The Highlights is the second greatest hits album, and first one released globally, by Canadian singer and songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on February 5, 2021, and follows the release of his fourth studio album After Hours (2020) and his first greatest hits album The Weeknd in Japan (2018). It was released in anticipation of his performance at the Super Bowl LV halftime show.
The track list is composed of songs from his three Billboard 200 number one studio albums: Beauty Behind the Madness (2015), Starboy (2016), and After Hours (2020), his debut mixtape House of Balloons (2011), his EP My Dear Melancholy (2018), and his two co-lead collaborations "Love Me Harder" and "Pray for Me", with Ariana Grande and Kendrick Lamar respectively, from the albums My Everything (2014) and Black Panther: The Album (2018).
A deluxe version of The Highlights was released on February 9, 2024, featuring a reworked tracklist and more songs from the Weeknd's aforementioned projects, his studio album Dawn FM (2022), the soundtrack to his television series The Idol (2023), and his promotional single "King of the Fall" (2014).
Artwork The album's cover continues the usage of the red suit that the Weeknd donned throughout the promotional material for his fourth studio album After Hours (2020). The particular suit worn in the cover art is the same one that he wore for the Super Bowl LV halftime show and in the music video for the song "Save Your Tears", which served as the fourth single from the aforementioned album.
Critical reception
Andy Kellman of AllMusic praised the collection, stating, "The Highlights is a well-selected point of entry. That it rarely dips into album cuts and doesn't include all of the major singles speaks to the depth of the catalog."
Commercial performance The Highlights debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 89,000 album-equivalent units, including 10,000 pure album sales. It is the Weeknd's highest charting compilation album, and marks the biggest first week debut for a greatest hits set since Blake Shelton's Fully Loaded: God's Country (2019), which peaked at number two on the chart dated December 28, 2019. The compilation album has managed to spend more than 130 weeks on the chart. The Highlights was the twenty-first best-selling album of 2021 according to Hits, stating the album has moved a total of 1,004,000 album-equivalent units by the end of 2021, including 74,000 pure album sales, 226,000 song sales, 1,1 billion audio-on-demand streams, and 160 million video-on-demand streams. In the next year, The Highlights was the sixth best-selling album of the year, moved a total of 1,600,000 album-equivalent units by the end of 2022, including 51,000 pure album sales, 205,000 song sales, 2 billion audio-on-demand streams, and 198 million video-on-demand streams. Though it didn't top the UK Albums Chart, The Highlights was also the biggest selling album of 2023 in the UK, with sales of over 391,000.
Track listing Original version
2024 version
Notes signifies a co-producer denotes a vocal producer signifies an additional producer
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for The Highlights Chart (2021–2024) Peakposition Argentine Albums (CAPIF) 8 Lithuanian Albums (AGATA) 78 Slovak Albums (ČNS IFPI) Note: On the chart page, select SK - Albums - Top 100 under the left field and "202106" on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. 70
Year-end charts + 2021 year-end chart performance for The Highlights Chart (2021) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 9 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 153 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 123 Canadian Albums (Billboard) 10 French Albums (SNEP) 24 Irish Albums (IRMA) 15 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 10 UK Albums (OCC) 11 US Billboard 200 31 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 16 + 2022 year-end chart performance for The Highlights Chart (2022) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 3 Canadian Albums (Billboard) 3 French Albums (SNEP) 51 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 3 Polish Albums (ZPAV) 85 UK Albums (OCC) 4 US Billboard 200 10 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 2 + 2023 year-end chart performance for The Highlights Chart (2023) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 3 Canadian Albums (Billboard) 7 French Albums (SNEP) 92 Italian Albums (FIMI) 83 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 2 UK Albums (OCC) 1 US Billboard 200 14 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 6 + 2024 year-end chart performance for The Highlights Chart (2024) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 4 Canadian Albums (Billboard) 5 UK Albums (OCC) 2 US Billboard 200 63 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 34 + 2025 year-end chart performance for The Highlights Chart (2025) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 14 Canadian Albums (Billboard) 3 UK Albums (OCC) 6 US Billboard 200 149 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 48
Certifications
Release history + Release history for The Highlights Region Date Format Label Edition Ref. Various February 5, 2021 Standard United Kingdom Cassette Japan March 5, 2021 CD Universal Music Japan Various November 19, 2021 LP February 9, 2024 Deluxe
References
External links