The Weeknd Claims Usher’s 2012 Single “Climax” Was Inspired By His Music; Usher Responds

The Weeknd recently released a new album, and covered Variety magazine’s latest issue, where he gave an in-depth interview regarding his career.

While taking a trip to the past and discussing his 2010 mixtape’ House of Balloons,’ the ‘Wicked Games’ singer said he began to notice similarities in other artists’ music not long after.

“House of Balloons literally changed the sound of pop music before my eyes,” he stated. “I heard ‘Climax,’ that Usher song, and was like, ‘Holy f**k, that’s a Weeknd song.’ It was very flattering, and I knew I was doing something right, but I also got angry. But the older I got, I realized it’s a good thing.”

‘Climax’ went on to peak at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy for ‘Best R&B Performance’ in 2012.

However, according to Vibe, ‘Climax’ may have been inspired by the “resurgence of EDM, more-so than The Weekend’s music catalog.

Diplo produced the track. In 2012, Diplo told The Guardian, “The production actually started as a house thing with a chord progression that I wrote, but with some time in the studio alone, I was making a sort of “wildfire” beat out of it.”

In The Weeknd’s interview with Variety, he also discussed his decision to move forward with the release of his latest album despite the coronavirus pandemic.

“Fans had been waiting for the album, and I felt like I had to deliver it,” he explained. “The commercial success is a blessing, especially because the odds were against me: [Music] streaming is down 10%, stores are closed, people can’t go to concerts, but I didn’t care. I knew how important it was to my fans.”

Since then, Usher has responded with a clip of him singing” Climax,” from his bed.