The Weeknd Teams Up With Lil Baby On New ‘The Idol’ Track
The HBO series will wrap up with its fifth episode, which airs this weekend
The Weeknd has teamed up with Lil Baby on one of a pair of new tracks taken from the official soundtrack for The Idol.
The two new songs are taken from the fifth episode of the HBO series, which will also mark the season’s last episode and will air this weekend (July 2).
“False Idols” features Lil Baby and Suzanna Son, with the rapper serving up meditations on fame and putting stars on pedestals. “Be careful with who you call a God,” he raps at the start. “I can’t go without my pole and my rod.”
The Weeknd later picks up on the same themes, singing: “I’m in paradise, I’m in paradise/But these false idols got me terrified/I’m so terrified, I feel terrified/Life is war in the face of God.”
The second track to be lifted from the upcoming episode is “Like A God,” which features only The Weeknd. “He watches over like a God/Makes you hurt again, so you can heal and say ‘Amen,’” he sings. “We will change for you/We will cry for you/We will pay for you/Give our lives to you.”
Last week, the star shared a cover of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” from The Idol, which he had previously teased earlier this year. It followed yet more music from the soundtrack, one song of which featured an appearance from Moses Sumney, while another starred BLACKPINK’s Jennie and Lily-Rose Depp, who both appear in the show.
Days before The Idol premiered, another song from the soundtrack was released, featuring pop music’s original idol Madonna. “Popular” also featured The Weeknd and marked Madonna’s first feature of 2023.
The Idol follows Jocelyn, a pop star trying to reclaim her crown after suffering a nervous breakdown. Along the way, she meets Tedros (played by The Weeknd), a self-help guru and cult leader who she soon starts a relationship with.
In an interview shared earlier this year, The Weeknd dove into some of the inspirations behind the OST. “I’ve been inspired by The Wall and Purple Rain and when Bowie was doing it,” he told Interview magazine. “But even films like Shaft, the music is literally telling the story of the film. But I want to take it to the next level. I want to challenge myself, and I feel like, as a musician, I’m the best I’ve ever been.”
