The Weeknd on His Recent Success: "When I See an Opening, I Penetrate It"

• Report rights infringement
• published: 21 Oct 2015
• views: 55184

The Weeknd​'s year couldn't be going any better, as he literally has songs replacing one another at the No. 1 spot on the charts. With the song of the summer, "Can't Feel My Face," a hit album, a performance on the iconic Saturday Night Live all under his belt, the Weeknd's next step is a huge North American tour featuring Travi$ Scott, Banks and Halsey. So, it only makes sense that Rolling Stone pegged the singer for the cover story of their latest issue. The piece, "Sex, Drugs and R&B;: Inside the Weeknd's Dark Twisted Fantasy," dives into a slew of very personal, and revealing topics. He discusses his humble beginnings (his mother worked several jobs while his grandmother would often look after him), dropping out of school and his early insecurity about interviews. He dove into his drug-filled years that inspired his early works, House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes Of Silence (that were later repackaged and sold as Trilogy), and how he dealt with addictions. "I never needed detox or anything," he said. "But I was addicted in the sense of 'fuck, I don't want to spend this day without getting high.'" Other highlights include the details behind his relationship with Bella Hadid​, and how he originally asked her to be on the album artwork for Beauty Behind The Madness. "My motive was literally to work with her, but once she declined, 'I was like, All right, cool — we can meet up face-to-face.'" Drake and his OVO connections also came up, and Abel explained that it was actually Oliver El-Khatib vouching for him early on rather than Drizzy. Read the full cover story over at Rolling Stone, while Beauty Behind The Madness is out now on iTunes. Subscribe to Complex for More: http://goo.gl/PJeLOl Check out more of Complex here: http://www.complex.com https://twitter.com/ComplexMag https://www.facebook.com/complex http://instagram.com/complexmag https://plus.google.com/+complex/ COMPLEX is a community of creators and curators, armed with the Internet, committed to surfacing and sharing the voices and conversations that define our new America. Our videos exemplify convergence culture, exploring topics that include music, sneakers, style, sports and pop culture through original shows and Complex News segments. Featuring your favorite celebrities, authoritative commentary, and a unique voice, our videos make culture pop. The Weeknd on His Recent Success: "When I See an Opening, I Penetrate It" from Complex.