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The Weeknd · S5 E6
In the Night
An '80s pop melody hiding one of the darkest stories Abel has ever told
The synth riff on "In the Night" sounds like it could open a John Hughes movie. The lyrics describe a woman who was sexually abused as a child and numbs the pain by dancing in clubs until sunrise.
The Weeknd, In the Night (2015). The video plays like a slasher film set in a 1980s nightclub: neon lights, fog machines, and Abel performing while horror unfolds around him. The visuals match the song's trick perfectly: everything looks and sounds like a party until you pay attention to what is actually being said.
In the Night, The Weeknd (2015)
Max Martin and Ali Payami return with a production that borrows directly from '80s synth-pop: bright arpeggiated synths, a driving beat, and a chorus melody that could sit next to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" on a playlist. But Abel uses that brightness as camouflage. The lyrics tell the story of a woman who was abused as a child and uses nightlife as an escape, and the upbeat production makes the confession easier to absorb. Listen for how the chorus melody rises in a way that feels triumphant, even though the words underneath are describing survival, not celebration.
TAP TO REVEAL: Is "In the Night" based on a real person?
Darkness in Daylight
By this point, disguising heavy subject matter inside radio-friendly production had become Abel's signature move. "In the Night" is the most extreme version: childhood sexual abuse hidden inside something your parents might hear at the grocery store. The song peaked at number twelve on the Hot 100 and became a radio staple. Most listeners never decoded what they were dancing to.
“Max's studio used to be Marilyn Monroe's old house and I came up with the concept for a song called 'In the Night' in her bedroom. That was pretty amazing.”
— Abel Tesfaye, GQ, 2015
Max Martin's Range
Max Martin's two BBTM productions could not sound more different from each other. "Can't Feel My Face" is Jackson-era funk, all guitar riffs and handclaps. "In the Night" is Cyndi Lauper synth-pop, all arpeggiated keyboards and driving beats. Martin's ability to build completely different rooms on the same album is why Abel kept coming back, and why their partnership would continue through Starboy and beyond.
Angel, The Weeknd
The emotional anchor of BBTM. "Angel" is Abel at his most exposed since "Pretty": a slow, aching track built on a simple chord progression and a vocal that sounds like it is trying not to break. Where "In the Night" hides darkness behind brightness, "Angel" hides nothing at all.
Angel, The Weeknd (2015)
Abel asks someone to stay, knowing he will give them every reason to leave. The lyrics carry the weight of someone who has spent an entire album confessing his worst behavior and is now, quietly, asking if love is still possible after all of it.
What chart position did "In the Night" reach on the Billboard Hot 100?
Beauty Behind the Madness debuts at number one with 412,000 first-week copies. Two Grammys follow, then a worldwide arena tour, and the kid from Scarborough has to answer the only question that matters now: can he stay this big?
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