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45. Beauty Behind the Madness - The Weeknd (2015)

R&B

In 2015, with a couple of chart-topping R&B albums already under his belt, The Weeknd set out to etch his name alongside the greats in the canon of pop music. Sometimes an album achieves greatness on the strength of its singles alone. “The Hills”, “I Can’t Feel My Face” and “In the Night” are all-time great pop songs, the latter being the best homage to The King of Pop ever made. Beauty Behind the Madness is introspective and dark, putting the 21st century rockstar lifestyle under the microscope and exposing many of the less than savory realities that make it seem not so appealing. Garnering wide-spread acclaim, Grammys and an Oscar, the album shot The Weeknd to the very top of the the pop music scene.

*image; cover art for the album Beauty Behind the Madness by the artist The Weeknd