^ "The Weeknd Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Chart History". Retrieved March 10, 2023 – via Billboardbiz.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Canadian single certifications – The Weeknd – The Morning". Music Canada. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  8. ^ "Danish single certifications – The Weeknd – The Morning". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  9. ^ "British single certifications – The Weeknd – The Morning". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  10. ^ "American single certifications – The Weeknd – Wicked Games". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 3, 2023.

External links

The Weeknd songs
Categories