As one of the biggest names in pop culture, The Weeknd has produced a catalog of music that includes several classic albums.
While most think his best work is his debut, House of Balloons, he reveals to his co-star Jenna Ortega his best work yet, during GOAT Talk. Abel surprises most by saying that My Dear Melancholy is his best album. “My favorite is My Dear Melancholy,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s an album, but that one.”
Explaining furthermore, The Weeknd continued: “I don’t have much to say on it. I said what I had to say. There were no fillers. I did it really quick. It was very cathartic. I was in a flow state, and I just put it out. I was never able to really do that again.”
Jenna Ortega's choice was Dawn FM. Her reason it was its bold sonic shift and the surreal narration by Jim Carrey. The comedic actor appears on the album as a fictional DJ. “It’s just a different sound, which I really respect,” Ortega said. “It stands out to me—its uniqueness.”
The Weeknd Best Album
Released in 2018, My Dear Melancholy follows 2016's Starboy. The six-track EP channeled heartbreak and emotional clarity with minimal production and moody restraint. The album would earn The Weeknd his third consecutive number-one album on the Billboard 200.
The GOAT Talk would switch from albums to lyrics. Ortega chose a line from Dawn FM-cut “Gasoline." The Weeknd promoted their upcoming film saying his greatest lyrics come from the Hurry Up Tomorrow. “Hurry Up Tomorrow, that’s a great lyric. Let’s go,” he tells Ortega.
The sci-fi thriller marks The Weeknd’s feature film debut, co-starring Ortega and Barry Keoghan. Hurry Up Tomorrow hits theaters on May 16, expanding his reach from sound to screen.
While The Weeknd has released more ambitious and commercially dominant albums, My Dear Melancholy remains his most personal. In just six songs, he distilled vulnerability into a brief, haunting chapter that still lingers. His affection for it suggests that impact isn’t always measured in scale, but in honesty.
