the-weeknd-live-lounge

The Weeknd bares all in this stripped back rendition of ‘The Hills’

It’s hard to take a step without falling over The Weeknd right now. The breakout R&B-pop superstar of the year has led global chart domination with Beauty Behind The Madness, not to mention the flurry of singles and featured collaborations with is undoubtedly well deserved, the album was produced over almost two years- and has shown serious progression from Canada’s resident sad-boy.

Last week saw Tesfaye and co bring his seductive beats to London, where he headlined Apple Music Festival. He also took some time to visit the BBC Radio 1 studios to take part in their live performance series, Live Lounge. He performed a gorgeous, stripped down version of The Hills, his second single off the album.

It’s really cool when an artist shares such a varied version of the song to the one that audiences know and love. This rendition of the track is entirely different to the one on the album. It is raw, it’s pared back to nothing but the bare essentials: tender guitar strums, Tesfaye’s expressive, distinguished vocals. Now carrying a kind of haunting poignancy that wasn’t portrayed on the studio version, The Hills has been redesigned into something breathtaking.

Considering the feedback, you never know: he might release this is an alternate single.