Believe it or not, there was a time when Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd, was a mysterious, shadowy figure lurking in the corners of Tumblr and underground R&B blogs. He was the guy who made drug-fueled, six-minute-long moody anthems that your parents definitely wouldn't like. Then came 2014. Everything shifted. The catalyst? A slow-burning, waltz-timed track called Earned It.
Most people remember it as "that song from the Fifty Shades of Grey movie." But it’s actually way more than a soundtrack filler. It was the bridge. It took Abel from a cult indie hero to a global superstar capable of selling out stadiums. Honestly, if you look at the trajectory of his career, this song is the exact moment the "Starboy" was born.
The Unlikely Marriage of BDSM and Pop Radio
The song was released in late December 2014 as the lead single for the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack. At first glance, it was an odd pairing. You had a film based on a polarizing erotic novel and an artist known for being notoriously press-shy and "dark."
But the match was, as Abel himself put it, a "match made in heaven."
The track itself is a bit of an anomaly for 2015 pop music. It’s written in $6/8$ time—essentially a waltz. Most pop songs live and die in a standard $4/4$ beat. By choosing a slower, orchestral rhythm, producers Stephan Moccio and Jason "DaHeala" Quenneville created something that felt old-school. It felt like a 1950s lounge performance but with a dirty, modern heartbeat.
Breaking Down the Sound
Musically, the song is relatively simple but incredibly effective. It’s in the key of D minor with a very slow tempo of 40 beats per minute. That slowness is intentional. It forces you to listen to every quiver in his voice.
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- The Vocals: Abel's range here is ridiculous, spanning two octaves from D3 to D5.
- The Instrumentation: You’ve got these soaring, dramatic strings that wouldn't feel out of place in a James Bond film.
- The Lyrics: They are surprisingly tender compared to his earlier work. "You make it look like it's magic," he sings. It's a rare moment of him praising a partner rather than lamenting a toxic cycle.
Behind the NSFW Visuals
The music video for Earned It was almost as famous as the song itself. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (who also directed the film), it was shot at the historic Palace Theater in Los Angeles.
It wasn't exactly "family-friendly."
The video features Dakota Johnson—the film's lead—suspended in the air in BDSM-inspired rigging. Around her, a group of burlesque dancers perform a routine that stays very true to the film’s themes. Abel stands in the middle of it all, dressed in a sharp suit, looking like he finally belongs on the big stage.
Interestingly, while the movie was mostly panned by critics, the song was almost universally loved. It proved that you can have a "commercial" hit without losing the soul of the artist.
Why The Weeknd Earned It Was a Record-Breaker
We talk about "The Hills" and "Blinding Lights" as his biggest hits, but Earned It was the first one to really kick the door down. It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. For a while, The Weeknd actually held the top three spots on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart simultaneously with "Earned It," "The Hills," and "Can't Feel My Face."
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That is a feat few artists will ever replicate.
Awards and Diamond Status
The industry recognition followed quickly. The song won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance in 2016. It also snagged an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. Imagine the guy who wrote House of Balloons at the Oscars. It was surreal.
The biggest milestone, though, happened relatively recently. In February 2023, the RIAA certified Earned It as a Diamond single. That means it has moved over 10 million units in the US alone. This made Abel only the fourth artist in history to have five or more Diamond certifications.
What Most People Miss About the Lyrics
There is a line in the third verse that often gets overlooked: "Convinced we were broken inside."
Fans on Reddit and music forums have debated this for a decade. Is it a love song? Or is it a song about two damaged people finding a temporary fix in each other? Given the context of the Fifty Shades story—and Abel’s own lyrical history—it’s likely the latter.
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It’s the "gentle seduction," as Sam Taylor-Johnson called it. It sounds like a traditional ballad, but the underlying tension is pure The Weeknd. It’s the realization that while they might be "broken," the connection they’ve found is earned, not given.
How to Appreciate the Song Today
If you haven't listened to it in a while, do yourself a favor and put on some high-quality headphones. Skip the radio edit; find the version on Beauty Behind the Madness.
- Listen for the Piano: Stephan Moccio’s piano work is incredibly delicate in the intro.
- Watch the Live Performances: His 2015 VMA performance or the later SoFi Stadium show really highlights how his vocal control has evolved.
- Analyze the Transition: Notice how this song leads into "The Hills" on the album. It’s a masterclass in sequencing.
The legacy of The Weeknd Earned It isn't just a movie tie-in. It was the proof of concept. It showed the world that dark R&B could be mainstream, elegant, and record-breaking all at once. It wasn't a fluke. He earned it.
Actionable Next Steps:
To truly understand the impact of this era, listen to the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack version back-to-back with the Beauty Behind the Madness album. Pay attention to how the song's orchestral arrangement stands out against the more electronic-heavy tracks like "Often" or "Acquainted." This contrast highlights why this specific track was able to capture an audience that hadn't previously tuned into his darker, "Trilogy" era music.