The Weeknd has built a career on reinvention, and Greatest Hits is the clearest proof of that. Twenty songs, seventy-five minutes, and a running order that treats the catalog as a timeline rather than a scrap heap. This is not a greatest-hits record in the old sense — it is a statement of intent, a way of showing what he has become. The record wants you to hear him at his most essential, and mostly it succeeds.
Opening With Blinding Lights
Blinding Lights opens the album at full throttle, a synth-heavy rush that set the tone for everything that followed. Save Your Tears follows, remixed with Ariana Grande, and it holds up as the centerpiece of the collection — the track that critics singled out for good reason. Die For You, also with Ariana Grande, is less essential but still a strong cut, a slower, more atmospheric piece that shows off his range.
The Middle Stretch
The Hills, Can’t Feel My Face, Starboy and Heartless form the middle stretch. These are the tracks that defined his early run, and they play like mission statements. Creepin’, with Metro Boomin and 21 Savage, brings the beat back down to earth, a lean, minimal track that critics singled out alongside the big hits. Earned It, the Fifty Shades Of Grey cut, is a slow-burn standout, and Timeless, with Playboi Carti, keeps the momentum without reaching for a peak.
I Feel It Coming, with Daft Punk, is the highlight of the back half. Critics singled it out, and it earns the attention — a dance-pop anthem that stands as one of his best songs. Rather Lie, with Playboi Carti, is a solid cut but not a landmark, and Call Out My Name fills space without adding much. One Right Now, with Post Malone, is a late addition that critics didn’t single out, and it plays more like filler than a statement.
Take My Breath stretches past five minutes, the longest track here, and it works — the extra runtime gives it room to breathe. Love Me Harder, with Ariana Grande, is a strong entry, and Pray For Me, with Kendrick Lamar, is a sharp, focused cut that critics noted for its energy. K-POP, with Travis Scott and Bad Bunny, is a genre-blurring experiment that critics singled out, and Smile, with Juice WRLD, closes the record with a softer touch. Young Metro, with Future and Metro Boomin, rounds things out with a club-ready closer.
What Works, What Doesn’t
The record’s biggest strength is its sequencing. It moves from the glossy pop of Blinding Lights through the darker synth work of Creepin’ and the moody Earned It, then pushes forward with the Daft Punk collaboration and the late-career experiments of K-POP and Smile. The running order is not random — it tells a story about a singer who has moved from bedroom synth-pop to arena-scale anthems.
Where it stumbles is in the lesser cuts. Call Out My Name and One Right Now are competent but forgettable, the kind of tracks that fill space without adding much. They don’t drag the album down, but they don’t lift it either.
The Verdict
Greatest Hits is a well-curated introduction to a catalog that runs deep. It doesn’t include everything — some of his biggest hits are missing — but what it does include is uniformly strong. The record is at its best when it leans into his collaborations with Ariana Grande, Daft Punk, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott and Juice WRLD, and weakest when it drifts toward the lesser-known tracks.
This is a record that knows what it wants to be. It is not a career retrospective, and it does not pretend to be one. It is a curated selection of his best work, presented in an order that makes sense. The lesser tracks are a small cost to pay for the highlights.
Key Facts
– Artist: The Weeknd
– Album: Greatest Hits
– Tracks: 20
– Total running time: 75 minutes
– AllMusic score: 7.4/10
Critics singled out these tracks:
1. Save Your Tears (with Ariana Grande)
2. Blinding Lights
3. I Feel It Coming (feat. Daft Punk)
4. Starboy (feat. Daft Punk)
5. Creepin’ (with Metro Boomin & 21 Savage)
Greatest Hits is a strong record that occasionally coasts on its reputation. It is a point of entry that rewards attention, and it stands as a well-chosen selection of his best work. The highs are very high, and the lows are easy to ignore.
- Blinding Lights3:20
- Save Your Tears (Remix) (With Ariana Grande)3:11
- Die For You (Remix) (With Ariana Grande)3:54
- The Hills4:02
- Can't Feel My Face3:34
- Starboy3:50
- Heartless3:18
- Creepin' (With Metro Boomin & 21 Savage)3:42
- Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey)4:38
- Timeless (With Playboi Carti)4:16
- I Feel It Coming (Wih Daft Punk)4:29
- Rather Lie (With Playboi Carti)3:30
- Call Out My Name3:48
- One Right Now (With Post Malone)3:12
- Take My Breath5:39
- Love Me Harder (With Ariana Grande)3:58
- Pray For Me (With Kendrick Lamar)3:33
- K-POP (With Travis Scott & Bad Bunny)3:05
- Smile (With Juice WRLD)3:16
- Young Metro (With Future & Metro Boomin)3:25
