"Acquainted" is a song by Canadian singer

the Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...

recorded for his second studio album ''

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 executi ...

'' (2015). It was written and produced by him along with Jason "

DaHeala Jason Quenneville (born February 23, 1982), professionally known as DaHeala ( ), is a Canadian record producer and songwriter managed by SAL&CO. He has produced for artists such as the Weeknd, Halsey, Lil Uzi Vert, and Belly, among others. He wa ...

" Quenneville, Danny "

DannyBoyStyles Danny Schofield, known professionally as DannyBoyStyles (and previously known as Styles), is a Grammy award-winning record producer, engineer, songwriter, and composer. He produced all ten tracks on the Weeknd's album ''Kiss Land'' and won a Gram ...

" Schofield, Carlos "

Illangelo Carlo Montagnese (born July 29, 1987), known professionally as Illangelo, is a Canadian record producer, songwriter, musician and mixing engineer from Calgary, Alberta, who came to attention as long-time collaborator of the Weeknd. A Grammy Awa ...

" Montagnese and Ben " Billions" Diehl. The track was sent to

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...

stations on November 17, 2015, by XO and

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

, serving as the record's fifth and final single, being also released to

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...

on February 16, 2016. It was set to impact

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

on April 12, 2016, though its release to those stations did not occur. The song was well received by music critics upon its release, being praised for its production, catchiness and the Weeknd's vocals.

Background

A working version of "Acquainted" referred to as "Girls Born in the 90s" leaked in May 2015, before being heavily reworked prior to its release on the album.

Lyrics

On this song, the Weeknd is expressing his happiness with being “acquainted” with a certain lady, who is also the addressee. And of course she would be someone whom he is romantically involved with. But the story is at hand not that simple. Rather this lady is presented, even by the narrator himself, as being “no good”. Indeed his homies have “warned” him about getting mixed up with her “type” of woman. What type that is exactly is not specified. However, all lyrics considered, it is feasible to deduce that perhaps, in some capacity or another, she is mixed up with another man or men. This postulation is buttressed during the third verse. It is here where we are introduced to an idea like The Weeknd, under inspiration from his mother, desiring to find a good girl. However, the “fast life keeps gaining on” him. That is a metaphor that reads as if, as expressed in many of his other songs, Abel is unable to escape the excitable celebrity lifestyle that has been made accessible to him via his fame and wealth.

Composition

The song is written in the key of

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. According to Paolo Pietropaolo, it is the cont ...

with a moderate

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 106 beats per minute in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

. The song alternates between the chords Gm and F, and the vocals span from F₃ to C₆.

Music video

The music video was reportedly directed by

Nabil Elderkin Nabil Elderkin is an American-born Australian film and music video director and photographer, who is of Iranian and American descent. He is mononymously credited as Nabil in his videos. Elderkin has directed videos for musical artists such as: ...

. Production commenced on February 9, 2016, but the video was not released.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{authority control 2015 songs 2016 singles The Weeknd songs Republic Records singles Song recordings produced by Illangelo Songs written by Illangelo Songs written by the Weeknd Songs written by DaHeala XO (record label) singles Song recordings produced by the Weeknd