It’s hard to believe that it’s been ten full years since The Weeknd released House of Balloons, which — along with the subsequent drops Thursday and Echoes of Silence — helped to catapult the Canadian star to the upper echelon’s of stardom, where he remains to this day. While those three projects did merge to become the commercial debut Trilogy, many fans have always expected for those classics to join the rest of The Weeknd’s catalog on streaming service in their original state. This past Sunday (March 21), Abel celebrated House of Balloons tenth anniversary by doing just that — bringing the nine-track offering to your favorite platform, complete with all of the original mixes and samples that hindered it in the past.
The return of House of Balloons follows the recent news that The Weeknd’s single “Blinding Lights” made history by becoming the first song to spend a year within the top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The song is taken from The Weeknd’s fourth studio album After Hours, a multi-Platinum success that also saw deluxe editions and a Remixes EP following its release.
Unfortunately, the critical response and aforementioned achievements from “Blinding Lights” weren’t enough to garner a Grammy nomination. In response to the snub, The Weeknd responded by declaring a permanent boycott of the awards show in a statement to the New York Times:
“Because of the secret committees … I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys.”
For what it’s worth, said statement — as well as others — was received, and Recording Academy interim chief executive Harvey Mason Jr. did reveal that they would be looking into the entire process moving forward:
…this year, as in past years, we are going to take a hard look at how to improve our awards process, including the nomination review committees.”
Press play on House of Balloons below.