House of Balloons

House of Balloons is the debut mixtape by Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released on March 21, 2011, by the artist's own record label XO. The mixtape was released for free on the Weeknd's website and was the subject of increased media discussion upon the use of its songs on television, as well as the then-anonymous identity of the individual behind the Weeknd. House of Balloons was entirely recorded in Toronto, with production handled primarily by the Weeknd, Doc McKinney, Illangelo, and Cirkut; the Weeknd would later collaborate with McKinney and Illangelo on several future releases. Its title is derived from the nickname the singer gave to his former home in Parkdale, Toronto.
The mixtape received widespread acclaim, with critics praising its dark aesthetic, production, and lyrical content. It is widely regarded as a major influence on contemporary R&B music, being credited for pioneering alternative R&B. Musically House of Balloons was noted for mixing R&B with elements of soul, trip hop, indie rock, dream pop, and electronic music. Lyrically, the mixtape explores the Weeknd's drug use and experiences with love, heartbreak, and promiscuity.
House of Balloons was commercially released as part of the compilation album Trilogy (2012) and included the singles "Wicked Games" and "Twenty Eight", the latter of which is a bonus track. On its tenth anniversary, the original mixtape was released in digital formats, and included samples which failed to gain copyright clearance on Trilogy. The reissue was accompanied by a limited edition line of merchandise designed by architect Daniel Arsham.
Background
In August 2009, Abel Tesfaye began anonymously releasing music on YouTube. The following year, he met Jeremy Rose, a producer who had an idea for a dark contemporary R&B project. After initially trying to pitch the idea to musician Curtis Santiago, Rose played one of his instrumentals for Tesfaye, who freestyle rapped over it. Rose produced many songs for Tesfaye. Three of these songs – "What You Need", "Loft Music" and "The Party & The After Party" – would appear on House of Balloons. Among the scrapped songs includes an early version of The Morning. The two would go their separate ways after disagreements about songwriting, but Rose let Tesfaye keep the tracks he had produced under the condition that he would be credited for them. In December 2010, Tesfaye uploaded "What You Need", "Loft Music" and "The Morning" to YouTube under the username "xoxxxoooxo". His identity was initially unknown. The songs drew some attention online, and were later included in a blog post from rapper Drake. The songs subsequently received coverage from various media outlets, including Pitchfork and The New York Times.
Before adopting the stage name the Weeknd, Tesfaye released music under the aliases the Noise and Kin Kane. His current stage name was chosen in tribute to when he dropped out of school, took his mattress, "left one weekend and never came home." However, Rose claims the name was his idea. The last 'e' was excluded to avoid trademark problems with pop rock band the Weekend. In the beginning of his career, Tesfaye worked at American Apparel. Due to his anonymity, his co-workers listened to his music without knowing it was him.
In 2011, Tesfaye met music executives Wassim "Sal" Slaiby and Amir "Cash" Esmailian, with whom, along with Taylor, he founded the XO record label. On March 21, Tesfaye released his debut mixtape House of Balloons. The mixtape included production from producers Illangelo and Doc McKinney, and included the tracks produced by Rose, although he did not receive production credits. House of Balloons was named as one of ten shortlisted nominees for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize. On August 18, Tesfaye released his second mixtape Thursday, which received generally positive reviews. His third mixtape, Echoes of Silence, was released on December 21. It was a longlisted nominee for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize.
Composition
The album's eclectic music uses samples of Beach House's "Master of None" (2006) and "Gila" (2008), and Aaliyah's "Rock the Boat" (2001). The title track heavily samples Siouxsie and the Banshees' 1980 single "Happy House". Pitchfork said: "'Happy House' is worked into a softly anthemic slow-burn number full of diva-ish vocals tied to a chilly beat". The guitar 'riff remains untouched and runs throughout most of the track, giving it a filmy pop feel that periodically peaks with a generous swipe from the "Happy House" chorus". The track "The Knowing" samples the 1990 track "Cherry-Coloured Funk" by Cocteau Twins. Joe Colly of Pitchfork observed "weird, morning-after tales of lust, hurt, and over-indulgence", complemented by "lush, downcast music" on the album, and compared its "specific nocturnal quality" to that of The xx's 2009 self-titled debut. Pitchforks Eric Grandy wrote that the title track has the Weeknd "emoting in an androgynous falsetto one minute, muttering unbelievable curses the next". Paul Lewster of The Guardian viewed that, although more than half of the mixtape features samples, only the title track makes it "evident".
Promotion
The song "High for This" was featured in the promo for the final season of the HBO show Entourage in July 2011. On November 24, 2011, the Weeknd's first official music video, for his song "The Knowing," hit the Internet on his Vimeo page. The song was first released on House of Balloons and the video was directed by French filmmaker Mikael Colombu, who has also worked with American singer CeeLo Green. The nearly eight-minute clip is described by authors Carrie Battan and Amy Phillips of Pitchfork as, "a time traveling, Afrofuturist, science fiction battle of the sexes that demands to be watched in HD."
On July 24, 2011, Tesfaye held his first live performance at the Mod Club Theatre in Toronto. After the performance, Drake met with Tesfaye to discuss collaborations, which led to Tesfaye earning an appearance at his OVO Festival. He also participated in concerts hosted by the Black Student Association at the University of Toronto.
Critical reception
House of Balloons received widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, House of Balloons received a weighted average score of 87 based on 16 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Sean Fennessey of The Village Voice was impressed by the mixtape, calling it "patient, often gorgeous, and consistently louche... with the sort of blown-out underbelly and echo-laden crooning that has already made Drake's less-than-a-year-old Thank Me Later such an influential guidepost." Maegan McGregor of Exclaim! stated that House of Balloons "easily stands as one of the year's best debuts so far, hipster, top 40 or otherwise." Sputnikmusic's Tyler Fisher said that "despite being a free album, House of Balloons feels like a true album, a true labor of love." Tom Ewing of The Guardian felt that while the Weeknd's vocals and lyrics on House of Balloons "aren't especially strong by R&B standards," much of the album's attention was attracted by its strong command of mood.
In December 2011, Metacritic determined that House of Balloons was the third best-reviewed project of the year. AnyDecentMusic? ranked it at number 10 on its list of compilation of the rankings of the best 2011 albums from 30 magazines, newspapers and websites. Additionally, the mixtape was featured on several music critics' and publications' end-of-year albums lists. Complex called it the "best album of 2011;" Stereogum ranked it number 5; The Guardian ranked it number 8; The A.V. Club ranked it number 6; SPIN ranked it (as well as Thursday) number 13; while Pitchfork ranked it number 10. As a whole, House of Balloons was the seventh most frequently mentioned album in music publications' year-end top ten lists. The mixtape was named as one of the longlisted of nominees for the 2011's Polaris Music Prize. The mixtape's title track was placed on Pitchforks list of top 100 songs of 2011 at number 57, while "The Morning" was number 15. In 2021, it was listed at No. 488 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time".
Legacy and influence
House of Balloons is considered by many to be one of the most influential R&B releases in recent years, specifically the 2010s. It is credited for paving the way for other R&B artists to release music without showing their faces, shifting the content of mainstream R&B music and bringing alternative R&B into the mainstream.
Julian Kimble of Complex wrote, "House of Balloons, in tandem with Frank Ocean’s Nostalgia, Ultra, was responsible for a sharp pivot within R&B. The project invaded this stale area, soldering genres together to bring much-needed originality to a template mired by stagnancy at the decade’s turn. Neither his songwriting nor subject matter were cavalier, but his overall aesthetic was enticing." He later describes how, "Its channeling of temptation’s distinct gleam is a significant part of its legacy." Pitchfork wrote, "Of course, a significant part of House of Balloons appeal was that it was unexpected, and that it tapped into our subconscious. It satisfied an unrealized need." Bianca Gracie of Uproxx stated, "House Of Balloons is frightening in its relatability. It forced listeners to confront the loneliness they feel after realizing partying is the only thing that sustains them." Continuing to add, "Being only a year younger than Tesfaye, we had parallel coming-of-age experiences: dabbling in similar substances, using all-night college parties as escapism from depression, and ultimately sought comfort in a mixtape that targeted a shared despondency." She later stated, "The mixtape reflected a doomed generation who grew up with films like Kids, Trainspotting, Requiem For A Dream, and A Clockwork Orange. We didn’t want to be seen. Like Tesfaye, we hid our faces behind Tumblr photos that showed both a brilliant, snarky sense of humor and a not-so-subtle cry for help." Patrick Lyons of Stereogum wrote, "Perhaps inviting listeners to use their imaginations added something. You could envision the scenarios described in all four of those early tracks unfolding in the same location, a seedy-but-well-furnished apartment that housed no permanent residents — a party pad with dim, reddish lighting and Himalayan piles of cocaine on every horizontal surface, all of which are made of glass. It's a loft where the walls kick like they're six months pregnant, where women call cabs at dawn and forget their high-heeled shoes. Leave your girl back home." Sam Hockley-Smith of The Fader said, "Balloons ' legacy is massive. It looms large over everything we've heard. It made happy songs passe. It made the very concept of contentment seem lame. It spawned a vast legion of imitators, all tracing song lyrics in mounds of cocaine on mirrors at 6 a.m. It was a fashionable version of depression, done very well. That sounds disparaging, but I don't want it to be. House of Balloons got everything right, which is why it caused such a seismic shift in music."
Gabby Sgherri of BeatRoute said, "Let's go back to 2011; an era when R&B was dominated by pretty boys by the likes of Usher and Jeremiah who exuded confidence, making fans swoon with their dance moves and romantic lyrics. The Weeknd was different. His elusive mixtape titled House of Balloons, a drug-drenched and emotionally chilling collection of songs, showed up deep in forums and niche music blogs. It was faceless, nameless—an antithesis to the genre." Micah Wimmer of Medium stated, "It has cast a shadow over contemporary music, inviting others to join him in those shadows, creating a murkier, darker, more depraved style that is now omnipresent. Yet in spite of this style's prevalence today, no one has bettered what Tesfaye does here. Many R&B singers and rappers sing of lives that the average listener will never be able to relate to or fully understand — songs of glamor, wealth, and extravagance — but there may be no other instance where the listener will be more grateful for that than on House of Balloons. The album's title evokes thoughts of a party, certainly, yet the title seems bitterly ironic, as the parties detailed here are nihilistic, rather than joyful. Many albums create a world that draws one in for the record's duration, becoming a place of comfort and certainty. This record certainly achieves this goal of luring in the listener, yet by becoming one of its many fans, one becomes complicit rather than comfortable. It is a record that awes and overwhelms — a record I love wholeheartedly and revisit regularly — yet it is also one that discomfits, both rewarding and haunting the listener long after the party's over." Rose Lilah of HotNewHipHop wrote, "The Toronto native remodeled what it meant to be a fan by creating music that coincided or identified with a specific lifestyle and time's in one life, thus sparking the cult-like XO fanbase, and creating a blueprint for artists when it comes to the importance of branding identity and having a "movement." However, beyond a savvy business strategy, Abel also refurbished an existing genre, spawned a new sub-genre, and encouraged experimentation and evolution in the generation of artists that have followed his lead." A. Harmony of Exclaim! said that "the ripple effect that House of Balloons had on R&B cannot be understated. The change was so pervasive that it birthed a new subgenre — alternative R&B — where more rebels and rule-breakers could usher in a new guard. The mixtape's influence endures in artists like Bryson Tiller and 6LACK. The Weeknd's early days of mystery and elusiveness were replicated by H.E.R. and SAULT. The legion of R&B fans, who would have otherwise never embraced the genre, continues to grow. Nothing about House of Balloons was supposed to succeed, but therein lies its magic. An album that bold could only either fail spectacularly — or change everything." In 2015, Rolling Stone made a list of "12 Great Songs That Wouldn't Exist Without the Weeknd", citing the mixtape as their inspiration. The songs listed were: Miguel's "Adorn", Usher's "Climax", Dawn Richard's "Pretty Wicked Things", Justin Bieber's "PYD", Jhené Aiko's "The Vapors", Drake's "Hold On, We're Going Home", Tove Lo's "Habits (Stay High)", FKA Twigs' "Two Weeks", Kelela's "The High", SZA's "Babylon", Tinashe's "2 On" and PartyNextDoor's "Recognize".
During an interview with Rolling Stone in 2015, the Weeknd said of the mixtape, "It definitely changed the culture. No one can do a trilogy again without thanking the Weeknd. A lot of artists started doing things faster and quicker after that: Justin Timberlake dropped two albums in a year, Beyoncé dropped a surprise album." In an interview with Variety in 2020, he said, "House of Balloons' literally changed the sound of pop music before my eyes. I heard 'Climax,' that [2012] Usher song, and was like, 'Holy f—, that’s a Weeknd song.' It was very flattering, and I knew I was doing something right, but I also got angry. But the older I got, I realized it's a good thing." Wassim Slaiby, the Weeknd's manager, in the same interview said, "People saw the rise but have no idea how hard Abel and our small team worked for years before we got the recognition. Abel created this whole new R&B wave everyone is on now." Nate Albert, an A&R executive at Republic Records told Vulture in 2015, "I knew Abel was going to be big after he put out House of Balloons. It sounded like he was merging goth, dark-wave, and R&B with a punk-rock sensibility. It sounded like something completely new." Regarding his anonymity at the time of the mixtape's release, the Weeknd told GQ in 2021, "I felt like it was the most unbiased reaction you can get to the music, because you couldn’t put a face to it. Especially R&B, which is a genre that is heavily influenced by how the artist looks."
Track listing
House of Balloons was originally set to come out with 14 tracks. The Weeknd told Complex in 2013 that "Crew Love", "Shot for Me" and "The Ride" from Canadian rapper Drake's second studio album were supposed to be on the mixtape.Sample credits'''
"What You Need" contains a sample of "Rock the Boat" performed by Aaliyah that is not present on the Trilogy release.
"House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls" contains a sample of "Happy House" performed by Siouxsie and the Banshees.
"The Party & The After Party" contains a sample of "Master of None" performed by Beach House.
"Coming Down" contains a voice sample from the anime Fate/stay night that is not present on the Trilogy release.
"Loft Music" contains a sample of "Gila" performed by Beach House.
"The Knowing" contains a sample of "Cherry-Coloured Funk" performed by Cocteau Twins.
Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal, which are in turn adapted from the liner notes of Trilogy''.
Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd) – lead vocals, songwriting/composition, additional production (all tracks)
Carlo Montagnese (Illangelo) – mixing (all tracks), production (tracks 3–5, 7, 9 & 10), songwriting/composition (tracks 3–5, 7, 9 & 10), recording engineer (tracks 3–10),
Martin McKinney (Doc McKinney) – production (tracks 3–5, 7, 9 & 10), songwriting/composition (tracks 3–5, 7 9 & 10) recording engineer (tracks 3–10)
Henry Walter (Cirkut) − production, songwriting, recording engineer (track 1)
Jeremy Rose (Zodiac) − production (tracks 2, 6 & 8), songwriting (tracks 2, 4, 6 & 8), recording engineer (track 2)
Matthew Acton − assistant recording engineer (tracks 3, 4, 6–9)
William Brock − guitar (track 4)
Rainer Millar Blanchaer − songwriting (tracks 5 & 6), production (track 6)
Adrian Eccleston – guitar (track 9)
Shin Kamiyama – assistant recording engineer (track 10)
Charts
Certifications
Release history
References
2011 mixtape albums
2011 debut albums
The Weeknd albums
Albums produced by Cirkut
Albums produced by Illangelo
Albums produced by the Weeknd
Alternative R&B albums
Trip hop albums by Canadian artists
Ambient pop albums
Debut mixtape albums
XO (record label) mixtape albums