Beauty Behind the Madness

Beauty Behind the Madness is the second studio album by Canadian singer the Weeknd, released on August 28, 2015, through XO and Republic Records. It features guest appearances from Labrinth, Ed Sheeran and Lana Del Rey. The album was executive produced by the Weeknd, DaHeala and Illangelo, and includes production from Kanye West, Stephan Moccio, Ben Billions, DannyBoyStyles, Max Martin, and Ali Payami, among others. Five singles were released from Beauty Behind the Madness, including two US Billboard Hot 100 number-ones: "The Hills" and "Can't Feel My Face". The album also includes the Academy Award-nominated track "Earned It", which served as the lead single from the soundtrack to Fifty Shades of Grey. Beauty Behind the Madness received generally positive reviews from critics and debuted at number one in several countries. It marked the Weeknd's first number-one album in the United States, earning 412,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. It was the tenth best-selling album of 2015, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, with 1.5 million copies sold worldwide. At the 58th Annual Grammy Awards in 2016, Beauty Behind the Madness won Best Urban Contemporary Album and was nominated for Album of the Year. Background Following the release of the compilation album Trilogy (2012) and his debut studio album Kiss Land (2013), the Weeknd spoke to MTV about the two projects; describing them as the first and second chapters of his life Shortly after Kiss Land, the Weeknd began contributing to film soundtracks and other projects. He appeared on the soundtrack to The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) on the song "Devil May Cry" and as a featured artist on Sia and Diplo's single "Elastic Heart". On September 30, 2014, the Weeknd appeared on Ariana Grande's single "Love Me Harder" from her second studio album My Everything. He then made an appearance on the soundtrack to Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) on the songs "Earned It" and "Where You Belong"; with the former track peaking at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100.