On March 30th, The Weeknd dropped a BOMB on the world by only giving a couple hours’ notice that he was dropping an EP. My Dear Melancholy brings longtime fans (like myself) back to the dramatic sad boy Trilogy mixtape days. Even though I hate to see this beautiful man upset and broken, he sure does put out some great music when that happens! Are the songs going to be about his recent break up with Selena Gomez or did he dig into those past feelings about ex-girlfriend Bella Hadid? I decided to put off listening to the EP to give a first impression, song by song review! I’ve got the lyrics pulled up and my Spotify ready (funny how everything’s ready but we ALL know that my feelings are not).
“Call Out My Name”
The first song on MDM gave me SERIOUS mixtape days flashbacks! Mixtape Abel is my favorite Abel, so this song had me bumpin’. In the first verse he says, “I helped you out of a broken place/ You gave me comfort”. It’s no secret that Selena Gomez and ex-bae Justin Bieber, I don’t know if calling him a true ‘ex’ is correct since the two are constantly on and off, had been a bumpy road since the beginning. Clearly that relationship was a ‘broken place’ that had ran Gomez down to the bone. Another line that made me rewind the song back TWICE is in the second verse. He says, “I said I didn’t feel nothing, baby, but I lied/ I almost cut a piece of myself for your life” COULD THIS MEAN THAT THE WEEKND COULD HAVE BEEN A MATCH FOR SELENA’S KINDEY TRANSPLANT?! Gomez had undergone a kidney transplant surgery around 6 months ago to remove her kidney that placed a huge role in her diagnosis with lupus 5 years ago. After all of Selena’s family members had gotten tested (all were not matches), her bestie Francia Raisa stepped in to see if by any slim chance that she would be a match (which she was!). Did the Weeknd possibly get tested to see if he was a match? The world may never know.
“Try Me”
The second song on the EP gave me a 2 very specific vibes. 1) The Weeknd is talking about how he might have gotten into a relationship with Selena quick and how her heart may have not been 100% with him. Another theory I have is that this song may be about former long-term girlfriend Bella Hadid *GASP*. I know it sounds crazy but hear me out. In the 1st verse, he starts off by saying “You’re lookin’ grown since the last time I looked at you, / It might have been, been about a couple months”. Hadid and The Weeknd have about a 7-year age gap and since we are ALL obsessed with Bella Hadid (don’t try and lie to yourself that you’ve never stalked out her Instagram), she has really grown into her own in the past year. Since the two are broken up, they are probably not hanging out together on the regular, but they do run in the same circles. This song could be a tribute to Hadid and I’m not complaining.
“Wasted Times”
At the start of this song I was getting MAJOR Selena vibes, this is also a song that brings me back to the mixtape days which I absolutely love. In the chorus he mentions “Who you give that love to now? / Who you pullin’ up on? /Who you gettin’ sprung for now?” This could be a dig at Selena for getting back with the Biebs so quickly after the break up between the two of them. But then as the song continues, my thoughts start heading more toward Bella again! He says in the second verse, “And I know right now that we’re not talkin’ (not talkin’)” which made me think that this song cannot be about Selena that it MUST be Bella! The two have not been seen around each other in quite some time now, so I’m guessing that they haven’t been texting each other either. He also says in verse 2, “You were equestrian, so ride it like a champion”. Back in the day, Hadid did ride horses as a sport. But the context of that lyric, I’ll just leave that to the imagination.
“I Was Never There” ft. Gesaffelstein
Being thankful for this break-up is a common theme in my mind while listening to his EP. This is one of two featured songs. Gesaffelstein is a French techno artist and DJ who gives this song a pretty vibe. This song starts off with some pretty dark thoughts by the artist (“What makes a grown man wanna cry? / What makes him wanna take his life? / His happiness is never real/ And mindless sex is hot he feels, ooh, he feels? /) The Weeknd is no beginner to the dark thoughts in songs club, but this does raise some questions. Does he blame himself for his break-up with Selena? Is he trying to gain sympathy for all the pain she put him through? I’m going to go with the second one. In the bridge he says, “Ooh, now I know what love is/ And I know it ain’t you for sure/ You’d rather something toxic/ So, I poison myself again, again”. I definitely think that this lyric is a direct ‘@’ to Justin Bieber and Selena’s marry-go-round relationship. They both always seem to date other people than go crawling back to one another. Since their relationship is toxic, I think The Weeknd is trying to use a metaphor by comparing the Biebs and Selena’s relationship to poison. Obviously, Selena and Justin were constantly in contact during her relationship with The Weeknd, that might have made The Weeknd try to be more like Justin (referencing the lyric “So, I poison myself again, again”) This song is def a real dig at Justin and Selena.
“Hurt You” ft. Gesaffelstein
This is the second featured song on the EP and the musician is once again French techno DJ, Gesaffelstein. This song is the definition of petty which I’m here for. In the first verse the Weeknd says, “You try to fill the void with every man you meet/ ‘Cause you’re upset with me”. This is DEFINITLY a dig at Selena by getting back with Justin quickly after their break-up, guess the Weeknd was more invested in this relationship than she was; but who really knows the truth. This song was probably made to get not only Selena’s attention but the media who craves information about this break-up. My guess? It wasn’t pretty.
“Privilege”
This is the Weeknd’s version of T-Swizzle’s We Are Never Getting Back Together. This break-up ballad explains how he’s never (ever) getting back together with Gomez. He also says, “And I don’t wanna hear that you are suffering/ You are suffering no more/ ‘Cause I held you down when you were suffering/ You were suffering” Selena Gomez has been very opinion with her struggle with not only her physical health but also her mental health. It seems like the Weeknd thinks that he was one of the main reasons of Selena’s suffering. He also foreshadows the way that he could be coping with their break-up (“But I’ma drink the pain away, I’ll be back to my old ways/ And I got two red pills to take the blues away”). Everyone knows that the Weeknd has had some past problems with drugs and alcohol, so with him saying that he could be going back to his old ways is no shock.
Overall, I think this EP is one of the best things he has put out in a long time. I personally didn’t like the Starboy era, it just didn’t feel like him. But, this EP has brought me back to the O.G. Weeknd and nothing has made me happier. It sucks that he has to go through heartache to make the best music but hey, I’m not complaining (even though my feelings were attacked).