Beauty Behind the Madness is the second studio album by Canadian recording artist The Weeknd, released on August 28, 2015. The album features guest appearances from Labrinth, Ed Sheeran, and Lana Del Rey. The album shot The Weeknd into superstardom, spawning two number one hits: “The Hills” and “Can’t Feel My Face”, and was the 10th best-selling album of 2015 with 1.5 million copies sold worldwide. The Weeknd discussed the album in an interview with Jon Caramanica, a pop-music critic for The New York Times Magazine. It’s about me being who I am and stepping out of my comfort zone to try to feel something else besides what I’ve been feeling the past four years. Ups and downs… In my past albums, there were never ups. According to Songfacts, The Weeknd also said to magazine Rolling Stone: I was working on this album in a world I’m not used to. You’re sober. Then one day you want to have fun, and that darkness comes back – and the darkness feels good. It’s crazy. People relate to that stuff. On July 31, 2014, The Weeknd released the first single for the album, titled “Often.” On May 27, 2015, he released the second single, “The Hills”, which would peak at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. On June 8, 2015, he released the third single, “Can’t Feel My Face”, which also peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, and is still today one of his biggest hits ever. On July 9, 2015, Abel announced the album’s official name and artwork.