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CRITIC REVIEWS
90
This isn’t an album as much as it is a burgeoning pop epic that’s likely to develop into something more ostentatious. Beauty Behind The Madness is The Weeknd’s superstar coming out party.
90
Beauty Behind the Madness proves that the Weeknd can thrive in the mainstream, and while the lyrics aren't overtly profound, he's proven that he is more versatile than previously thought, which is perhaps of greater importance at this stage in his career.
85
As a cohesive album, Beauty Behind The Madness showcases artistic growth and sonic progression through danceable pop deliveries like 'In The Night' and grand acoustics like 'Shameless'.
80
With Michael Jackson’s essence being reflected on parts of this 65-minute album, will The Weeknd become the next King of Pop of his generation? With his smooth yet criminal vocals and sensual, human nature lyrics coming together, one can see he’s headed in the right direction.
80
Part celebration, part declaration, part maturation; Tesfaye’s second studio album proper presents a man seemingly obsessed with the opposite sex and his role in such encounters.
75
In between Beauty’s innumerable hooks, Tesfaye finds room to be a pop figure with something to say, even if what he’s saying is literally “when I’m fucked up, that’s the real me” or “I’d rather be complacent.”
75
With Beauty Behind The Madness, The Weeknd successfully creates space for self-discovery outside of a drug coma, reconciling who he is and has always been with who his fans and critics believe he’s becoming.
75
While his talent is undeniable, once he fully harnesses it, he’ll really be dangerous.
72
Beauty Behind the Madness sees Tesfaye hell-bent on stardom, shedding the fat from his disappointing major label debut, Kiss Land.
70
Beauty Behind the Madness is front-loaded with fresh directions for the Weeknd that achieve the impossible: make it sound like he’s actually enjoying himself.
70
Despite needing a serious edit at 65 minutes, we’re on our way to exploring what The Weeknd as a sonic idea sounds like as a mainstream pop artist – and it’s got a world of promise.
70
He may have softened his edge, upped the production and pulled in the stars, but The Weeknd remains an outsider.
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.
70
You could call it a sell-out but you'd only be cheating yourself out of one of the smartest pop records of the year; considering the caliber of pop music charting thus far, that's no mean feat.
70
If there is any connective tissue bounding this album together it’s the idea that the Weeknd doesn’t have to fundamentally change who he is in order to became a superstar.
67
Beauty Behind the Madness convinces me of three things. One: The Weeknd is still capable of making great music. Two: Abel Tesfaye has constructed a gorgeous suicide note. Three: I have zero interest in witnessing another young artist’s self-implosion. Beauty Behind the Madness is the best album I’ll never listen to again.
60
The commercial strides are obvious. The creative advancements are less apparent, obstructed by some unappealing measures, but they're in there.
60
Despite such strong highlights dropped in the album’s middle section ... Beauty ends up having a strange beast of a failing: none of the guest spots really add to the album’s overall vibe.
60
While 'Beauty Behind The Madness' has its moments, it feels like a collection of rushed songs designed to arrive while Tesfaye is riding a wave of good press - rather than a complete body of work.
60
His lifestyle addictions reach their nadir on the Lana Del Rey duet Prisoner. "I'm a prisoner to my addiction," he sings, blandly. The album is plagued by similarly banal lyrics about sex and drugs that make his playboy image feel all the more superficial.
50
Beauty Behind the Madness actually reveals itself to be quite a safe, risk-free transition for Abel. This is the same old monotonous Weeknd melancholy, only distilled through a huge pop filter.
50
The Weeknd's new album takes a lot of stylistic risks, experimenting with not just alternative R&B, but soul, rock, and pop. However, few of these forays into other genres pay off, and they leave the album feeling pretty inconsistent and directionless.
this album reminds me of how my brother refuses to blow his nose so he's forced to constantly breathe out of his mouth
In Beauty Behind The Madness we find The Weeknd finding his potential as a super popstar even though he still has his intrinsic R&B roots within many songs on the album that have the style that made the artist so interesting in the past (especially during the mixtapes). This project contains a set of songs that can be considered excellent and iconic such as "The Hills", "Can't Feel My Face" and "In The Night" but the album is also inconsistent not filling the ... read more
“Beauty Behind The Madness” is a really good time all around, with some low points scattered throughout. It’s bloated for sure and is boring at points, but the sum of all its parts is very good.
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Track List
| 1 | Real Life 3:43 | 77 |
| 2 | Losers 4:41 feat. Labrinth | 73 |
| 3 | Tell Your Friends 5:34 | 81 |
| 4 | Often 4:09 | 82 |
| 5 | The Hills 4:02 | 93 |
| 6 | Acquainted 5:48 | 79 |
| 7 | Can't Feel My Face 3:33 | 91 |
| 8 | Shameless 4:13 | 78 |
| 9 | Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey) 4:37 | 80 |
| 10 | In the Night 3:55 | 87 |
| 11 | As You Are 5:40 | 74 |
| 12 | Dark Times 4:20 feat. Ed Sheeran | 63 |
| 13 | Prisoner 4:34 feat. Lana Del Rey | 74 |
| 14 | Angel 6:17 | 78 |
Total Length: 1 hour, 5 minutes
Year End Lists
| #2 | / | Stashed |
| #5 | / | Rolling Stone |
| #9 | / | Idolator |
| #12 | / | Pigeons & Planes |
| #17 | / | Digital Spy |
| #18 | / | Billboard |
| #19 | / | NME |
| #21 | / | The 405 |
| #23 | / | Complex |
| #28 | / | Popjustice |
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5mo
"earned it" was almost an 80 for me but it wasn't really carrying itself enough to be that good.
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Added on: July 9, 2015