The Hills (song)

The critics' reviews of The Hills were positive, with most critics praising him for returning to the Weekend form, whose previous single Earned It was noted in a more pop-oriented way. James Shotwell from the Under the Gun Review wrote that the single correlates well with Abel’s previous work, but “Abel’s ability to create something completely hypnotic regardless of production never ceases to amaze.” ^[2] USA Today ’s Brian Mansfield noted that “when the song begins with a hook from a horror movie - the cult classic “ The Hills Have Eyes ” by Wes Craven - you understand that there will definitely be trouble. ” ^[3] In the analytic part for Pitchfork, Hannah Giorgis called The Hills “a dark, almost controversial contemplation of lust, drugs and fame,” while at the same time noting that “for those who know his repertoire, the only twist in“ The Hills "there will be an ending: as the final chords subside, a female voice, sweet and calm, comes to grips with a kind of lullaby - not in English, but in Amharic, the main language of Ethiopia and native to the Weekend." She continues to carefully deduce the melodic and textual origin of the song from the Ethiopian diaspora. She further writes that “the familiarity of the tense vibrato Tesfaye makes him the successor of the musical heritage that Abyssinia gave birth to for several generations ...” ^[4] In a review for the New York Post, Hardip Full wrote that “Fifty Shades of Gray” fans discovered by The Weekend (real name Abel Tesfaye) through his hit “Earned It“, will be shocked because he is in a brilliantly sinister form on his new track. ”Continuing, Full says that“ When it comes to showing Don Juan from the dark side, this guy does Christian Gray P hozhim on Ned Flanders. " ^[5]

In the United States, The Hills entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 20 on the chart dated June 13, 2015; it was the highest debut of the week. ^[6] This debut was mainly influenced by digital sales of 109,000 copies of the single in the first week and 5.2 million online auditions within the country, not without the help of the release of the single release of the video clip . ^[7] The following week, the single dropped one position, but achieved the largest increase in online auditions on the chart. ^[8] Since then, the single peaked at No. 4, becoming the fourth single of the Weekend to hit the top 10. When the single reached 4th place, Weeknd became the first male solo artist (as the main artist on both songs) with two simultaneously entering the top 5 on the Hot 100 chart (“The Hills” and “ Can't Feel My Face ”) for more than 5 years after BoB in 2010. ^[9] As of August 2015, The Hills sold 1,013,000 copies nationwide. ^[ten]

The video begins by showing a broken upside-down car. Abel crawls out of the vehicle and helps two other women out. As the song continues, Abel proudly walks down a dark street, and around the middle of the composition, a wrecked car explodes behind him. From time to time, one of the women from the car methodically pushes him. Towards the end of the song, he enters an abandoned mansion and walks up the stairs to a room lit in red, which symbolizes the fact that he went to hell for the way he treats women in his songs. A man holding an apple sits waiting for the performer next to two women from the car - and at this time the picture instantly darkens.

The man from the mansion is the same man as in the video clip “Can't Feel My Face”, which, sitting in the crowd, sets the singer on fire. The same man appears in the “Tell Your Friends” video.

• # 1 Streaming Songs 2015 Chart List (Billboard)