Beauty Behind the Madness
by The Weeknd
  • Record Label: Island
  • Release Date: Aug 28, 2015
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 567 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 495 out of 567
  2. Mixed: 43 out of 567
  3. Negative: 29 out of 567
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  1. lilgnzlo
    Aug 28, 2015
    10
    I been following since the House Of Balloons days, and after Kiss Land album (wich i like), i doubt that he can be successful and maintains his unique style. But he proves that he can make a good pop commercial album with quality and don't change his essential style.

    Songs like Real Life, Often, The Hills, Acquainted and Shamless prove that. He has good radio songs friendly like Earned    I been following since the House Of Balloons days, and after Kiss Land album (wich i like), i doubt that he can be successful and maintains his unique style. But he proves that he can make a good pop commercial album with quality and don't change his essential style.

    Songs like Real Life, Often, The Hills, Acquainted and Shamless prove that. He has good radio songs friendly like Earned It and Can't Feel My Face.

    He makes three artists collaborations with which we are not used, and lose his vibe. The Ed Sheeran colaboration is amazing, same for the Lana Del Rey. And he proves in the past that can make good collaboration with R&B and rap artist, but now he moves on another level and he doing so great.

    It's difficult to say if this is the album of the year or not, but he has more 10 on individual tracks than any other album of this year. Maybe Kendrick Lamar album is more complete with the whole package, but on individual tracks this is the album!! There aren't bad songs on it.    … Expand
  2. TobyMan
    Aug 28, 2015
    10
    One of the best albums that I've heard in the last 3 years. The lyrics can sometimes be confusing, but the confusion is what brings this album magic. From Real Life to Angel, they are all pure gold songs.
  3. xSzopen
    Sep 6, 2015
    10
    This album is in my top 5 this year for sure. Almost every song from it is perfect, Weeknd proves that he is one of the best artists in music industry. Also "In the Night" is one of the greatest tributes to MJ ever.
  4. Radiohead2000
    Aug 28, 2015
    10
    Beauty Behind The Madness is a an amazing album, that redefines pop music and breaks through so many barriers that have been placed over the years. The Weeknd is one of the most talented artists with one of the most promising careers out there. He might be the reincarnation of the King of Pop. This album flows so well with out the exception of one song I didn't like (Dark Times) it was perfect.
  5. leonardohita
    Aug 28, 2015
    10
    Yes, just yes! This 2nd album of The Weeknd it's good as f*ck, he did a incredible work in this album. I'm too glad of this new work, the hard lyrics and the sexual tension in the songs just transport us to another world, a dark, explicit and mysterious world.
  6. GrantBoard
    Sep 26, 2015
    10
    OMG, The Weeknd + Ed and Lana (boom) IS AMAZING all beats of Beauty Behind The Madness are very goods, i think that ''Prisioner'' is the best song with '' The Hills''.
  7. DavidV293
    Dec 1, 2016
    10
    All the songs from this album are #1 in my personal favorites. He combines his dark lyrics with some serious catchy beat. BBTM is one of The Weeknds' best and will go down in one of the best albums from the last decade. And lets not forget, this is the album that gave Abel his fame.
  8. SmilerofMiley
    Aug 29, 2015
    10
    This is the best male album of 2015 so far. My favorite songs are : "In the Night", "Angel" , "As You Are"," Prisoner feat Lana Del Rey ." And the singles "The Hills" and " Can not Feel My Face". The Weeknd is probably the highlight Artist 2015. I hope it is indicated to Garmmys , and receive a award.
  9. TheKavehJ
    Aug 29, 2015
    10
    THIS ALBUM IS SO GREAT. EVERYTHING ABOUT IT. When an album starts with the song Real Life, you know it is going to be good. The whole 14 song album is so amazing.
  10. MasterMusician
    Aug 28, 2015
    10
    This is by far the most compelling project by any artist to give traditional pop a much needed foundational makeover since the times of Prince and MJ! The lyrical flow and content is concise and profound throughout the album. The angelic vocals seamlessly hovering over the multi-genre instrumentals is from outta this world! The production of each track is simply unmatched over a variety ofThis is by far the most compelling project by any artist to give traditional pop a much needed foundational makeover since the times of Prince and MJ! The lyrical flow and content is concise and profound throughout the album. The angelic vocals seamlessly hovering over the multi-genre instrumentals is from outta this world! The production of each track is simply unmatched over a variety of harmonic arrangements including heavy guitar rock, jazz, blues rnb, soul, funk, you name it! Moreover, the entire album seems to trace a very cohesive and captivating story arc from Real Life to Angel, unlike any other recent projects (with exception to Kendrick Lamar's TPAB). Even after the chart topping singles, BBTM surprisingly retains plenty more potential hits. All in all, this is by far the best album of the year so far, and in the top 5 since 1999!, and possibly top 10 of all time (after testing its timelessness in a few years)!… Expand
  11. iemilyL
    Aug 28, 2015
    10
    From his mixtapes to Kiss Land to Beauty Behind the Madness.. He never fails to make you feel. Although the beats for this album are definitely more "uppity" throughout the album, you can still feel the dark emotions through his lyrics and his delivery of the words. -- He has evolved as an artist and that's just brilliant.
  12. CraigEchols
    Aug 28, 2015
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What caught me most about this album was the indirect story that it tells. Abel starts off being Abel by describing his world ("Real Life"), then proceeds to meet a girl and describe his view on love and relationships to her ("Losers.") They strike up typical visits in which Abel continues to be Abel about it ("Tell Your Friends") and describes how she is when he and crew are around ("Often"). However, Abel's attitude changes. He begins to develop feelings and wants her around more ("The Hills"). Eventually, he admits up to her that he is beginning to have feelings for the girl ("Acquainted"). He then describes how she makes him feel and that she may be the "death" of him ("Can't Feel My Face" the death of the old Abel). He then tells her that he has no reserves about how she makes him feel and doesn't want to hide it ('Shameless") and that she has willfully made him feel this way ("Earned It"). However, she still has her reserves and doesn't seem ready to commit to him ("In the Night") and Abel begins to realize that he loves her for the fact that she reminds him of himself and how he has been ("As You Are") and also begins to realize that he can't escape the dark side of himself ("Prisoner"). Upon sadly realizing things aren't going to work out they end it and go their separate ways ("Dark Times"). In the end he is left wondering and wishing the best for a former love he missed out on ("Angel").… Expand
  13. ibredman7
    Aug 28, 2015
    10
    After a two year wait for this album The Weeknd did not disappoint! I truly believe he meshed his old sound and new sound nearly perfectly, and has created a beautiful album.
  14. maryjaneex
    Sep 2, 2015
    10
    Seen him live, Loved him ever since 2011, such an amazing person, artist, and album! I can't stop listening to it, Worth the buy on itunes, definitely suggest it :)
  15. handstokindness
    Oct 23, 2015
    10
    This album is so gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood, Acquainted is my fav
  16. WANGWEST
    May 30, 2016
    10
    This album is the best alternative R&B album of the year! The Weeknd is the king of indie and alternative R&B! This is one of the albums I played the most in 2016! From catchy song to Can't Feel My Face to eerily song The Hills(my favorite!). This marks a huge step in The Weeknd's career!
  17. Nicolas23
    Jan 22, 2018
    10
    This is one of the best albums of R&B ever made, each song is a masterpiece and it’s so amazing how the album tell you a story.
  18. martinthecritic
    Nov 6, 2017
    10
    This album is an extremely amazing and well-crafted album. While some of his fans may say that he is a sell-out because he tried to appeal to the masses, the album is amazing regardless. Standout tracks are Real Life, Acquainted, Shameless, Often and Angel.
  19. ger89
    Apr 8, 2020
    10
    Tiene capas,peeo la voz de Abel se siente primera, contundente, un placer esparcido en la música electrónica y analógica
  20. Skinnytub
    Jan 11, 2020
    10
    One of my favourite albums ever and 100% my favourite album of 2015. Love every single song!
  21. Braydenoiler
    Dec 12, 2020
    10
    Ksksisodisissieididkieirkreidkdkdrkfiddkkdkddiddkdkdkdkkdkdkddkdkdkddkdkdkdkdkd
  22. Sweethour22
    Oct 30, 2021
    10
    the growth in his music is amazing, and in this album he shows it again, the transitions that he makes when advancing each song is incredible, very well thought out of all those who put effort into this amazing album
  23. jesseurbancsik
    Aug 30, 2015
    9
    Abel started off his career with a trilogy of mixtapes, and now has a hit album that WILL go to #1. BBTM displays his journey and it resembles his past work, especially House of Balloons, Kiss Land and even channeling Michael Jackson. He moved to a new pop sound for this album, and this shows growth because every great artist needs to change up their sound here and there. Del Ray andAbel started off his career with a trilogy of mixtapes, and now has a hit album that WILL go to #1. BBTM displays his journey and it resembles his past work, especially House of Balloons, Kiss Land and even channeling Michael Jackson. He moved to a new pop sound for this album, and this shows growth because every great artist needs to change up their sound here and there. Del Ray and Sheeran make the album even more interesting. It doesn't sound like he's selling-out either, which makes The Weeknd the humble, sex-addicted, crooning singer that everyone came to love.… Expand
  24. Nowwweondarun
    Aug 28, 2015
    9
    This is an incredible album. I have been a Weeknd fan since I heard the words "You don't know what's in store..." and going into this album - his third on a major label - I feared going into this album that he would "sell out" and maintain a tamer version of his raw, emotionless, and disturbed persona so as to appeal to the masses and to the demands of being on a major label. How wrong IThis is an incredible album. I have been a Weeknd fan since I heard the words "You don't know what's in store..." and going into this album - his third on a major label - I feared going into this album that he would "sell out" and maintain a tamer version of his raw, emotionless, and disturbed persona so as to appeal to the masses and to the demands of being on a major label. How wrong I was!!!!!!!

    HOB, Thursday, and EOS were individually brilliant projects, and when packaged as Triliogy and released under a major label, the commercial world got introduced to the brilliance and tortured soul that is The Weeknd. Some might argue that he deviated from this persona on his previous album, Kissland. I always begged to differ as he still stuck closely to his original persona, whilst exploring a bigger budget for making an album (i.e higher profile producers) and a demand for a wider audience.

    In BBTM, The Weeknd has found the ultimate balance between the dark and the commercial! This is a record complete with his original darkness (Real Life, Tell Your Friends, Often, The Hills), some pop favourites (Can't Feel My Face, Earned It, In The Night), and an incredible selection of features (Labrynth, Lana Del Rey, and Ed Sheeran). It isn't just a selection of songs put together to aim at as many follower/fans as possible. But instead there seems to be a concept behind the album whereby he exposes us (and a girl) to his dark side in the earlier tracks, and by the midpoint of the album (Can't Feel My Face), he becomes wrapped up into the girl. Over the next couple of tracks (Shameless and Earned it), he warns her about the kind of guy he is and the kind of "relationship" they will have, whilst embracing the "relationship", only to discover on In The Night, that the girl has got her own deeply rooted issues. Ultimately, the relationship falls apart on Prisoner, with each party admiting to their addiction to the kind of life they live and accepting that they cannot be together. In conclusion, on the final track Angel, The weekend says goodbye to the girl and "wishes she finds somebody to love".

    If i had one criticism of this album, it would be the quality of the lyrics. The Weeknd is a great writer but on some songs, I found the lyrics a bit wanting.

    This album surprised me and I am pleased to say it did in a positive way. I would go as far as saying it is in my top 3 records of the year. It is great to see how The Weeknd has grown as an artist, seemlessly exposing himself to the commercial world of music, whilst sticking to his original content. Almost a flawss brilliance!    … Expand
  25. TheFallenKing
    Aug 28, 2015
    9
    My ears yearned for more of Abels deep tempestuous lyrics and this album has delivered that and also supplies a sound for every mood. His Trilogy album will only serve the true hardcore fans with his raw, honest lyrics and he obviously knows that his commercial followers will expect something less aggressive.

    This album gives everyone a bit of everything. Even inside the melodic songs    My ears yearned for more of Abels deep tempestuous lyrics and this album has delivered that and also supplies a sound for every mood. His Trilogy album will only serve the true hardcore fans with his raw, honest lyrics and he obviously knows that his commercial followers will expect something less aggressive.

    This album gives everyone a bit of everything. Even inside the melodic songs such as "Shameless" and "Angel" you could almost assume he is still personifying drugs, just as he does with "can't feel my face".

    He has stayed as true to himself as he can on this album considering he has to now sell records. If you only like him for earned it then you will be bitterly disappointed. Hardcore fans will feel that he has lost some of the magic we come to expect from the HOB, Thursday and EOS albums, but from a commercial point of view he has released a solid album with some solid tracks that will get a lot of air time.

    The only song for me that needs addressing is Acquainted. Girls born in the 90's is a much better version and I feel he has swapped out a strong track for one which leaves me wanted to listen to the original almost after.

    Still.....Abel delivers again.    … Expand
  26. TavenSwain
    Aug 28, 2015
    9
    The Weeknd is the definition of an artist. Although he is more mainstream than he ever was before his creativity and wit lyrically has not changed. Its safe to say he is going to be a fixture in music for years to come. This album was a good listen, something that will make you feel a variety of different ways, which is what you want from artists these days. Relatively dark at times andThe Weeknd is the definition of an artist. Although he is more mainstream than he ever was before his creativity and wit lyrically has not changed. Its safe to say he is going to be a fixture in music for years to come. This album was a good listen, something that will make you feel a variety of different ways, which is what you want from artists these days. Relatively dark at times and about sex and drugs there, I wouldnt have it any other way. This will be a top 5 album of 2015 no-doubt.… Expand
  27. Srefly
    Aug 28, 2015
    9
    Is no the better album for me , but **** this is FIRE. I'm a great admirer of WEEKND style , this album is not so different from others just a bit but this difference is positive, is a masterpiece.
  28. diegonelli
    Sep 13, 2015
    9
    This album is great, I love the sounds.. I love Prisoner with Lana, Angel, The Hills and Tell your Friends...
    Also, I didn't know that Abel was that explicit :o
  29. damianpanicali
    Oct 23, 2015
    9
    As I listen to The Beauty Behind The Madness I think “Damn, this is sick.” The versatileness of The Weeknd in this album is outstanding. This album has something to offer every type of listener out there. If you listen to this album you could tell the hard work and the focus he demonstrated while making this album with his producers. His vocal range, pitch, awareness of beats, and innateAs I listen to The Beauty Behind The Madness I think “Damn, this is sick.” The versatileness of The Weeknd in this album is outstanding. This album has something to offer every type of listener out there. If you listen to this album you could tell the hard work and the focus he demonstrated while making this album with his producers. His vocal range, pitch, awareness of beats, and innate melodic sense could not be described in any other way except otherworldly. The way he attacks his music coupled with the emotion and passion he puts into every word is something that just about guarantees somebody chart-topping success.

    This album is very good. It has very strong beats and executions, but i would have to say that to have another singer on the track singing his music would not appeal to me as much due to his unique voice. I feel like some songs are tailored to specific artists, and this whole album is indeed tailored to him and him only. Some songs that are popular are “The Hills” and “Can’t Feel My Face”. I would say they’re good songs that are very recognized from the album but very much overplayed in a since where people wouldn’t listen to the rest of his album based on the annoyingness of these two songs. But I would say “Can’t Feel My Face” is one of the weaker songs from this record mostly because the beat is not as distinct as others on his album, and doesn't have great execution. Some good songs on the album The Beauty Behind The Madness are “Often” and “Dark Times”. I feel like these are on of the better songs because it’s not an ordinary listen its more of a challenging and more distinct tune. That’s what i feel separates him from other artists, his since of different music, and different melodies. I couldn’t see another singer pull off these songs as emotionally, and as vocally as he did. When attentively listening to this track, the ballads do arrive after an upbeat song which was was a hard transition at first, but after you listen to it a couple of times, you form appreciation for his songs and it doesn’t hit you hard after 3 or 4 listens. This album is out of the ordinary for many listeners but it will morbidly attract them.

    I do agree with the critics that the Weeknd is not the most recognizable artist out there and also the most well known, but either was Jay Z, Tupac, and Dr. Dre when they first arrived on the scene. But you can’t deny their talent. You can’t give the whole market of music to a set amount of artists, you have to be open to every new upcoming artist and also many new genres.

    I would describe the Weeknd as a Calvin Harris, Kayne, and Drake mix. He has techno beats backing us his music, with beautiful vocals. I do believe he is a pioneer for his type of music like Kayne is for his music. I see a bright future for this young artist.

    I believe if people heard his whole album, he would be greatly appreciated and praised for his hard work and execution in this album. I like the album and encourage many people to listen and grow to love of him and his art. Will you look past his language and appreciate the handwork and determination in his songs?    … Expand
  30. ProGamer7
    Dec 2, 2015
    9
    This Artists is something else, he has a very interesting story (and a very interesting hairstyle). Certain songs like "I Can't Feel my Face" and "The Hills", make this album great. I give this a 9/10
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Awards & Rankings

25
#25 Most Discussed Album of 2015
40
#40 Most Shared Album of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. Clash Music
    Sep 22, 2015
    60
    Many fans will still be happy with the change that Beauty Behind The Madness has brought but some will surely feel the album has nothing to offer except immediate accessibility for the short attention of the mainstream.
    Read full review
  2. Rolling Stone
    Sep 10, 2015
    70
    If the sound has widened and even brightened in spots, the Weeknd still rocks a serious Eeyore vibe for much of Beauty Behind the Madness.
    Read full review
  3. The Telegraph (UK)
    Sep 8, 2015
    60
    Real Life builds up to a pitch of doomed drama from a corrosive slash of guitar as Tesfaye confides that even his “Mama called me destructive”. But Ed Sheeran fails to rescue him on the tedious Dark Times and Lana Del Rey--who ought to be his perfect partner in pop-noir--adds nothing but a bored spritz of vocal perfume to the lethargic Prisoner.
    Read full review
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