Thursday (album)

Thursday is the second mixtape by Canadian singer The Weeknd, independently released on August 19, 2011. It follows his critically acclaimed, Polaris Music Prize-nominated debut mixtape House of Balloons (2011). Its music incorporates downtempo, dubstep, dream pop, hip hop, rock and reggae styles. As with his previous works, Canadian producers Doc McKinney and Illangelo were responsible for production of the mixtape. Young Money artist Drake contributes guest vocals to the track "The Zone".

Upon its release, Thursday received generally positive reviews from critics, who drew comparisons to House of Balloons. "Rolling Stone" and "The Birds Part 1" were released as buzz singles to precede the mixtape's release. Thursday was later remastered and packaged with The Weeknd's compilation album Trilogy (2012).

Critical reception

Thursday received generally positive responses from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, based on 17 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".BBC Music's Mike Diver made a positive review, saying, "File him beside Frank Ocean as an R&B star set to climb to new heights in 2012." Matthew Cole from Slant Magazine wrote, "The Weeknd is in full command of his craft, and at this point it's almost impossible for me to imagine that he won't deliver on the finale. He's earned my trust, as would any other artist who had already released two of the year's best albums." Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone gave a mixed review, commenting, "While it's refreshing to hear an R&B singer emphasizing the psychic toll of libertinism, his angst sex grows tiresome. Once in a while, can't this dude just get laid, and have fun doing it?"

Mixtape

A mixtape (also mix-tape or mix tape) is a home-made compilation of music (typically copyrighted songs taken from other sources) recorded in a specific order, traditionally onto an audio cassette, though CD or MP3 playlist formats are now more common. The songs can be sequential, or by beatmatching the songs and creating overlaps and fades between the end of one song and the beginning of another the tape may become a seamless whole. Compilations may include a selection of favourite songs, or music linked by theme or mood, perhaps tailored to the tape's intended recipient.

Essayist Geoffrey O'Brien has called the personal mix tape "the most widely practised American art form".

History

The Weeknd

Abęl Makkonen Tesfaye (born 16 February 1990), known professionally by his stage name The Weeknd (pronounced "the weekend"), is a Canadian singer, songwriter and record producer. In late 2010, Tesfaye anonymously uploaded several songs to YouTube under the name "The Weeknd". He released three nine-track mixtapes throughout 2011: House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence, which were critically acclaimed. The following year, he released a compilation album Trilogy, thirty tracks consisting of remastered versions of the mixtape material and three additional songs. It was released under Republic Records and his own label XO.

In 2013, he released his debut studio album Kiss Land, which was supported by the singles "Kiss Land" and "Live For". His second album, Beauty Behind the Madness, which became his first number one album on the Billboard 200, included the top-five single "Earned It" and produced the number-one singles "The Hills" and "Can't Feel My Face". The songs have simultaneously held the top three spots on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart, making him the first artist in history to achieve this.