Are Canadian stars in a beef over a girl?
Is The Weeknd mocking Justin Bieber in the lyrics of his latest collaboration? Does he brag about pleasing Selena Gomez better than Bieber did? Is this pop music’s first great all-Southern-Ontario beef?
It didn’t take long for speculation to start after the Toronto R&B superstar, born Abel Tesfaye, posted a link to a stream of “Some Way,” a track by fellow Torontonian Nav, on Wednesday.
The Weeknd provides guest vocals on the first verse, whose lyrics slide from familiar Tesfaye territory — success, friends, debauchery — into a couplet about romantic prowess with “your girl.”
Many music fans assumed this was Tesfaye’s comment on Bieber, who dated fellow pop star Gomez, though they broke up and she has recently been seen in the company of Tesfaye.
If the lyrics are inspired by personal differences, Tesfaye, 27, wasn’t the first to go public with the hostilities. Bieber — the 22-year-old pop superstar from Stratford — was asked by a roving TMZ film crew in California last month if he could enjoy The Weeknd’s music. His response: “Hell no, I can’t listen to a Weeknd song. That s---’s wack.”
Gomez also released a new track on Wednesday, “It Ain’t Me,” whose lyrics might also be construed to refer to Bieber. The song refers to parting ways with someone despite knowing him since she was 17.
Meanwhile, new legal trouble appears to be looming for Bieber. The Associated Press says a Las Vegas man has filed a police report alleging Bieber punched him in Cleveland eight months ago. Garnet Fraser