Trilogy Tracklist
Trilogy is a three-part remastering of The Weeknd’s three critically-acclaimed mixtapes along with three bonus tracks to go along with each tape: “Twenty Eight”, “Valerie”, and “Til Dawn (Here Comes the Sun)”.
The mixtapes featured on this album are House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence
In September 2012, Abel signed with Republic Records in “a joint venue with his own XO imprint”. To release the album, The Weeknd had to clear a few samples. He managed to clear the Beach House sample on “The Party & The After Party” and the Siouxsie and the Banshees sample on “House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls”, but he did not manage to clear Aaliyah’s “Rock the Boat” sample on “What You Need”, so the intro for that track was altered.
On October 3rd, 2012, The Weeknd released the official video for “Rolling Stone” to promote the release of the album. Trilogy’s cover art is actually a still image taken from that video. Along with the video, Abel wrote an open letter to his fans. Regarding the song, he said:
Because I am a man of few words, I chose to make a viral video to show you how I felt and where I stand. I usually don’t like to “spoon feed” my audience because I grew up idolizing story tellers who tell stories using symbolism, so it was in my nature to do the same. The Rolling Stone video takes place in a dimly lit studio which represents the two worlds I have been stuck in. The gloomy side represents the mainstream world while the other side represents the underground. The girl holding on represents you. As the world slowly gets familiar with my face the more you will lose interest (hence the pieces of her clothes coming off at every shot). The camera lights symbolize the crossover, and when they begin to flash I look away from the underground. Even though I don’t want to, it is a step that I feel I must take to evolve as an artist.
A few weeks later, on October 18th, 2012, Abel released the official video for the album’s first official single, “Wicked Games”.
Shortly before Trilogy’s official release, on November 8th, 2012, he released the official video for “The Zone”, featuring fellow Toronto artist Drake.
“Trilogy” Q&A
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Translations
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Is this like a compilation album?
Yes. It is a remastered compilation of The Weeknd’s 3 mixtapes: House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence (which were not officially released). Alongside these tracks, there are also 3 added songs (tracks 10, 20, and 30: Twenty Eight, Valerie, and Til Dawn (Here Comes the Sun)).
There is a pattern to the arrangement. Each mixtape (respectively) has 9 remastered tracks, followed by one additional track, to make a 30 track album (with 3 CDs).
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How did this album do on the various Billboard charts?
Trilogy debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200, selling 86,000 copies.
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What certifications did this album receive?
Trilogy was certified 3x platinum by the RIAA on March 18, 2019.
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How did this album do amongst critics?
Based on 19 reviews, Trilogy received generally positive reviews from critics and a Metacritic rating of 79. Writing for Pitchfork, Ian Cohen called the album:
some of the best music of the young decade; judging by its already pervasive influence, it’s safe to say Trilogy (or at least House of Balloons) will be one of those records that will be viewed as a turning point when we look at the 2010s as a whole.
