The Weeknd Is Thinking About Pulling ‘Trilogy’ Compilation From Streaming Services, Maybe
Written by djfrosty on November 14, 2022
We live in an age when nothing is ever the last word. That appears to be The Weeknd‘s thinking when it comes to his beloved Trilogy project. The collection originally dropped in Nov. 2012, a year after the then-enigmatic singer released a series of three intriguing mixtapes, House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence.
Trilogy whipped together remastered and remixed versions of 30 songs, including lead single “Wicked Games,” which topped out at No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100. At the time, though, a number of the samples and mixes from the original mixtapes were reworked because of an inability to clear the samples for Trilogy; in March 2021 the singer re-released the original version of House of Balloons with the original mixes and samples for the first time to commemorate its 10th anniversary.
“if y’all wanna hear the trilogy how it’s supposed to be listened to … listen to House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence individually,” the singer tweeted. “Not all samples are on trilogy and the mix isn’t the original mix. But shout out trilogy but fyi, for the new fans, it isn’t an album.” He then dropped a bit of news, suggesting that he might “get rid” of the compilation “just so there’s no more confusion, now that ALL the samples are finally cleared since Dec. 17, 2021.”
The collection’s songs feature a number of prominent samples. including Siouxsie and the Banshees’ “Happy House” on “House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls,” as well as Beach House’s “Master of None” on “The Party & the After Party” and the Cocteau Twins’ “Cherry Coloured Funk” on “The Knowing.” But in a sign that the idea of wiping Trilogy from streaming services might have ben a fleeting thought, a short time later Abel seemed to immediately reconsider his historical revisionism.
“But I also know there are fans of the compilation so I might not get rid of it,” he tweeted. “But just want to be clear for all the new fans and the weirdly older fans.”
House of Balloons was released as a free download from The Weeknd’s official website on March 21, 2011, before it was combined with his other 2011 mixtapes Thursday and Echoes of Silence for Trilogy, which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in 2012.
See Weeknd’s tweets below.