House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls

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This article is about the title track. For the mixtape, see House of Balloons.

"House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls"
Song by the Weeknd
from the album House of Balloons and Trilogy
ReleasedMarch 21, 2011 (2011-03-21)
RecordedJanuary 2011 (2011-01)
GenreR&B
Length6:47
LabelXO
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

"House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd, and serves as the third track from his debut mixtape, House of Balloons (2011). It was written by the Weeknd alongside producers Doc McKinney and Illangelo. The song was first self-released through XO on March 21, 2011, alongside the House of Balloons mixtape. It was commercially released on November 13, 2012, through XO and Republic Records, as part of his compilation album, Trilogy (2012).

The song is a two-part track, with its first part, "House of Balloons", revolving around a sample of the British band Siouxsie and the Banshees' 1980 single, "Happy House". Lyrically, the first part has the Weeknd attempt to convince someone that everything is fine in his "happy house". Its second part, "Glass Table Girls", replaces the sample with a more darker beat, and discusses lyrical themes of drugs and sex.

Background and production[edit]

In an interview with Rolling Stone, the Weeknd said that the inspiration for the first part and the mixtape's title came from a house located is Parkdale, Toronto. He stated that him and his friends would throw parties and invite girls over, and to make it more "celebratory", they would add balloons.[1]

The producer Doc McKinney first met the Weeknd through Adrian Gough and Cirkut in January 2011. As McKinney played songs to the Weeknd for consideration, "House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls" immediately caught his attention.[2] During an interview with the Canadian broadcaster Tom Power, McKinney revealed more information regarding the recording of the track; stating that one demo for the song was a different version of "Glass Table Girls". Before the second part of the track was made, it was originally a 25 minute version of "House of Balloons", with freestyle verses.[3] The Weeknd expressed his desire to rap at the end of the track, asking McKinney to make a beat, leading to the creation of "Glass Table Girls".[4]

"House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls" was initially released free of charge on March 21, 2011, as the third track from House of Balloons.[5] On November 13, 2012, it was reissued as a part of his compilation album, Trilogy.[6]

Music and lyrics[edit]

The song is a two-part track. In the first part, "House of Balloons", the Weeknd sings about a party he is at in his "Happy House".[4] It is an R&B song built around a sample of "Happy House" by the British band Siouxsie and the Banshees.[7] McKinney stated that he initially conceived the beat for the song in 2008, intending it for Santigold before he played it to the Weeknd. The song has the Weeknd sing about a party, unconvincingly telling the listener that it is "happy here, in a happy house".[4] While ranking the Weeknd's best beat switches, Billboard's Bianca Gracie wrote about the first part's overall sound: "[a] rattling bassline, sharp synths, and [his falsetto]" mimicks the high of "whatever narcotic."[8]

Roughly three and a half minutes into the track, the track's instrumental switches to its second song, "Glass Table Girls",[8] with the sample from "Happy House" replaced by a much darker beat, described by Billboard as "brute percussion and low-end churn".[4] The verse features the Weeknd mixing rapping and low-pitch singing about doing coke, sleeping with another person's girlfriend, and themes of sex.[4] Impact described the Weeknd as being "completely gone" by the end.[9]

Critical reception[edit]

In a review of the first half of the song, Pitchfork noted how while the song may sound like a "fluffy counterpart" to "What You Need", the song has a similar level of sadness to it.[10] Pitchfork later placed it on its list of top 100 songs of 2011 at #57, with Eric Grandy saying it was "Tesfaye at his best, emoting in a androgynous falsetto one minute, muttering unbelievable curses the next."[11] Billboard named it a "song that defined the 2010's" calling the song "intoxicating and menacing", stating it is "the sound of a party degrading in real time", writing that the journey the Weeknd has in the song, from "kinda creepy but mostly chill" to "a degenerate nightmare [of a gathering of merrymakers]" only works as it does because the two songs are in one track, rather than being separated.[4] Daria Patarek of Impact called the track "another incredible entry in the Weeknd's debut mixtape 'House of Balloons', which explores his rise to fame, and consequently his entry into the drug-ridden, sex-filled and money-obsessed music world."[9] Rolling Stone placed the first part of the song at #488 on its 2021 and 2024 edition of the 500 best songs of all time.[7]

Rolling Stone declared "House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls" as the Weeknd's 9th best track, noting its second half as "one of the most viscerally affecting entries in the Weeknd's whole catalog, as icy and thunderous as an avalanche."[12] Complex named "House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls" as the best song released under the XO record label, stating it "defined" the sound of the Weeknd's "trailblazing, totally singular debut mixtape House of Balloons," further writing that the song's sound "would swiftly dominate the Weeknd’s native Toronto and far beyond," and that it would influence an entire decade of "moody hip-hop and melancholic R&B." Complex further wrote that the song's production was a stand out, writing that it dug into a "bleak but beautiful vibe" which soon spread around.[13]

Live performances[edit]

"House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls" was performed at his first ever show at the Mod Club Theatre on July 24, 2011.[14] The Weeknd performed the song for his first ever show in the United States, for his 2012 set at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival and his first show in the United Kingdom on June 8.[15][16] He included both parts of the track on the setlists for the Kiss Land Fall Tour (2013) and the Madness Fall Tour (2015),[17][18] while for the Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour (2017), "Glass Table Girls" was performed by itself.[19] Both songs were performed together again for his Asia Tour in 2018.[20]

For the Weeknd's Super Bowl halftime performance in 2021, he played "House of Balloons" by itself.[21]

Personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from Apple Music.[22]

Samples[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for "House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Eells, Josh (October 21, 2015). "Sex, Drugs and R&B: Inside The Weeknd's Dark Twisted Fantasy". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  2. ^ Gonzalez, Alex (March 19, 2021). "The Weeknd's 'House Of Balloons' Launched A Pop Career Shrouded In Mystery". MTV. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  3. ^ Power, Tom (April 9, 2021). "Doc McKinney on how the Weeknd's House of Balloons changed the sound of pop music". CBC. Archived from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Scarano, Ross (November 21, 2019). "Songs That Defined the Decade: The Weeknd's "House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls"". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  5. ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (March 21, 2011). "Grab the Weeknd's Debut Mixtape". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 24, 2011. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  6. ^ Diver, Mike (November 15, 2012). "The Weeknd Trilogy Review". BBC Music. Archived from the original on November 18, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Rolling Stone (September 16, 2021). "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Gracie, Bianca (April 19, 2018). "The Weeknd's Best Beat Switches, Ranked". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Patarek, Daria (March 20, 2023). "Impact's Music Essentials: The Weeknd". Impact Magazine. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  10. ^ Neyland, Nick (March 23, 2011). "The Weeknd "House of Balloons"". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  11. ^ "The Top 100 Tracks of 2011 | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on February 28, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  12. ^ Leight, Elias. "'House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls' (2011)". Rolling Stone Australia. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023. {{cite magazine}}: Unknown parameter |ate= ignored (help)
  13. ^ "Complex Canada's 20 Best XO Songs". Complex Networks. March 22, 2020. Archived from the original on February 15, 2024. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  14. ^ Ostroff, Joshua (July 25, 2011). "Anonymous no more, this Weeknd is here to stay". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  15. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (April 16, 2012). "Coachella 2012: 10 Things Seen & Heard Sunday". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 4, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  16. ^ Goodwyn, Tom (June 8, 2012). "The Weeknd covers Michael Jackson as he plays his debut UK show – video". NME. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  17. ^ Krishnamurthy, Sowmya (October 8, 2013). "The Weeknd's 'Kiss Land' Tour Touches Down In NYC: New Album Coming Soon?". MTV. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  18. ^ Raymer, Miles (November 17, 2015). "The Weeknd Is Playing Arenas Now, but He'll Still Get You to Sing Along to Siouxsie and the Banshees". Vice. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  19. ^ Moore, Sam (March 9, 2017). "The Weeknd had London's The O2 in the palm of his hand last night – until Drake stole the show". NME. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  20. ^ Raguraman, Anjali (December 6, 2018). "Concert review: R&B star The Weeknd brings power and panache to debut Singapore gig". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  21. ^ Mapes, Jill (February 8, 2021). "The Weeknd's Super Bowl Halftime Show Was a Fever Dream for the Whole Family". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on February 8, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  22. ^ "House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls (Original)". Apple Music. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  23. ^ "British single certifications – The Weeknd – House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
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