The Highlights

The Highlights is the second greatest hits album, and first one released globally, by Canadian singer the Weeknd.[4] It was released on February 5, 2021,[5] and follows the release of his fourth studio album After Hours (2020) and his first greatest hits album The Weeknd in Japan (2018).[6][7] It was released in anticipation of his performance at the Super Bowl LV halftime show.[8][9] The track list is composed of songs from his three Billboard 200 number one studio albums: Beauty Behind the Madness (2015), Starboy (2016), and After Hours (2020), his debut mixtape House of Balloons (2011), his EP My Dear Melancholy (2018), and his two co-lead collaborations "Love Me Harder" and "Pray for Me", with Ariana Grande and Kendrick Lamar respectively, from the albums My Everything (2014) and Black Panther: The Album (2018).[10]

For other uses, see Highlight (disambiguation).
The Highlights
Greatest hits album by
the Weeknd
ReleasedFebruary 5, 2021 (2021-02-05)
Recorded2010–2020
Genre
Length77:55
Label
The Weeknd chronology
After Hours
(2020)		 The Highlights
(2021)		 Dawn FM
(2022)

Artwork

The album's cover continues the usage of the red suit that The Weeknd donned throughout the promotional material for his fourth studio album After Hours (2020).[11] The particular suit worn in the cover art is the same one that he wore for the Super Bowl LV halftime show and in the music video for the song "Save Your Tears", which served as the fourth single from the aforementioned album.[12]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]

Andy Kellman of AllMusic praised the collection, stating, "The Highlights is a well-selected point of entry. That it rarely dips into album cuts and doesn't include all of the major singles speaks to the depth of the catalog."[13]

Commercial performance

The Highlights debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 89,000 album-equivalent units, including 10,000 pure album sales. It is the Weeknd's highest charting compilation album, and marks the biggest first week debut for a greatest hits set since Blake Shelton's Fully Loaded: God's Country (2019), which peaked at number two on the chart dated December 28, 2019.[14] The compilation album has managed to spend more than 130 weeks on the chart.[15] As of December 27, 2021 The Highlights was the twenty-first best-selling album of the year according to Hits, still according to the magazine, the album has moved a total of 1,004,000 album-equivalent units by the end of 2021, including 74,000 pure album sales, 226,000 song sales, 1,1 billion audio-on-demand streams, and 160 million video-on-demand streams.[16] In the next year, The Highlights was the sixth best-selling album of the year, moved a total of 1,600,000 album-equivalent units by the end of 2022, including 51,000 pure album sales, 205,000 song sales, 2 billion audio-on-demand streams, and 198 million video-on-demand streams.[17]

Track listing
The Highlights track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Save Your Tears" (from After Hours, 2020)
3:35
2."Blinding Lights" (from After Hours, 2020)
  • Tesfaye
  • Balshe
  • Quenneville
  • Sandberg
  • Holter
  • Martin
  • Holter
  • The Weeknd
3:23
3."In Your Eyes" (from After Hours, 2020)
  • Tesfaye
  • Balshe
  • Sandberg
  • Holter
  • Martin
  • Holter
  • The Weeknd
3:57
4."Can't Feel My Face" (from Beauty Behind the Madness, 2015)
  • Martin
  • Payami
3:33
5."I Feel It Coming" (featuring Daft Punk; from Starboy, 2016)
4:29
6."Starboy" (featuring Daft Punk; from Starboy, 2016)
3:50
7."Pray for Me" (with Kendrick Lamar; from Black Panther, 2018)
3:31
8."Heartless" (from After Hours, 2020)
3:21
9."Often" (from Beauty Behind the Madness, 2015)
  • Ben Billions
  • The Weeknd
  • DaHeala[a]
4:09
10."The Hills" (from Beauty Behind the Madness, 2015)
  • Tesfaye
  • Balshe
  • Emmanuel Nickerson
  • Montagnese
  • Mano
  • Illangelo
4:02
11."Call Out My Name" (from My Dear Melancholy, 2018)
Frank Dukes3:48
12."Die for You" (from Starboy, 2016)
4:20
13."Earned It" (from Fifty Shades of Grey, 2014 and Beauty Behind the Madness, 2015)
  • Moccio
  • DaHeala
4:37
14."Love Me Harder" (with Ariana Grande; from My Everything, 2014)
  • Payami
  • Svensson
  • P. Carlsson[b]
3:56
15."Acquainted" (from Beauty Behind the Madness, 2015)
  • Tesfaye
  • Quenneville
  • Schofield
  • Montagnese
  • Diehl
5:48
16."Wicked Games" (from House of Balloons, 2011)
  • Tesfaye
  • McKinney
  • Montagnese
  • Rainer Millar Blancheur
  • Doc McKinney
  • Illangelo
5:25
17."The Morning" (from House of Balloons, 2011)
  • Tesfaye
  • McKinney
  • Montagnese
  • McKinney
  • Illangelo
5:15
18."After Hours" (from After Hours, 2020)
  • Illangelo
  • The Weeknd
  • DaHeala
  • Winans[c]
6:01
Total length:77:55

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • ^[b] denotes a vocal producer
  • ^[c] signifies an additional producer

Charts

Certifications
Certifications for The Highlights
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[61] 3× Platinum 210,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[62] 3× Platinum 240,000‡
France (SNEP)[63] 2× Platinum 200,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[64] Gold 25,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[65] 4× Platinum 60,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[66] Gold 10,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[67] 2× Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Release history for The Highlights
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various February 5, 2021
[68]
United Kingdom Cassette [69]
Japan March 5, 2021 CD Universal Music Japan [70]
Various November 19, 2021 LP
  • XO
  • Republic
 [71]

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