Wicked Games
2012 debut single by The Weeknd
"Wicked Games" is the debut single by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd, and serves as the fifth track from his debut mixtape, House of Balloons (2011). It was written by the Weeknd, Doc McKinney, and Illangelo with the latter two producing. The song was remastered and released as the lead single from his 2012 compilation album, Trilogy, on October 22, 2012, through XO and Republic Records. It was met with universal acclaim by music critics.
Background and release
The audio for the original version of "Wicked Games" was released on the Weeknd's YouTube on March 5, 2011. In 2012, its House of Balloons version would be promoted as the lead single from the mixtape, being sent to rhythmic contemporary radio stations on September 25, 2012. The song's remastered version was officially released through streaming services on October 22, 2012, as the lead single from his compilation album, Trilogy (2012).
Critical reception
Rolling Stone listed "Wicked Games" as the 42nd best R&B song of the 21st century.
Music video
The music video for "Wicked Games" premiered on October 18, 2012, on the Weeknd's YouTube account on Vevo. The video starts off with a young woman dancing seductively in a coat with no clothes underneath, before the camera pans to The Weeknd, who is shown singing expressively.
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This entry incorporates text from “Wicked Games” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.