Written by: Ali Payami, Savan Kotecha, Max Martin, Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye and Peter Svensson Produced by: Ali Payami and Max Martin Album: Beauty Behind The Madness UK release: June 2015 UK chart peak: 3
See! Max Martin does amazing songs for boys too, and not just annoying Justin Timberlake boys! The Weeknd has put out some great work this decade, with the Beauty Behind The Madness and Starboy eras being particularly strong. Can’t Feel My Face, the lead single from the former, is the standout.
The track topped a lot of critics’ year-end lists in 2015, and deservedly so: the hooks are multiple, the vocal delivery is flawless, the bassline is huge, and the way the simmering pre-chorus tips into the strut-a-long refrain is just… ugh! If you can sit perfectly still while it’s on, you’re a stronger-willed person than I.
I’ll be writing about my favourite 100 pop songs of the decade; one a day for the last 100 days of 2019. They’re in no particular order, except the Top 10 – which will (obviously) come in late December.
