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" When you're traveling constantly, every day you become inspired, and it shows in my work, sonically, lyrically, visually. Conversations with women with different accents and stories told in those accents. I like to create characters based on different people I've met, and relationships. I like to tell stories loosely based on real-life events. "

The Weeknd

Day

Women

" 'Kiss Land' is the story after 'Trilogy'; it's pretty much the second chapter of my life. The narrative takes place after my first flight; it's very foreign, very Asian-inspired. When people ask me, 'Why Japan?' I simply tell them it's the furthest I've ever been from home. It really is a different planet. "

" My production and songwriting and the environment around those vocals are not inspired by R&B at all. "

" I always hated how I looked on camera. I never put a face to my music, which actually made the music that much more mysterious. "

" I didn't have a father figure in the house. "

" I think that's why my career is going to be so long: Because I haven't given people everything. "

" I sang a lot of low stuff on songs like 'Secrets' and 'Rockin',' almost like Toni Braxton. On 'Secrets,' I'm a different person. "

The Weeknd

Different

Secrets

" From when I was born to when I was 21, I never left Toronto. That's why I'm such a city cat. "

" Nothing feels better than going onstage and everybody is singing every word - and actually wanting to see you. "

" Even though I've been putting out bodies of work for years, 'Beauty Behind the Madness' felt like the beginning. "

" It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that there are people who can't or won't see what Black Lives Matter is trying to accomplish. "

" I was 14, and I fell in love with Pink Floyd. "

" For the chorus of 'Secrets,' we used The Romantics' 'Talking in Your Sleep' and 'Pale Shelter' by Tears for Fears. It's like hip-hop: just grab it. "

" The Joker that Christopher Nolan created in 'The Dark Knight' had the scar across his mouth, and the first time you heard his explanation for it, he makes you believe that's how he got it. But then you get into the film, and every time he talks about his scar, it's a totally different story. "

" 'Kiss Land' wasn't about what people wanted to hear on the radio. It was the state of mind I was in - introverted, like David Cronenberg's 'Naked Lunch.' You didn't know if you were hearing a chorus or a verse. It was just my thoughts. "

" I don't think I'd ever apologise for music I make, no. "

" It's almost schizophrenic who I portray in my music. "

" I make good music for long journeys. "

" When I write, I write about my surroundings. Sometimes it's light, and sometimes it gets very dark. "

" Marriage is scary to me, man. "

The Weeknd

Scary

Man

" I didn't like the way I looked in pictures - when I saw myself on a digital camera, I was like, 'Eesh.' "

" When you come to my show, I want it to feel like opera, like a theatre. "

" I want to produce the music to a movie that I'm working on, like what Prince did with 'Purple Rain.' "

" I don't believe in icons. "

The Weeknd

Believe

Icons

" 'Trilogy' was more of a claustrophobic body of work. Before it was released, I hadn't left my city for 21 years, and I had never been on a plane, not once. I spent my entire life on one setting; that's probably why pieces of the album feel like one long track, because that's what my life felt like. It felt like one long song. "

" I'm pretty laid-back in real life. I just love hanging with my friends and making jokes. The jokes don't stop - literally, all day. "

" Alternative R&B is in my soul. It's not going anywhere. "

" When I was making the early stuff, I never expected it to be so big. I was in my own kind of bubble. I never wanted to tour; I just wanted to create music and make a diary I could put out into the world. And sometimes, I became the characters. "

" I wanted to drop three albums in a year because no one had done it. It was bold, unheard of. "

" Let's be honest. Canada wasn't ever cool. "