“Popular” by The Weeknd, Playboi Carti & Madonna
The Idol is a very popular and controversial HBO television series starring The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp (i.e. the daughter of perennial A-lister Johnny Depp). The program’s plot revolves around a theme heavily associated with the music industry.
And since The Weeknd is a true-to-life music star, of course the series comes complete with its own soundtrack which he is spearheading for season one.
“Popular”, the second single from The Idol, Vol. 1 (Music From the HBO Series), was released on June 2nd, 2023. In this instance, we find Abel teaming up for the first time with rapper Playboi Carti and pop music legend Madonna, the latter of whom has been a megastar since the 1980s (i.e. before either of her collaborators were born).
Meanwhile the first single from the project, “Double Fantasy“, saw The Weeknd co-starring next to Future.
The multi-faceted Abel Tesfaye also co-wrote and co-produced “Popular” with Mike Dean, Tommy Rush and Metro Boomin. The track’s other writers are listed as follows:
- Madonna
- Playboi Carti
- Johnny Flippin
- Sam Levinson
- Michael Walker
It is officially a product of Abel’s XO Records alongside Republic Records, and some fans of The Weeknd and/or The Idol knew about the forthcoming release of this song for about a month prior to its dropping.
The Lyrics of “Popular”
The main subject of this song is a lady, a famous person obviously, who wants nothing more than “to be popular”. Reading in between the lines, it’s obvious that this piece is meant to be critical of the lust for stardom which fuels the careers of many celebrities.
In other words, this is one of those songs that harps on the less-than-ideal aspects of being caught up in the allure – the types of tracks which The Weeknd, in his own artistic way, is known to specialize in.
So accordingly, we find the subject engaged in many unscrupulous acts in the name of achieving and maintaining stardom. This includes the likes of ‘calling paparazzi then acting surprised’, i.e. letting cameramen know where she will be beforehand but then pretending as if she is shocked by their presence.
The subject is also accused of “turn(ing) the webcam on for the followers”, which sounds like a reference to the increasingly-common practice of female social media stars exposing themselves on the internet.
“Beggin’ on her knees to be popular
That’s her dream, to be popular (Hey)
Kill anyone to be popular
Sell her soul to be popular
Popular, just to be popular (Oh)
Everybody scream ’cause she popular (Hey)
She mainstream ’cause she popular
Never be free ’cause she popular”
It is also put forth, directly, that she will “sell her soul” or even “kill anyone to be popular”. And those are interesting statements because first of all, it is generally understood these days that some celebrities due in fact sell their souls, i.e. make lifelong deals with immoral and esoteric entities in the name of sustaining their status.
Secondly, it is also becoming increasingly common to come across accusations of murder being a common practice in some of such celebrity circles.
But that said, the lyrics do go off on a tangent, so to speak, here and there. For example, The Weeknd and Playboi Carti also use the opportunity to draw attention to the likes of women who ‘f*ck with them’ due solely to their celebrity.
And Madonna, in her verse, portrays herself as a celebrity alright, but one who has made it her mission to resist the charm of the limelight. She has the right to make such a statement, considering for instance that Madonna is so famous that she would never need to call paparazzi on herself and even has to deal with the likes of stalkers.
So conclusively, let’s say that this song revolves around a couple of prominent figures who are actually in the industry warning of the pitfalls which come along with suffering from a severe case of starlet fever.
