Since The Weeknd is performing at the Super Bowl Halftime show, I thought it’d be nice to post a little guide to his discography for anyone interested in looking to do a deep dive into his work. I would’ve posted this the day of the event, but I assume that some people would probably like to go through it over the weekend.
This shares a direct overview of his released material, talking about his career and the background of the music, the videos, the meanings and all. I’ve written this from a pop perspective, keeping in mind that his history might be fairly new for general pop fans.
I also go into the storyline of the red suit character, if your interested in catching up on that narrative before the Halftime show (which will continue the story), I’ve listed the chronological order below followed by an explanation of that narrative.
I wanna be clear that the interpretations/theories are not conclusive. Abel rarely shares the metaphors or meanings behind his music. This is based on widely based on fan discussion/mutual interpretation. Fans can feel free to expand on anything in the comments.
It is important to know about Abel's backstory to get a certain perspective of where he’s coming from, especially when discussing the songs that deal with substance abuse. These recent articles cover his early years really well and share an up-to-date point of view of his success.
Variety 2020
Billboard 2021 - Also a good source for getting to know his team.
So, an essential TL;DR is this: Abel Tesfaye came from a broken home, he was born to Ethiopian immigrant parents who split up when Tesfaye was less than seven. He then lived with his mother and grandmother, only rarely seeing his father but having a nice impression of him. His drug addiction started as soon as he was a high schooler, he turned to shoplifting to pay for this need of various substances. Soon he dropped out of high school, leaving his home the same weekend, which would later inspire his stage name, The Weeknd. The name is reference/homage to the weekend his life changed.
Quick side note, I didn’t think this post would nearly reach the character limit. So I’ve cut out excess detail and lists of producers (with the exception of After Hours since we’re in that era).
Table of contents

XO.
House of Balloons.
Thursday.
Echoes of Silence.
Trilogy.
Kiss Land.
King of the Fall.
Beauty Behind The Madness.
Starboy.
My Dear Melancholy.
After Hours.

XO.

XO is the record label that The Weeknd and co. created in order to publish the first mixtape (House of Balloons) and the ones that would follow afterwards. XO has a lot of meanings that have to do with what went into the music and what still goes into it. XO is what the fans call themselves, popularly with the phrase XO Till We OD (shortened to XOTWOD); another way of saying “we’re ride or die for The Weeknd and his team.”
While some argue that it could mean anything since there isn’t clear meaning to it, fans continue to associate the abbreviation with ecstasy (X) and oxycontin (O). That definition stems from XOTWOD, fans assume it’s true because of the team’s history of drug usage. While others take it as it’s classical definition “hugs and kisses” because of the consistent lyrical nature of The Weeknd’s songs.
Overtime the definition of XO is simply known as: the fans, the crew, and the label. The Weeknd is more than just one person, he comes with XO. For the sake of clarity in this writeup, I’m going to refer to his crew as XO and the fans as “the fans.”
XO still serves as a record label, the current roster is The Weeknd, Belly, Nav, and Black Atlass. It remains The Weeknd’s record label and was his first label before becoming a subsidiary of Republic Records.
Throughout his career, The Weeknd has worked with Illangelo, a Canadian producer who’s work the fans adore. Carlo “Illangelo” Montagnese was one of main the producers on The Weeknd’s Trilogy, he’s credited on each track. The fan base claims his work to be some of the most notable artistry in The Weeknd’s discography. Their work together continued with Beauty Behind The Madness, Illangelo worked on seven tracks for that album. He then returned for After Hours working on another seven tracks.
DaHeala, another Canadian producer, is another significant factor in The Weeknd’s music. Jason “DaHeala” Quenneville worked as lead producer on Kiss Land. He returned to work on six tracks for The Weeknd’s Beauty Behind The Madness, including the hit Earned It. DaHeala returned as a writer for six of the songs on Starboy. Then DaHeala worked on nine After Hours tracks, and worked as the only producewriter alongside The Weeknd for bonus tracks Missed You and Final Lullaby.

House of Balloons.

Didn't wanna make this NSFW, so here's the super clean edited cover

This is a happy house. We’re happy here. (House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls)

One of the most iconic title tracks of all time. House of Balloons is about a lifestyle of drugs, sex, and partying; all in effort to drown out self-doubt. It comes from a place of wanting to make it big while doing what you can to survive, all while pretending everything’s alright. The mixtape describes various sorts of women, how they’ve had impacted the life of someone who’s already down on his luck.
Fans often refer to House of Balloons as The Weeknd’s best work. The mixtape was the first introduction the world got of XO, and it was one hell of a way to make an impression. It’s personal for the fans and Abel because it’s the only piece of work known to be based on his life. At the end of the day he’s a songwriter, with many of his albums he creates scenarios and world that he likes to explore through the music. But House of Balloons is known to be based entirely on his life. It remains The Weeknd’s most critically acclaimed work.
House of Balloons was crafted through the influences of Hip-Hip/Indie-Rock with the main focus on R&B. Through the genius of Ilangelo, the record was—and is—mesmerizing capturing the essence of a lifestyle that The Weeknd described as “anti-everything.”
House of Balloons assisted The Weeknd in gaining the attention of Republic Records, which would then host The Weeknd’s own label XO. Though hesitant at first, XO decided to partner with Republic after the co-founding brothers Monte and Avery Lipman kept coming back to Toronto solely for The Weeknd.
House of Balloons received three videos, The Knowing, Wicked Games and Twenty Eight. The Knowing was the very first video The Weeknd made, so of course it’d be something other-worldly; it essentially reflects the song itself but in a sci-fi setting. Twenty Eight represents Abel’s life after fame but also his remorse of letting captivating women into his life.
Fun fact— House of Balloons is an actual place in Toronto, it was where him and his crew lived after he dropped out of high school. They’d host parties, call girls, do drugs, and to make it less depressing they’d fill it with balloons.

Thursday.

Valerie on the cover

Welcome to the other side. (Life of the Party)

Thursday consists of the same themes as HoB; sex and drugs. But there’s a twist, he’s in a semi-relationship with this girl Valerie. She’s the only one on his mind, even though they meet only one day of the week, any guesses on what day that could be? Through The Weeknd’s phenomenal voice and the insane production, we’re also presented with this story of a toxic relationship where Valerie used to have the upper hand but she no longer does when she falls for The Weeknd.
While Thursday isn’t entirely about the relationship of The Weeknd and Valerie, it consists of reflections to Abel’s life after the release of House of Balloons. The song Rolling Stone notably has a double meaning, in which Abel asks his fans if they’ll stick with him when he gets mainstream appeal and decides to change his sound.
The track Valerie wasn’t on the original release of Thursday, it added when Trilogy was released. Ending the mixtape with Heaven or Las Vegas meant that The Weeknd’s actions with and without Valerie were a result of his fatherless childhood, making him push anyone away. That meaning behind Thursday doesn’t change when Valerie is added to the track list, it just means that both want the toxic relationship back.
The Zone (feat. Drake) was the first feature The Weeknd had on any of his work, the video for it was released in November of 2012. Rolling Stone had also received a video in October of 2012. Both were directed by The Weeknd and reflect the two different aspects of Thursday. The Zone has Valerie living it up in the House of Balloons. And Rolling Stone has The Weeknd doing a photoshoot for Trilogy, reflective of the song itself.
Fun Fact— the female voice heard in Lonely Star is The Weeknd’s, he pitched his voice to make it sound like a woman’s.

Echoes of Silence.

Diana on the cover

Laisse tomber les filles. Un jour c'est toi qu'on laissera. [Leave the girls alone. One day it’ll be you they will leave.] (Montreal)

Out of a dark introductory into the early life of The Weeknd, Echoes of Silence is the darkest work of his Trilogy. Let’s be honest the story here isn’t entirely ethical at times but makes for one hell of a mixtape.
Similar to Thursday, Echoes of Silence follows a storyline. After accumulating success, The Weeknd gains the attention of various women. There was this one woman (D.D.) who he liked but she initially rejected him (Montreal). The woman came back to him for his fame status and evidently fell in love with him (Outside), but now that he’s got the upper hand he treats him like a groupie (XO/The Host) and lets... bad things happen to her; she’s gotta pass a test before she can get with him. This test is either drugs or his crew (Initiation). He ultimately tells this woman that he’s not exactly longterm-relationship material, perhaps because her love is temporary (Same Old Song), because he’s Next. With the end of Echoes of Silence (originally ending on the title track) the listener is left to wonder why The Weeknd left her if he’d simply want her to stay.
As a side note— Initiation should not be condoned. It remains true that The Weeknd is a songwriter and the progression of time has changed perspectives. But a song that makes such suggestions as Initiation should not be ethically/morally claimed or celebrated.
The mixtape follows The Weeknd’s lifestyle after he’s gained all this success, he’s still the same person but now he’s gotten everything he wanted. Some tracks such as The Fall continue to emphasize his journey into stardom and his acceptance of fame being temporary. With the added Till Dawn (Here Comes The Sun), The Weeknd acknowledges the changes in his life, realizing that the old lifestyle is no longer there for him or his past lovers.
Echoes of Silence is known as an underrated gem of The Weeknd’s discography, it’s well received by fans and critically acclaimed but often brushed under the rug in discussion of his work. A lot of fans and casual listeners play the mixtapes through Trilogy rather than their respective albums. This often leads to people not playing EoS either at all or only the first few tracks, this is predominantly due to the nature of the compilation being nearly three hours long.
Fun fact— D.D. is a cover of Michael Jackson’s iconic Dirty Diana. Fans have named the woman in Echoes of Silence Diana because of this track. Various theories argue that the mixtape itself is based on the Dirty Diana itself with exaggerations of the truth, or whether or not it’s a story The Weeknd crafted based on the song.

Trilogy.

Rolling Stone video doubled as a shoot

You don’t know what’s in store. (High For This.)

Trilogy is a compilation of The Weeknd’s mixtapes, House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence. These three mixtapes were released 3-4 months apart from one another for free digital download in 2011, they gained quite a lot of attention from various industry executives.
Prior to the release of Trilogy, The Weeknd featured on Drake’s Take Care with Crew Love. The song was Abel’s first exposure to a Rap crowd/Rap fans, more people began listening to his music after the release of Take Care. The Weeknd then featured on Wiz Khalifa’s Remember You, which served as the second single off Wiz Khalifa’s O.N.I.F.C. Following those two releases, The Weeknd released Wicked Games as the first single off Trilogy.
Trilogy was formed after The Weeknd came under Republic Records’ management. The compilation album reached a debut/peak position of 4 on the Billboard 200 while reaching number one on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It’s a well received album with the highlight said to be House of Balloons, which arguably went on to influence various sorts of R&B music of the 2010s.
Videos for Trilogy

Kiss Land.

Iconic

I went from starin' at the same four walls for 21 years. To seein' the whole world in just 12 months. (Kiss Land)

Kiss Land is based on The Weeknd’s tour life. Visiting unfamiliar places gave Abel horror movie vibes. A guy who used to own the city (Toronto) he lived in is now a small fish in the ocean of the entire world. The Weeknd’s first studio album was a great introduction into the sound he would soon get well acquainted with.
While continuing the R&B sound with the essence of Dark Wave, the album explores emptiness and regret throughout the lyrics—or what pop fans could categorize as dark pop—. The Japanese aesthetic used for various videos and the single covers/booklet reflects the themes of feeling overwhelmed by such a loud world that there’s no point in being if you don’t belong.
The album explores the real-world and the women in it as well as regrets regarding past actions, namely letting go of women who could’ve been the one in Adaptation. The Weeknd attempts to find that satisfaction in other women and past lovers, but accidentally falls for a sex worker in Belong To The World. With Wanderlust he accepts and expresses that love in the modern world isn’t entirely possible. While continuing to tour the world he enjoys these new experiences with XO (Live For feat. Drake), as well as the new women in his life (Kiss Land). And when he’s back home, he accepts the loss of the relationship he cherished.
Kiss Land debuted and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. It was fairly acclaimed but gained a massive cult following. There were four videos for made for the album, the title track, Belong To the World, Live For (feat. Drake), and Pretty. Those four songs received interesting visuals that kept up with their respective themes while Belong To the World/Kiss Land got visuals that matched the aesthetic of the album. To this day fans ask Abel for a part two to the horror-movie-inspired album after he said it’s the only album he would have a sequel for.
Videos for Kiss Land
Fun Fact— The video for Kiss Land on YouTube is an extremely edited version of the actual video shot for the song. The directors cut further explores the erotic-horror themes if the album.

King of the Fall.

King of the Fall 2020 cover (even though I talk about three other songs here)

Driving by the streets we used to walk through like a triumph. (King of the Fall)

These next few song were released between the Kiss Land and Beauty Behind the Madness era. Some fans would classify them as part of the Beauty Behind the Madness era—I’d say the same tbh—but they stand apart on the basis of success and acclaim. It’s a transition between The Weeknd being an underrated R&B musician to being a mainstream artist with massive recognition and appreciation.
The first of these four songs is King of the Fall. A fan favourite and a standout in The Weeknd’s discography. This is one of The Weeknd’s few Rap tracks, it gained a lot of attention within the Rap sphere. It was the way in which XO would announce that they’ve made it, little did they know that this was just the start.
Prior to the release of Beauty Behind the Madness (BBTM), The Weeknd gained mainstream attention. The Weeknd’s exposure to mainstream music was uphill, it wasn’t overnight. The first taste of BBTM came from Often, a song that reflected the themes of sex that Abel was known for. The track was released more than a year before BBTM’s release and had made it onto the trackless unlike King of the Fall. Slowly but surely The Weeknd gained exposure, his main sources of exposure were through a collaboration and a soundtrack.
Most pop fans heard about The Weeknd through his hit collaboration with Ariana Grande, Love Me Harder. The collab was made through Republic when The Weeknd said he wanted more than what he had gotten through Kiss Land. Ariana and Abel had formed a real bond cough The Hills cough, their bond assisted the song in becoming a memorable hit for both artists. Love Me Harder was a top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
Later that year, The Weeknd was featured on the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack with Earned It, as well as Where You Belong. Earned It became a massive hit peaking at 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and receiving an Oscar nomination for The Weeknd; a massive milestone for XO. Earned It kept up with Abel’s signature lyrics but the production differed heavily from the sort of R&B he was known for.
Videos from that era

Beauty Behind the Madness.

I can hear this image

I'm that ***** with the hair singin' 'bout poppin' pills, fuckin' bitches, livin' life so trill. (Tell Your Friends)

Following the success of Love Me Harder and Earned It, the Beauty Behind the Madness era began with The Hills. This was The Weeknd’s first number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Along with the video, The Hills became an addictive classic. The production and lyrics mirror a mature version of the sound that was originally found on Trilogy. It was truly in keeping with The Weeknd’s character, the only difference was his haircut.
Next came Can’t Feel My Face, a Max Martin production that differed greatly from anything The Weeknd put out in the past. In past songs, Abel had expressed his fear of losing his following if he went mainstream simultaneously asking his fans if they’d stay. He repeats that sentiment in the Can’t Feel My Face video. The sound has changed, the lyrics stay the same but now he’s a pop-star. The song became a hit as it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. With this massive bop previous fans still stayed, The Weeknd becoming a pop singer didn’t at all alter his image or sound; he mastered it.
In The Night and Acquainted were released as singles on the same day, the were the only singles to come after the release of Beauty Behind The Madness. The former received a music video treatment that followed the theme of the song itself while also starring Abel’s girlfriend at the time, Bella Hadid. Acquainted was robbed of a video even though Abel had shown off the fact that a video was in development; the song kept in the tone of The Weeknd’s work prior to BBTM.
Beauty Behind the Madness captures a Hollywood-based reality that The Weeknd came to understand: the dark aspects of your life will continue to follow you wherever you are. Real Life, Losers (feat. Labrinth), Tell Your Friends, Dark Times (feat. Ed Sheeran), and Prisoner (feat. Lana Del Rey) all capture a nihilistic view of a dream achieved.
Most of the videos of Beauty Behind The Madness have a mysterious white man. He’s featured in The Hills, Can’t Feel My Face, and Tell Your Friends. That man represents the devil. Throughout his journey in those videos, (The Hills) Abel runs into the devil after his car crash, (Can’t Feel My Face) he’s at the club then lights him on fire. The significance behind the fire could be selling his soul to the devil, BBTM is about Hollywood and a popular Hollywood myth is that celebrities sell their souls to the devil in exchange for fame. So in the Can’t Feel My Face video, Abel changes his sound to Pop (from R&B) thus leaving his signature sound in order to become famous, everyone starts enjoying his music once he’s sold his soul.
Then we see The Weeknd burying himself in Tell Your Friends, perhaps leaving the old Abel behind after the deal with the devil. However, instead of thanking the devil, Abel takes his revenge and shoots him. But wait, there’s more! The album trailer for BBTM features the devil burning a billboard with The Weeknd’s face on it, revealing Beauty Behind The Madness. HOWEVER, the final cut for the video features the devil being arrested while The Weeknd watches. This is a more realistic form of karma that the devil gets.
Videos for BBTM

Starboy.

Filled with bops

If I could, I'd trade it all, trade it for a halo. And she said that she'll pray for me, I said, "It's too late for me.” (Ordinary Life)

After the massive success of Beauty Behind the Madness, there was a lot of hype around what The Weeknd would do next; evidently he decided to explore Pop. The fandom he had gained wasn’t entirely based in the Pop sphere, his fans consisted of general Rap fans, but Starboy attracted the Pop audience.
Initially, most of his older fans couldn’t get behind Starboy, it differed greatly from the previous sound. It was crazy to think that the guy who made Trilogy managed to make such a Pop-centric album. But this was Abel expressing his versatility.
Since this is where most pop fans found out about Abel’s work and became fans I won’t talk too much about the singles, rather more about the album itself. His work with Daft Punk cemented this album in an efficient mix between Pop and R&B, where Beauty Behind the Madness was more R&B with Pop, Starboy was considered Pop with R&B.
Beyond the genres, Starboy explores two evident themes. One being his life with fame and recognition. The next being his love life in Hollywood, this aspect of the album came from his relationship with Bella Hadid which ended after the release of the album.
The cross became the symbol for that era and appeared in the album’s photoshoot as well as the videos. There was never any conclusive word on the use of the cross but there are various theories about it, something to note is that Abel was raised Christian, it could perhaps be a reflection of his past.
The cross he uses to destroy his accolades (Starboy video) is assisting him rather than something that’s holding him back. Abel’s upbringing was rough but now he’s celebrating it rather than feeling bad for himself. The cross continues to come up in the Party Monster video, this time it’s in the party house he’s making his way through. Then it shows up in the video for Reminder, this time in the form of his merch, the people wearing it are perhaps representative of his fans. Then we see it in the False Alarm video, both Abel and the girl are wearing it; the notable thing being that Abel holds his cross up before dying. Then in the brilliant video for Secrets, after giving up on the girl he’s with he leaves the building to find a giant cross. And finally in the I Feel It Coming video, The Weeknd sports a shiny cross necklace, and Daft Punk find it years and years after Abel froze.
The videos tell us that the cross is an evident piece of his story. This could mean that his past will always be with him, no matter what sort of fame he’s experiencing he’ll always be who he once was.
Also, I’m gonna take this moment to once again the genius that is the Secrets (both the song and the video). Yes it’s my favourite song/video off of Starboy but it’s so underrated.
Videos for Starboy, Secrets video bottom right
Fun Fact— Most demos of the tracks on Starboy weren’t as pop as they became, they started off R&B but became pop after production.

My Dear Melancholy.

Note the comma

They said our love is just a game, I don't care what they say. But I'ma drink the pain away, I'll be back to my old ways. (Privilege)

Oof (but in a good way, this whole thing is a bop). For this one I’m gonna talk extensively about The Weeknd’s relationships, which personally feels really invasive but it’s but it’s essential when talking about these sad boy anthems. Beyond that I’d just like to state that though they are part of the narrative both Bella Hadid and Selena Gomez deserve respect/privacy.
So when it comes to Pop music fans I think it’s safe to say that we all know a lot about this one. My Dear Melancholy (MDM) came after the very public relationship of The Weeknd and Selena Gomez. However it’s not just about Selena, some songs reflect his relationship with Bella Hadid (whom he got back with a month after MDM’s release).
My Dear Melancholy consists with The Weeknd’s exploration/mastery of merging Pop and R&B together. The EP was praised by fans for its lyrics and production, many went on to theorize that it was his most personal project since House of Balloons. The EP was the shortest album to reach number one on the Billboard 200.
My Dear Melancholy and fan conspiracies; name a better duo. The first theory being that the EP is entirely about Selena Gomez which wasn’t too much of a mystery since the lyric “I almost cut a piece of myself for your life” exists. Not only did MDM come after Abel’s relationship with Selena Gomez but also after his relationship with Bella Hadid. As far as fans were aware those two relationships were the most important relationships Abel had ever been in.
In theory, the songs about Bella and Selena can be categorized. Call Out My Name, Try Me, and Privilege are likely about Selena. Wasted Times, and Hurt You are likely about Bella. Leaving I Was Never There to act as an introspective look into The Weeknd’s life, basically making him hop back on his vices for comfort.
Another popular theory was that My Dear Melancholy was the first of another trilogy. This rumour was widely believed due to the comma at the end of the title on the album cover. But the fans soon gained a real reason to believe this theory, since the CEO of XO (the record label), Sal had liked an Instagram post that featured the cover and alleged date. Since Trilogy is a fan favourite this conspiracy spread like wild fire, so much so that fake titles and covers were made. The name of this trilogy would be: (1)My Dear Melancholy, (2)We’re Alone Together, (3)Abel.
Only one song served as a single for the EP. Call Out My Name was released nearly two months prior to the actual release of the album, it debuted/peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. The mysterious video captures The Weeknd in various atmospheric places that reflect the tone of the EP, a haunting yet unexplained reality that the listener is to reflect on.
From the cover, to the music, to the video, to lyrics, My Dear Melancholy is an introspective reflection of heartbreak.
Call out my name video

After Hours.

Talented, Brilliant, Incredible, etc.

My darkest hours. (After Hours)

After Hours comes after success but references two lows in The Weeknd’s life. The album welcomes darkness and leads the listener towards a dead-end. The Weeknd’s past two albums (Beauty Behind The Madness and Starboy) ended on hopeful notes, they left the listener with a sense of hope but all hope his lost with After Hours.
Fans compare After Hours to House of Balloons—a rare occurrence considering House of Balloons’ acclaim—arguing that both albums are on the same level. Debate continues on whether or not both albums are on the same caliber. The belief that After Hours stems from reality does a lot to help its side of the argument.
The era began with Mercedes-Benz commercial that featured Blinding Lights, that was our first taste of the everlasting bop. Heartless was premiered on an episode of Memento Mori hours before its release on the 27 of November (2019), Blinding Lights was released two days later. Both videos were as brain melting as promised and the served as the tip of the iceberg.
After Hours was released nine days after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, there was a massive risk in releasing an album that would not have a lot of promotion after it’s release (other than magazine coverage). There was no telling whether or not people would pay attention to the album during the height of the fear surrounding the pandemic, but it was a massive success. After Hours debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with singles Heartless and Blinding Lights topping the Billboard Hot 100.
The album is layered with haunting productions that remains predominantly R&B but dives deep into Pop with some of the tracks. Max Martin produced the massive hit Blinding Lights as well as In Your Eyes, Save Your Tears, Hardest to Love, and Scared to Live which samples Elton John’s Your Song. Other notable producers include Metro Boomin who worked on the hit Heartless as well as Escape from LA, Faith, and Until I Bleed Out. With Kevin Parker on the interlude Repeat After Me.
Beyond the production are the narrative driven lyrics. In theory the album references two significant events in Abel’s life, his second breakup with Bella Hadid and his arrest in Las Vegas. The latter was due to his misbehaviour; in January 2015 he punched a cop in Vegas, lmao. Which means that After Hours is a recollection of The Weeknd’s first few years in LA. He merges the concept of his breakup with the idea of being an upcoming star, feeling free in the city of lights all while diving deep into the meaninglessness of those lights.
While After Hours starts with loneliness and a second chance it leads up to Abel returning to his vices of lust. In Alone Again his loneliness caught up to him and he’s asking for a second chance. He acknowledges his mistakes and situation in Too Late/Hardest to Love, in Scared to Live his ex then returns to him for a second time. He remembers his past ways in Snowchild and the way in which it lead to better days, but where do you go after such highs? In Escape From LA he faces the superficial reality of Hollywood, glad that he got that he got back with his ex, while continuing to question if it’s worth it. But he fucks up the second chance when she pulls up to the studio.
Who is she? Much like the other mysteries surrounding The Weeknd’s music, we may never know. Is it all more of The Weeknd’s songwriting ability or is it driven by reality? Fans found a merge between the two to be more accurate, After Hours is about heartbreak and a return to the vices that held The Weeknd back.
Heartless is when The Weeknd is once again back to his ways, he may have been in a serious relationship but after throwing that away he spirals back to the way he once was. It’s sad but it’s one hell of a song. Speaking of brilliant songs, Faith is when Abel admits that he’s back on his vices, he states that he needs his ex back with him till the end; he’s back to self-loathing.
So when he says he’s blinded by the lights, there’s two meanings to it. The Faith outro tells us that he’s in a car with flashing lights, a cop car (as confirmed by Abel) to be exact. Then Blinding Lights tells us that while he’s watching the bright lights of Vegas pass him by he calls out for the girl that he regrets losing. That is the peak of the After Hours narrative. He’s behaving badly over the loss of the girl he loved and is now at the worst position trying to find her and gain her trust for a third time.
Following Blinding Lights is In Your Eyes, this is where The Weeknd vows not to judge her; he can see right through her but will never do anything to make her upset. Does this mean their back together? Not exactly. Save Your Tears details a sort of moving-on that The Weeknd isn’t ready for but tries to help her move on, blind to his own inability to move on. Does it work? Not really. Repeat After Me (Interlude) shows that he’s still trying to convince himself that he’s unfazed by the loss of a meaningful relationship.
Then you hear a true masterpiece. The title track is a spiral into true regret and an apology for his actions, he admits that his ex girlfriend is the only reason he lives. In a dark lonely city she’s the only one keeping him sane. But his pleas fail, Until I Bleed Out is when The Weeknd no longer wants her in his life so much so that he wants to erase his memory of anything related to her. The bonus tracks then echo the final sentiment.
It’s one sad ass album, ain’t it. But here’s where the Red Suit Character comes in.
Shoutout to the makeup department
The album isn’t the only narrative to follow with After Hours. The videos for the album follow their own sort of narrative. The story follows an unnamed guy that goes by “red suit character” according to The Weeknd.
There’s a lot of confusion and endless theories surrounding this character’s story, after The Weeknd confirmed that it’s about a decent into Hollywood culture it makes more sense… kind of. I’m gonna discuss the storyline without talking about the movies that have influenced it, this way the focus remains on the character.
The order of these videos is Heartless / Blinding Lights / Blinding Lights (Live on Kimmel)* / After Hours short film / In Your Eyes / Until I Bleed Out / Snowchild / Too Late / Live at AMAs* / Save Your Tears
*Though all live performances could count as part of the narrative, these one relate directly with the videos that follow.
He’s is first seen in Vegas with Metro Boomin (Heartless), intoxicated on various substances. He dives deeper into his high until he licks a frog, after that he faces the true effects of this high. He’s frightened by the result and runs far away from Vegas. (Blinding Lights) He’s then found in LA, where he’s dancing in the street, hypnotized by the singer, beat up by guards, and races past all those bright lights in his Benz. Ultimately realizing the shallowness of the Los Angeles fantasy.
(Blinding Lights Live on Kimmel) We then find him performing Blinding Lights live, while he attempts to find more reason in within the madness city; he couldn’t find it on the streets so he goes to the stage. (After Hours short film) Even then there’s no meaning to anything in the city, he mindlessly wanders into the depth of the subway where he’s dragged by the reality of it all and ends up possessed. (In Your Eyes) After being possessed he chases the woman whose boyfriend he just murdered, she runs into a club falls deeper into the After Hours fantasy, in a successful attempt to defend herself she beheads the red suit character and dances all over LA with his head, iconic behaviour.
(Until I Bleed Out) Then in an ethereal dreamscape, red suit character finds himself in a House of Balloons. He’s trying to escape, but the people there keep pulling him in; he’s getting higher while observing Glass Table Girls. He spirals into the antarctic, the other side of the world. From Heatless to this point in his story, his vices lead him back to the lowest point in Abel’s life. Is it Hell, Heaven or Las Vegas? (Snowchild) He relives his career up until the point where his story began. Considering he’s dead, his life basically flashed before his eyes.
(Too Late) LA girls find the red suit character’s head and live their best life. They wanna have sex with him so they find the best boy parts by calling up a stripper who could be the body. The stitch the head up with the body and do what they want. But now he’s brought back to life. (Live at AMAs) He’s had work done… He went in to get his nose fixed and the doctor said “you sure that’s all you want?” The red suit character’s face is healing while he tries to celebrate his life on top of a bridge.
(Save Your Tears) Surrounded by a masked cult he debut’s his new face. Do they like it? Are they impressed? Not instantly, their masks translate no expression so how’s he to know? Is any of this worth it? Nope red suit character continues to die inside. He finds a maskless girl in the crowd, she’s lively unlike the rest; but even then, nothing on the inside nothing on the outside. He wants death again, somehow a second chance with this city is still pointless. He tries to kill himself via the girl and himself but it’s all a facade; theatrics.
His story continues but that’s all we know so far.
The videos make a lot of film references. This post by explain these references very well, as well as past album references here (part one) and here (part two).
After Hours is inspired by a lot of movies, since Abel is in fact a cinephile. The main movies that inspired the aesthetic and storytelling are believed to be Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), Casino (1995), Joker (2019), Uncut Gems (2020), and After Hours (1985). The album tells two sad narratives but remains one of The Weeknd’s best works yet. He’s expanded his videography and enhanced the interest of people who casually enjoy his music and of course his fans.
But the era isn’t over, by the time this is posted his Super Bowl Halftime show is yet to happen. And it’ll continue the red suit character’s story.
Videos for After Hours (so far)
Fun Fact—The Heartless video features a reference to Thursday. When he’s trying to run from Vegas, a sign behind him flashes “Heartless / Heaven or Las Vegas.” This could be a reference to Abel running from his past, after all Heartless is about him returning to his vices.

END.

Thank you for reading this, again, I didn’t realize it would end up being this long. But I hope this this served as a nice refresher for any fans who wanted to revisit Abel’s work before the Super Bowl.
And I really hope that anyone interested in getting into his music finds this helpful. Once again, the theories/interpretations mentioned aren’t conclusive, they’re widely based on fan discussion/mutual interpretation.
Due to the character limit I couldn’t add too links to the albums, so here are some artist links.
Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | The Weeknd’s Shop | Tidal | Genius

A letter to myself, as I was 15 months and 130 pounds ago

Hello you,
It’s you, fifteen months into your future. Time being what it is, I know that you won’t be able to read these words for another fifteen months, but I wanted to get this all out.
You’re about to give the whole “lose weight” thing one more try. We’ve tried before. Three times in the past fifteen years we watched what we ate, we got on the bike, we watched pounds come off, but we always lost motivation or discipline after crossing the boundary from obese down to overweight, and the pounds slowly crept back up. Between those major efforts, we’d sometimes pay lip-service to the idea of tracking calories, but we’d never stay on that wagon. Whereas before we started from 270 or 280 pounds, this time we were starting from 320. Before, we hadn’t been happy with our body, but we had finally become large enough that it was negatively impacting the rest of our life.
You wanted to go to Germany to see the Christmas markets. You’ve just decided against that, because you know that you won’t properly fit into the airplane seats. And so, you just made a bargain with yourself to get down to 260 pounds before your planned trip to England in the spring. You want to be able to enjoy that vacation as much as possible. I’m glad that you found that motivation, though for reasons outside your control you won’t be taking that trip either. And yes, I recognize that there were other factors too: the lower back pain that you feel all day, the feeling of being way too big for bus seats, the slow realization that your 2XL shirts are getting too small and that you’ll need 3XL soon, the knowledge that you’re going to need a new belt if you keep gaining weight, that your mother can’t get her arms around you when she’s giving you a hug, all of those things and more. But we both know that the trip was the feather that tipped the scales into motivating you to try again.
I know that you feel hopeless. You think that this attempt to lose weight is going to end like all of the others. You’re going to crack, you’re going to stop tracking, you’re going to backslide, you’re going to fail. I am you from the future, so I know that you’re thinking those thoughts. Like Sisyphus pushing his boulder up the hill, you’re certain that you’re going to be crushed again before this is over, just like you’ve been crushed each time before. But here’s the best thing about you: like Sisyphus, you’re going to try to push that boulder up the hill anyways, in the hope that maybe this time it might somehow be different.
On November 17, 2019, you’re going to log the following into Fitbit: 1,040 calories from Tostitos Bite Sized Rounds, 450 calories from cheddar cheese, 180 calories from cashew milk, 570 calories from Mini-Wheats, 315 calories from bananas, 100 calories from habanero salsa, and 240 calories from Quaker Apple & Cinnamon oatmeal. It’s going to total 2,895 calories, 121.7 grams of fat, 31.3 grams of fiber, 439.9 grams of carbs, 4,668 mg of sodium, and 78.9 grams of protein. That’s not exactly the most auspicious start to a diet, especially since you almost certainly underrated the calories from the cheese by about 500 or more, but it’s the thought and effort that counts. Trust me on that.
From that point forward, you’re going to be accountable for what you eat every day, over 450 days worth. There will be good days, days when you eat to your goal calorie deficit and feel full and satisfied. There will be bad days, days when you go over your planned deficit. There will be terrible days, days when you eat a surplus of a thousand calories or more. You’ll feel guilty for what you’ve done, but you won’t hide it from yourself. You’ll dutifully log it, and you’ll remember that even a 2,000 calorie surplus will be balanced out within 2-4 days of maintaining your planned deficit.
Today, day 453, will be a fairly typical day for food logging. 300 calories of almonds, 105 calories from ground flaxseed, 144 calories from apples, 241 calories from cherries, 600 calories from Greek yogurt, 520 calories from chicken, 52 calories from maple syrup, 240 calories from oatmeal, 105 calories from a banana, and 174 calories from bacon. It’s about 2,481 calories, 84.8 grams of fat, 40.5 grams of fiber, 304.4 grams of carbs, 1947.4 mg of sodium, 136.9 grams of protein. More or less, give or take, that is a normal day for us. That’s one of the lessons that you internalize along the way: for you, it’s OK not to be perfect so long as you’re directionally correct. Here’s an example of that: you’ll go through about two liters of unsweetened vanilla cashew milk a week, and you won’t bother logging any of it, because it’s literally 25 calories a day and is basically a rounding error on the other things.
You’ll mostly stop eating burgers and nachos and pasta and bread. They’re just not filling enough, which makes it hard to keep to the calorie plan. Your diet these days is mostly some combination of chicken, pork, Greek yogurt, fresh or frozen fruit (blueberries/blackberries/raspberries/cherries/bananas/apples/kiwis), dried fruit (dates, dried cherries, raisins), seeds and nuts (cashews, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, ground flaxseed), oatmeal, and cheese (cheddar, Havarti, brie, camembert). You’ll eat other things as well of course – you’ll go through a phase of eating a lot of carrots and hummus, you have dark chocolate fairly frequently, and things like ramen noodles, popcorn, rice pudding, pepperoni, eggs, jerky, veggie burgers, and protein bars are going to show up in your grocery bags every so often. You are going to make a FANTASTIC fruit cake in December 2020. It’ll be like 500 calories a slice, and totally worth it. You drink a lot of coffee and Diet Pepsi.
Some nights you’ll lie awake in bed, aching for a burger. You’ll hear and read other people talk about how much they get grossed out by the things that they used to enjoy, and you’ll envy them. In September, you’ll go to the Five Guys downtown and get a burger, and it’s going to be heavenly. You’re going to have a bag of chips on Super Bowl Sunday this year, and they’ll be incredibly tasty. And Lindt milk chocolate will literally bring tears to your eyes at how good it tastes. I’m sorry. The only small consolation I can give is the thought that perhaps those sorts of things taste better because of their rarity in your diet.
Now, here’s possibly the most shocking thing: in April, down to 260 pounds, you start a Couch to 5k plan. Yes, you, running. You, who hasn’t run more than a kilometer in his life. You who probably haven’t run a total of five kilometers in the past twenty years. It’s going to be hard. But seven weeks into the eight week program, you’re going to push through and do it. You’ll then start increasing distance by about 10% per week. In July, you’ll run 10k for the first time. And then you’ll build on that. You’re going to run over 250 kilometers in the month January 2021. And no, you’re not going to move somewhere warm and dry. You’re going to be putting in those kilometers outdoors during the Canadian winter. You’ll eventually find yourself on a three day cycle. Days one and two you’ll run 10k+. Day three, you’ll go for a much shorter run, typically only 2k, and then you’ll walk to get the rest of your 10k steps, and then you’ll lift weights and do a bit of bodyweight fitness with push-ups and squats.
You’re going to reach your weight loss goal in February 2021, and you’ll weigh 190 pounds. At least, you’ll weigh that for a day, and then the natural fluctuations of your weight will pop you back up to 192 or 193 for the rest of the week. And that’s OK! You’re going to see much larger and far more discouraging day to day weight fluctuations over the next fifteen months. Trust me on that. Now the maintenance begins, and we’re going to try to keep between 185 and 195 pounds.
At the age of 38, you finally have something like the kind of body that you wanted to have when you were 18. It’s not perfect. There’s some loose skin. You’ll still have a bit of stubborn belly fat. In spite of your efforts, you’ll almost certainly lose some muscle mass, particularly in your legs. But we’re working on it. The back pain is gone. You’ll be wearing large sized clothes – not 2XL, not XL, L for Large. You'll need to get new notches punched in your belt. And mom can put her arms all the way around you when she hugs you – she just about cried when she realized that she was able to do that again.
I know you, since I was you, and I know that you’re looking at those 2,895 calories in that you’ve logged and thinking that this time is doomed to failure like every other time before it. I wish that there were ways to get this message to you, to tell you that holy cow, we did it, at least for now. But ultimately, I don’t need to tell you that, do I? I know that you’re going to figure it out for yourself. Your good choices will outweigh your bad choices, and every month you’ll shed a few more pounds and get into a little better shape. This time, you’re going to succeed in getting that boulder to the top of the hill.
With love,
Future You
P.S.: The hair and growth in the picture? That’s a long story that’s not really about you at all. You’re not going to make it to the barber much in 2020, let’s just leave it at that. . .
Me in November 2019, June 2020, and February 2021 - NSFW

NrdRage’s Friday DD: There’s still one meme stock that’s not dead yet. I present to you The Curious Case of Benjamin Butto....err Black Berry. ($BB)

Listen up reta.....err, I mean memelords. I know we’ve all moved on from the meme era into the weed era (and hopefully people stick around that one due to the fundamentals for a while, but if not....) and soon to be a redux of the vehicle era, but there’s one meme stonk we need to have a real, honest heart-to-heart about (and hey, it even ties into cars): Let’s talk about Blackberry ($BB)

First, let’s get some misconceptions out of the way:

Blackberry was never a short squeeze stonk, even though it ended up getting roped in with the other squeezers we were denied squozing because of Wall Street cheating. A lot of people thought it was and that’s simply not the case. Blackberry was, is, and always will be, a phoenix rising from the ashes story, nostalgia peppered with functionality. You know, kind of like how you sometimes go watch some classic porn to beat off to and don’t stop to think about the fact that the actress is now in her 60’s and probably has super saggy tiddies.
Next misconception: It’s not a Boomer mobile phone company. They don’t make phones anymore – phones that are branded with their logos are made by another company that pays licensing for the logo and some of the patents. Blackberry sold all their mobile patents months ago.
Third misconception: No matter how much we ask, they’re never changing their name back to Research in Motion so that we can talk about Rim-jobs. Sorry, just isn’t going to be a thing.
So what are they? It’s simple really: They’re now an enterprise level software security company. When you think about it, it’s not such a big pivot, given that their security encryption in their heyday was so powerful that they ended up having to set up offices in certain nations because it was impossible to crack and ran afoul of certain international laws.

Let’s take a dive into the financials before we get into the story:

At the time of this writing, BB is a 7 billion dollar company with shares trading in the $12.50 range. Even after the meme war collapse, they’re still worth double what they were when the ball dropped in New York City with absolutely nobody watching in person and everybody at home wondering why even Anderson Cooper was using an autotuner. They generate a hair over a quarter billion dollars in revenue each quarter over the last year and in 2020 had a negative EPS of about 32 cents a share as they retooled, though they trimmed that to .23 cents a share for their last quarterly earnings report. They have about a billion dollars in cash on hand and receivables, and they have about half a billion dollars in debt. It’s not a great fiscal outlook there, but it’s certainly manageable for a growth company (which is what they presently are).

Where do they make their money?

Almost half of their revenue is legacy income from selling endpoint management and secure communications licensing. A third of their revenue comes from licensing their patents. Oh, they also own Cylance, for you IT help desk monkeys.
That shit’s pretty boring, not gonna lie. Your wife’s boyfriend might find it interesting, but only because he can use it to laugh at you that you know this shit. But the rest? The rest is where things get interesting. Blackberry Radar is a fleet management solution, and the most interesting thing is....well, for that, we have to go back in time for a moment:

(Wayne’s World flashback/dream noises)….

July 29th, 2017. Las Vegas Nevada. 50,000 of the world’s most feared hackers descend upon Sin City for a weekend of debauchery, drinking, and talking about all the new and interesting ways they found to break shit or in general cause chaos - aka DefCon 25, which was NOT cancelled, contrary to what you might have been told. A young hacker from Wisconsin positively stuns everybody at a panel by revealing how it is that he found he could effectively hack almost every late model vehicle on the road that possessed connected features – from range and while the vehicles are in motion – using.....music theory. It’s an absolutely stunning revelation, something matched only by how terrifying the implications of it are. And all anybody needed was a $300 RF modulation tool. Using this, he found he could take control of every mass produced car on the market except those made by Volkswagen Group and Tesla, and those only because they had randomized frequencies they used. This guy fucked. This process was so dangerous that, for one of the only times in DefCon’s history, they didn’t publish the how-to publicly. Oh, and a team from a then relatively unknown EV company in China called $NIO won the car hacking capture the flag tournament in less dramatic fashion. If you didn't hear about any of this, it's because you were too much of a square to be there. Sucks to be you, chump. Something had to be done.

Enter Blackberry

I’ll spare you all the things that have happened since then, but what you need to know is this: Blackberry came up with a solution to defend against this and a myriad of other problems (not to mention Europoor compliance in the form of ISO 26262) not to mention autonomous security - and their security software suite (QNX) is now on almost every new car rolling off a factory line today. This software is also critical for EV’s, because it controls battery management ECU’s (that’s the shit that makes it so you don’t have to drop 10 grand on a new power plant every 2 years). Or, for those of you with IQ’s of 60: Computer make car gooder.

OK, so that’s cool. But how does this get me TENDIES, man? How much can these guys make?

They’re coy about this and won’t give hard numbers, but there are ways we can estimate what they’re pulling. But to do that, we need to go back in history again, and take a look at a stock nobody cares about

(More Wayne’s World noises)

Enter: Nuance Communications ($NUAN). You’ve probably never heard of these guys, but you and almost everybody you know has used their products at some point. They used to be best known for their Dragon Naturally Speaking software suite, which your grandparents who decided they were too old to figure out how to use a fucking keyboard bought so that they could talk to their computer and send you messages that you hated getting unless it came with a 20 dollar bill, but which they thought you cherished forever. However, at some point around 2010, IBM – whom the Nuance CEO at the time was close friends with the management of, literally just *gave* about 125 patents around voice recognition to Nuance thinking that they were worthless. Nuance took these patents and – for a brief moment – became one of the coolest techs on the planet, because their tech is what made Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, Samsung’s whatever it was called and a billion other voice recognition platforms work. That is, until Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Steve Ballmer, and everybody else Nuance was dumb enough to trust to let look under the hood of their secret sauce came along and all stole the IP to made their own platforms, leaving Nuance rotting in a hole in the desert. But one of the really cool things Nuance expanded into before they went full retard was they bought a couple of companies around 2013 or so– Tweddle and some other company I can’t be bothered to look up – and got into the connected car space. At one point, Nuance’s Dragon Drive virtual assistant was in every new car made by 9 of the world’s top 10 auto makers.

OK, dude, my wife’s boyfriend is asking me to bring him a beer. Can you speed this along? What does this matter?

It matters because we can look at what $NUAN was getting in licensing for putting their virtual assistant in these vehicles, and use that data to extrapolate an estimate of what $BB is getting for their software. With just their 9 car makers at their back, they were generating over 300 million dollars a year – and that was almost a decade ago, and just for something that would tell you where to pick up your Down’s Syndrome medication. Add a premium for security, include all the auto makers, carry the one, smoke a bowl to help you concentrate, adjust for inflation.....
This is a market worth about...oh, roughly 750 million dollars a year for Blackberry on the conservative side once they actually start charging a market rate for this product. Right now, they’re adopting the same go-to strategy Microsoft has been employing with Azure, which is to basically GIVE it away in order to gain market share and penetration, and then send Fat Tony to collect once the car maker is reliant on it. Plus all the other stuff we already glossed over because it’s boring as shit. Applying the average multiple of earnings for cybersecurity firms out there, their lack of competition in the space, etc. And you come up with a market cap valuation target of....oh, roughly between 45 and 50 billion dollars once they’re firing on all cylinders. And they don’t have to worry about Google or Apple throwing 10,000 engineers at this to make a competing product, because it’s just not worth it to them, so they’re largely gonna get left alone.
Or, by using maths....a share price of somewhere in the neighborhood of $87.50. Give or take 10 bucks. Make it 15 to the downside, just to be safe.

Yeah man! Cool. So I’m in. It’s gonna go to that by like, Friday or something?

An enterprise level cybersecurity company with a sub 10 billion dollar valuation is basically unheard of in this century. But this is not a burn play where you’re gonna get 50% gains every day with no work. It’s a company that’s going to have to melt up to that. It still won’t be to that point this time next year.
BUT....that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a great story. It just means that this isn’t something you do a 0DTE YOLO on and expect to get something out of. And making an Avengers meme about it isn’t going to send it to the moon. This is something you buy and stash in a musty corner of your portfolio so you can tell your Boomer parents that you’re being responsible with your investing and you were just joking about betting your inheritance on weekly FD’s for shitty online dating sites where the women have to talk to your sorry ass first. Oh, and it’ll make the lambo you buy with the money from this safer.
Because I know it matters, here are 69 rockets so you apes understand what all this meant.
.....no, there aren't going to be any rockets. I lied.
Disclosures/Positions: I am long $BB, holding 100,000 shares @ $7.67 average and another 5000 January 2022 5c’s.

TL:DR: $87.50

All my love
-Chad Dickens

Shrooms completely cured my PTSD from attempted murder.

2020 Ultimate Ultimate Rate (The Weeknd/Dua/Gaga/Taylor)

Hello to all of the capitalists, cocaine connoisseurs, ethnonationalists, and Oreo fans joining us today. Today we begin one of the biggest, most controversial, and most sonically diverse rates popheads has ever taken on. Notably, popheads voted to include a man amongst a sea of white pop girls, and also folklore is here.
Last year, as many have noted, was perhaps not the world’s best. However, what stayed good from January 1st until December 31st was the pop music (except for Justin Bieber’s Changes, but we can ignore that for now). Floods of beloved comebacks, surprise releases, and out-of-nowhere rises to acclaim pervaded the year, and made everything that much more bearable for us. Many of these albums were intended for the dance floor, but every one of them has provided a great sense of escapism during a year where most people needed exactly that. Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, and The Weeknd all released year defining, career reinvigorating albums that captivated the general public and pop fans alike. So my cohosts (the brilliant u/ignitethephoenix and u/hikkaru) and I want to invite you to celebrate them all in one place, and stage a friendly, not at all bloody competition to see which artist and what song comes out on top.
If you’re as fucking illiterate as I am and you’ve done a few of these rates already, you can start rating right here:
Spotify & Apple Music playlists
Pastebin Ballot
Submission Link

The Weeknd - After Hours

Spotify | Apple Music | Other
Released at the cusp of everything shutting down in North America in March (remember when things actually shut down to prevent COVID from spreading...fun times), After Hours is the fourth studio album and seventh project released by Abel Tesfaye, also known by his stage name The Weeknd. After Hours is a synth pop, new wave and r&b inspired record featuring the Weeknd’s signature writing style of themes such as turbulent relationships, loneliness, indulgence and self loathing. It blends what OG Weeknd fans love about him; the moody, somewhat toxic and dark lyrics with songs and elements that brought him newer fans; grand pop music with catchy melodies and soaring vocals. After Hours, although it contains grand radio friendly singles such as the #1 smash hit “Blinding Lights”, “In Your Eyes” and ~~future number one hit~~ “Save Your Tears”, this album very much follows a narrative from beginning to end. The Weeknd grapples with a lost relationship and how he in fact was probably the reason why it didn’t work out, as painful as it is to come to terms with. He copes and tries to distract himself, and yet he still can’t let his love go and wishes it could still work out. But eventually comes to realize that she is gone for good and he is alone again.
After Hours received many positive reviews when it came out, with many critics praising how it was his most fully realized project and consistent project yet. It also was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with 444,000 units sold, 10 songs charting within the top 40 of billboard at it debut and being the 4th best selling album of 2020 in the USA. And yet the album, as well as Blinding Lights, were controversially snubbed from the Grammys awards in 2021, which led to a lot of outrage from the internet and as well as the music community. Nonetheless, the Weeknd continued to push forward and embraced the success of this era through his multiple psychedelic and classic movie inspired music videos and also booking the largest music gig of the year with the Super Bowl LV HalfTime Show. - u/ignitethephoenix

Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia

Spotify | Apple Music | Tidal
In 2019, Dua Lipa was a joke among pop music fans. Many liked a few of her songs, but because of her live performances and because of her perceived lack of a visual or sonic identity, she became a punching bag for stans of all kinds. She had immense pressure on her from fans and the music industry to overcome the sophomore slump, so she did the only thing she could do.
She did a full 180.
From the moment she dropped the first single, it became clear that this was not going to be another collection of disparate tracks like her debut: this was a true era. That only intensified as more singles were released and she began to perform them live. Even though the era had a bit of a damper on it towards the end due to the growing COVID-19 pandemic, ~~Dua’s maskless antics~~, and the album leaking, Future Nostalgia still became one of the most critically acclaimed, commercially successful, and intensely stanned pop albums of the year. The album was exactly as streamlined, cohesive, and full of bops as everything had indicated. It yielded great success for Lipa as well: it debuted in the top 5 in both the US and UK, eventually hitting #1 in England, and yielded multiple top 10 singles around the world. It also established Dua Lipa as an undeniable pop force to be reckoned with, even outside of Europe.

Lady Gaga - Chromatica

Spotify | Apple Music | Other
While Lady Gaga began her career with gay-approved electronic dancefloor bangers, she eventually decided to change it up and show off how versatile she really is. She teamed up with legend Tony Bennett for a jazz album in 2014, put on her pink cowboy hat in 2016, and delved into acting in 2018, but eventually she had no choice but to go back to her roots and return to the dancefloor after much begging and hoping from her fanbase. Enter the world of Chromatica, which was introduced with the leak release of Stupid Love, a triumphant electropop track produced by Bloodpop, who would go on to aid in the production of the entire album alongside acclaimed producers such as Madeon, Skrillex, Axwell, and Tchami, among others. As a whole, Chromatica dabbles into strong house influences, which compliment the lyrical theme of "dancing away the pain". Such theme is expressed clearly in the Ariana Grande collaboration Rain on Me, which earned Gaga yet another #1 hit - Ariana is joined by icon Elton John and trailblazing K-Pop group BLACKPINK in the album's vocal collaborations. Chromatica debuted on the Billboard 200 at #1, but unfortunately the album's promotional cycle was heavily impacted by world events and initially saw a delay in release date due to COVID-19. However, Gaga thankfully came through despite all that was against the album's success and Chromatica Oreos are now available at your local supermarket! - u/hikkaru

NOTE: We have decided to include Target Exclusive Deluxe track Love Me Right. This song is not on streaming services, but we have provided a link to it here.

Taylor Swift - folklore

Spotify | Apple Music | Other
Taylor Swift shocked the world when, with no lead up whatsoever, she announced that she would be releasing her eighth studio album in 16 hours, a mere eleven months after her album Lover had released. The only album in this rate written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, folklore marked the first time where Swift lyrically downplayed her personal life in favor of fictional stories and imagined scenarios (in addition to a few distinctly personal songs). Instead of worrying about the pop trends, she went for a drastically different, indie-folk inspired sound, collaborating primarily with Aaron Dessner of The National, in addition to Jack Antonoff, Bon Iver, and William Bowry (aka her boyfriend Joe Alwyn, in his debut as a songwriter). This album marked the first time that Swift completely bucked all expectations, and as a result, it was heralded as her best album yet, one of the best albums of the year by many publications, and an album that was genuinely reflective of the time period it was made. The album and its lead single, “Cardigan”, peaked at #1 on their respective Billboard charts, and folklore eventually became one of the best selling albums of the year.

Bonus rate

All of these artists are extraordinarily prolific, and as a result, we’ve created an optional bonus rate to highlight a few loose songs from each of them. Ranging from loose singles, remixes, collaborations, certain “sellout tracks” that were actually bops, and whatever the fuck Macavity is, each of these songs provides more of a look into these artist’s recent output.
In Your Eyes (with Doja Cat) - Remix (Animated Video)
Blinding Lights (with Rosalía) - Remix
Hawai (with Maluma) - Remix (Music Video)
Over Now (with Calvin Harris) (Music Video)
cardigan (cabin in candlelight version)
betty (Live from the 2020 Academy of Country Music Awards)
Macavity (scene from the film because lol)
Love Story (Disco Line Remix)
The Cure
Heal Me
Why Did You Do That?
Hair Body Face
Levitating (feat. DaBaby) (Music Video)
Un Dia (with J Balvin, Tainy, & Bad Bunny) (Music Video)
Levitating (feat. Madonna and Missy Elliott) [The Blessed Madonna Remix] (Music Video)
Love is Religion (The Blessed Madonna Remix)
Reminders and Notes: You do not have to do this rate!!! This is completely optional, but it is way more fun if you do participate. But since this is not part of the main rate, you cannot give your 11 or your 0 to any of these songs. Save those for the main rate. Your favorite artist is going to need that extra point. Additionally, we have decided to include the Love Story Disco Line Remix, aka “that tiktok version of Love Story”. This remix is not on streaming services, but we have provided a YouTube link to the song.

Rules

Many people are already familiar with these rules, but since there may be some brand new raters, people who haven’t done rates in a while, and/or people who need a refresher, here they are, lightly plagiarized for your enjoyment:

You have to listen to and rate every song. We will not accept any ballots with missing scores
You have to give each song a score between 1 and 10. You are allowed to give up to one decimal place for each song (for example: a 7.5 will be accepted, as will a 5.7, but not a 6.67 or 3.1415926535897932384). If you use decimals, please use a period/dot ( . ) and not a comma ( , ).
You may give one song in the rate an 11, and one song a 0. This should be reserved for your favorite and least favorite in the rate, to give it an extra boost in scoring. You do not have to, but again, it makes things more fun. NOTE: You only get one 11 and one 0 in the entire rate, NOT one 11 and one 0 per album. You cannot give any other scores above a 10 or below a 0.
Your scores should not be considered confidential. We will share them with your username attached to them, and if your score sucks, we very well might publicly shame you for it (all in good fun). This is just to say: keeping your scores secret will not save you from my wrath.
Use the prepared link/ballot HERE to send in your scores. If that link fails you for any reason, feel free to just privately message me (aka u/akanewasright) using the ballot format in THIS pastebin link
If you want to change your scores for nearly any reason whatsoever, feel free to privately message me (once again, my username is u/akanewasright) and I will do so.
If you want to spice things up, you can add a comment next to your score. If you wish to do so, please use the following format:

Scared To Live: 10 I personally hate being alive, so I can relate

Anything variation from that format will not be accepted. Here are a few examples of what not to do:

Pretty Please: 0: Pretty please turn this song off
betty: OMG my lesbian queen deserves an 11
Replay: (4) Iyaz outsold

Comments are not required at all, but they are highly encouraged and will make the eventual reveal much more fun.
If you want to give an overall comment to the album, you can, using this format:

Album: Chromatica: Why yes, I am a home of sexual, why do you ask?

Do not attempt to sabotage the rate scores. The hosts WILL NOT accept your scores if we have any suspicion that you are trying to mess with an artist’s or song’s scores. What we will do is privately make fun of you for trying to pull that shit. So please don't.

(The bolded words are reflective of common mistakes among first time raters. I'm not trying to be passive aggressive. That'll come after I get your scores)
Thank you so much for reading (for those of you who read any of that shit, I mean), and happy rating!

Once again, here's the link to send in scores

Emergency Pastebin ballot

Spotify & Apple Music playlist

32 [M4F] Attention bored women in the Los Angeles area! Something crazy is about to go down on Valentine’s Day and you could be a part of it!

Official r/NFL Week 15 Power Rankings

Welcome to the week 15 Official NFL Power Rankings! A circle of parity has finally been created in the unlikeliest of fashions, with late season pushes bringing some teams closer together than ever. Will any more bottom feeders continue to prove themselves with two weeks left? Can losing teams shake their bad juju to finish the season strong? Discuss! 29/32 Reporting

#	Team	Δ	Record	Comment
1.	Chiefs	--	13-1	The Chiefs offensive line was going to be a weak spot in this game, and the Saints defensive line took advantage. An already so-so group had to deal with injuries and despite being pressured on over 40% of drop backs, Mahomes still made magic. The Chiefs were definitely given all they could handle though, as they didn't score on 7 possessions and credit is due to the Saints for a good game on defense. An off night from Brees and a solid performance from the Chiefs defense gave the Chiefs offense enough opportunities so they could pull ahead just enough for a win. Will the Chiefs style of letting the offense be the closer at the end of the game continue to succeed? It's hard to say. However, with the 1 seed basically locked up and Mahomes at QB, it's hard not to be optimistic about the Chiefs' chances to get back to the Super Bowl.
2.	Bills	+1	11-3	The Buffalo Football Bills have secured the AFC East title for the first time in 25 years. Not only that, but a Pittsburgh loss has thrust the Bills into the second seed. Josh Allen might have the hottest hand in football right now, coming out in a nationally televised game and lighting a defense up for the third consecutive week. With John Brown due back, this Bills offense is fully primed and ready to make a playoff push. Now, it’s off to New England, where Buffalo opened as six point favorites. Shortsman good, hoodie man bad. No matter how far the Patriots have fallen this year, a big win in Gillette would still feel great.
3.	Packers	-1	11-3	After the start to that game, it was almost disappointing that the Packers didn't score more than 24 points, but the defense stepped up and got the win. Saints and Rams both lost, so now the Pack can clinch the 1 seed if things go their way next week. Next week is the Titans, so a win certainly isn't guaranteed. Not looking forward to Derrick Henry stiff-arming are godawful run D but hey at least the Packer have Trubisky in the back pocket for Week 17.
4.	Saints	--	10-4	A loss to this Chiefs team isn't unexpected; but the Saints will need to return to form to avoid a Steelers-esque collapse. If Anzalone recovers that fumble, who knows what the final result would have been.. The defensive unit got the Saints in a hole early but deserves praise for adjusting and holding Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce to their lowest yardage numbers since October, while also keeping Tyreek Hill contained as well.
5.	Colts	+2	10-4	Powerranking convention stipulates we keep our blurbs short and don't write in 1st person. Screw it. After a decade of doing this I have three left before I retire so I'm going to trade in my editorial chips for this one. This Colts team is one of my favorites ever. They're inspiring. I'm going to pull up this highlight as indicative of everything I'm talking about. The AFC is really good this year; the Colts needed this W against the Texans. Houston, driving, final seconds, 4th & 5 from about the 15. Does the pursuit slack when Coutee finds a hole, or even more when he makes a man miss at the 5? Hell no! Not only did Leonard recover perfectly to punch the ball out, I was all about Kenny Moore on this play. Falling on a fumble in the endzone is never as easy as it appears (see Saints ' attempt near the half of the Chiefs game). Moore, in an instant, dives over the ball to block Jordan Aikens from recovering. By doing so, he ensures blue jerseys are at the bottom of the pile and the Colts get out of there with a victory. What heart. What a team. I know it sounds trite but the journey has been worth it, even if the Colts don't win it all this year. Watching veterans like Papa Rios, Xavier Rhodes, and Justin Houston serve as auxiliary coaches to this young Colts team warms the soul. I can't say enough good things about this team. Merry Christmas to all.
6.	Titans	+2	10-4	The Titans were able to get to 10 wins for the first time since 2008 on the back of Ryan Tannehill's 5 TDs against the Lions on Sunday.
7.	Browns	+4	10-4	The door to the playoffs is no longer closed. With two games to go the Browns could very well win the division. The Browns will face the struggling Jets and then a final game against Pittsburgh. Will it all come down to week 17? The history of fans being a stressed out mess says yes.
8.	Seahawks	+1	10-4	The Seahawks scraped by with a win against the Football Team week 15, but oh lordy was it ugly. The decline in the offense continues in even more apparent fashion this week, as someone who simply cannot be the same MVP frontrunner from the beginning of the season completed 18 passes for 121 yards through the entire game. The offensive line, however, did not give up a single sack to the WFT D-Line, which is kinda cool. The defense has absolutely taken a major step forward as of late. DJ Reed played lights out on Sunday, nabbing 1 of 2 Haskins interceptions. He has certainly earned himself a role on this defense even once (if?) Quinton Dunbar returns from injury. Rookie Alton Robinson had a great game as well, getting to Haskins for a strip sack and making his presence felt throughout the game. The Seahawks offense will need to wake up this week as the Rams come to Seattle fresh off a shocking loss to the Jets. Aaron Donald is going to be hungry. ^Please ^I ^miss ^the ^DK ^bombs.
9.	Ravens	+1	9-5	Two straight games with 40+ points is looking great on this final playoff push, even if it's against awful defenses. The defense still needs to do more work, though. Congratulations to Matthew Judon for the Pro Bowl invite! Ringo Starr is smiling somewhere. It's also nice to know that Huntley's got wheels, cuz bruhhh.
10.	Steelers	-5	11-3	Hubris. Injuries. Predictable playcalling on offense. Bad throws, guys not catching the ball on the occasions they are on-target. The Bengals played well. The Steelers did not. This wasn't the Steelers playing down to their opponent. This is them simply playing down while the Bengals played with inspiration. It's especially embarrassing to lose after JuJu does a TikTok video on the Bengals logo, fumbles there, and Kevin Greene passes away. Such a bad look. It's time to get serious and RIP to Greene. Arrogance needs to give way to humility and hunger.
11.	Buccaneers	+1	9-5	After starting the game down 24-7, Tom Brady once again did his best William Tecumseh Sherman impersonation and destroyed Atlanta again. Devin White decided to play a (rare) good game, sacking Matt Ryan three times, while Mike Evans had another centennial game. For the first time in 13 years, playoffs appear close to certain for the Bucs. Perhaps, they'll find more success there than they did the Pro Bowl, where only one player from the Bucs was named (Jason Pierre-Paul).
12.	Rams	-6	9-5	There really wasn’t anything that went right for either team this game. For the Rams, a new low was reached in the Sean McVay era as they got outplayed and outcoached in all phases: the inconsistent offense again started too slow, the defense failed to make stops or create any sparks, and McVay made some questionable decisions down the stretch. All this cements the Rams as the most inconsistent team in the NFL, capable of making a Super Bowl run, or losing to an 0-13 team. For the Jets, well, you know.
13.	Dolphins	--	9-5	What a week for the Dolphins! They run the Pats right out of the playoffs and the Jets drop from the top pick in the draft, while the Dolphins top draft pick moved up a bit. That said, while the offense performed very well in the 2nd half, running the ball in a way that the team hasn't in years, they need to figure out how to play an entire game again, because they're in playoff situation football from here on out, and the competition will get better every week.
14.	Cardinals	--	8-6	Hurts and Murray both played well in an exciting game where the Cardinals came out on top to hold onto the final playoff spot, for now. However, the game wasn't without issues. The offense had two redzone turnovers and aside from getting an early safety the defense making Hurts looks like a superstar (which he could very well be) made the game a lot harder than it should have been. Another must win will be a Saturday matinee against the 49ers.
15.	Bears	+3	7-7	The Bears are coming back stronger than a 90s trend and have played themselves into a position to make the playoffs if they get a little help. Driving this resurgence is an offense that has scored at least 30 points in 3 straight games for the first time since 2013. The Bears recent W-L record hides a concerning trend by the defense, which has surrendered 27+ points in 3 of the last 4 games.
16.	Washington FT	--	6-8	Washington's 4 game winning streak comes to an end but once again they find a way to stay in the game and have a chance to win in late. This team is proving they aren't an easy out for anyone. This loss ultimately doesn't change their situation much thanks to week 15 results in the division. Their best case scenario at the moment, beat Carolina next week and hope NY falls to Baltimore and they're in.
17.	Raiders	-2	7-7	The season is basically over for the Raiders now. The only good thing to have come from their loss against the Chargers is knowing that the best backup QB in the league is on the Raiders. On to the next game, and thankfully, soon enough, the next season.
18.	Vikings	-1	6-8	The Vikings were effectively knocked out of playoff contention after their injury-riddled defense comprised almost entirely of backups only forced one punt from the Mitch-Trubisky led offense. The silver lining for this Vikings' squad is how good their rookie class looks: Justin Jefferson made the pro bowl after breaking Randy Moss' record for most catches by a Vikings' rookie receiver and is currently second only to Davante Adams in WR grade, Cameron Dantlzer is PFF's highest-graded cornerback over the nine weeks since the Vikings' bye week, Jeff Gladney and Ezra Cleveland are two of the higher-rated rookies at their respective positions, and DJ Wonnum is third among rookie DEs in pressures.
19.	Patriots	--	6-8	Well this is how it happens, worst record since drafting Brady - missing the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. Can't overstate how the shit Miami running game steamed us, while we failed to steam them at all! Congrats to punter Jake Bailey on being selected to the pro bowl. for sound analysis check here
20.	49ers	--	5-9	Once again, turnovers doomed the 49ers. Two fumbles in the first 6 minutes of the game put them down 14-0. Then after clawing themselves back into the game, turnovers doomed them down the stretch, with Mullens throwing a pair of interceptions to go along with his first half fumble. The Niners are out of the playoff hunt, but expect Kittle and possibly Jimmy G to make their returns before the end of the regular season.
21.	Chargers	+6	5-9	This was more interesting than it should have been. Herbert and Mariota turned this game into the Eugene Air Show, with both QBs trading scoring drives routinely throughout the game. Chargers special teams continued to struggle with two 4th quarter FGs missed, but the Chargers got it done in overtime. Justin Herbert now has the most 300+ passing games by a rookie in league history (7) and ties Baker Mayfield's rookie passing TD mark (27) with two games to go, the first of which will be the final home game this season against Denver.
22.	Falcons	+1	4-10	Some will claim a curse as the only answer as to why a three score lead in the second half means nothing anymore, but they might be underestimating coaching ineptitude. At least they gained as much ground in the draft as Fournette did on this first down. Remaining games in Arrowhead and Raymond James aren't instilling confidence anytime soon, not when a pandemic can't even protect Atlanta from bad man Brady.
23.	Eagles	+2	4-9-1	Even in a loss the jump from Carson to Hurts is looking more solid by the week. Hurts was 24-44 for 338 yards, 3 TD/ 0 INT, you'd have to go back to last year to find a game where Wentz had a better passer rating than Hurts on Sunday. Unfortunately with three of four secondary starters out, Murray had one of his most efficient games to date.
24.	Giants	-2	5-9	The Giants’ offense has reached levels of ineptitude that the defense cannot come close to overcoming. A hobbled DJ nor a healthy Colt are going to be enough to keep Big Blue competitive against Baltimore. Jason Garrett has been as advertised by Cowboys fans, and we’re paying the price for it.
25.	Broncos	-4	5-9	Losing a blowout on a Saturday in the middle of a day in front of an empty stadium during a pandemic in a game broadcast on NFL Network has to be to the most pathetic thing an NFL team can do, no?
26.	Panthers	-2	4-10	Another game, another chance to win or tie on a final drive, and another failure by Teddy Bridgewater. This season has started to become something like Groundhog Day, and it’s not getting better. Yesterday, our GM Marty Hurney was fired over “philosophical differences” on how to build a team. The next GM is most likely going to be in-house, either Pat Stewart (currently Director of Player Personnel) or Samir Suleiman (currently Director of Player Negotiations), and will have a huge decision to make regarding who to take with our first pick and what to make of Teddy “Deja Vu” Bridgewater.
27.	Cowboys	+2	5-9	Thirty points for the second week in a row, and a second win to go along with it. 24 points off of turnovers paint a more complete picture, as this team produced 150 fewer yards of offense than the 49ers, losing the TOP battle by ten minutes as well. Still, improvement exists, and somehow playoffs are not yet off the table.
28.	Lions	-2	5-9	Welp, The Detroit Lions have been eliminated after their loss to the Tennessee Titans Sunday. After two very competitive showings against the Bears and Packers, this week was lopsided. Matthew Stafford decided to play through his injury and played well. Unfortunately, his injury was the least of their problems. Defensively; missing many starters, Detroit was dominated everywhere giving up 46 points. The Lions offense did move the ball consistently, but they were unable to keep pace. A costly fumble by TJ Hockenson on a drive destined to cut the lead to 2 shifted the momentum big time. Detroit made some simple mistakes like missing extra points which didn't help either. Darrell Bevell has two opportunities left to continue to make a case for a job in Detroit or elsewhere. #Onepride (Credit DoseOfDion 2.0)
29.	Texans	-1	4-10	Losing on a red zone turnover to a division rival is bad enough. Doing it twice in three weeks to the same team doesn't numb the pain any further. Not with a blowout loss to the Bears sandwiched in between and the Dolphins reaping the reward of Houston's draft capital.
30.	Bengals	--	3-10-1	After Joe Burrow got hurt things did not go well for a while, and it was hard to see...It's just nice to win one.
31.	Jets	+1	1-13	Sunday's win over the Rams may go down as one of the worst losses in franchise history.
32.	Jaguars	-1	1-13	Finally, the Jaguars manage to slip into first... pick in the draft! There isn't much else to say. The Jaguars are the worst team in football. This trend will continue for the remainder of the season. If anything, fans have the post-season fireworks to look forward to.

IBIO set to breakout(First EpicDD) W/illustrations

$EGLX.to - Epic eSports stock about to uplist to the Nasdaq

TLDR; EGLX.to is the single best pure-eSports play in the world.

Look I have an incredible track record of getting lucky picking stocks in the new reddit dominated market (PLTR, U, AI, BB, etc) and I want to tell you all about my next big one: Enthusiast Gaming.
While our community has nearly quadrupled in size, I still believe EGLX is one of the most underappreciated plays out there.
Since writing my first DD on EGLX, a few things have transpired:

The stock has gone up like 80%.
EGLX signed a massive deal with Samsung and Samsung will be the official sponsor of their 7 eSports teams.
EGLX has strengthened their balance sheet by $50M, taking care of the cash risk I identified in the original DD.
The stock price has formed some significant resistance, and has a solid foundation above $6.
Call of Duty has had their best year in franchise history, and was crowned the best selling game of 2020 -> Great news for a company who owns 1 of 12 professional COD esports licenses.
One of EGLX's streamers, xQc, found his way to the top of WSB... indicating people on that forum follow EGLX, but they just don't know it yet.
Their recent bought deal is set to conclude this week, and I am hoping for big news on their Nasdaq application to follow shortly thereafter.
Last and probably least, I was personally right again and won big again, in both BB and GME. And yes I realized my gains in both. So for whatever it's worth, I have proven my track record again.

Get in before the Nasdaq listing if you like money.
Positions: I currently have 40% of my portfolio in Enthusiast Gaming.
I hope the mods don't mind, but I wanted to repost this DD I wrote about a month ago, because it seems like none of the noobs know about the Enthusiast Gaming eSports revolution. So here it is below:
---------------------------------------------------------
LINK to original post - POSTED JAN 6TH 2020:
Greetings friendos.
It's 12:20 AM where I live and since I can't sleep, I have decided to finally write a DD on Enthusiast Gaming that I have been thinking about for some time... EGLX is a stock that I believe can make you 5-20x gains in the next year. I have been watching this stock since like $1.50 during the darkest days of COVID, and I am kicking myself for not getting in until $4 just before Christmas. But I am now a proud shareholder preaching the gospel.
What the eff do I know?
For some background information on my own stock picking prowess and why my ideas might be worth considering, I previously wrote super early DD's on Palantir, Telos and C3ai before making money in all 3 of them. I have a large number of people who have sent me thank you messages on reddit for my DD's on those companies.

PLTR - I was in at 10.50 Telos - I was in at 20 C3ai - I was in at 95

As a final qualifying note, in addition to getting incredibly lucky at picking random stocks, I also work in the gaming and digital marketing spaces, and I believe that I am somewhat qualified to comment on the merits of an esports and influencer company such as EGLX.

Who the heck is Enthusiast Gaming?

Enthusiast Gaming is a giant network of websites, esports teams and streaming influencers in the gaming space. Actually, they proclaim to be the single largest esports platform in North America. As of yesterday, they have officially announced that all of their collective followings put them in the top 100 web companies operating in America. Note, the only downside here is that they are getting that number from a huge number of mid sized platforms, not one single super popular site like twitch or youtube.
>Source: https://www.enthusiastgaming.com/news/

Does anyone even watch video games?

Yes. They do and will continue to. Actually us North Americans are very late to the party. The League of Legends world championship is already as popular as the super bowl. These viewers are coming primarily from Asia.
>Facts: https://dotesports.com/league-of-legends/news/league-of-legends-vs-superbowl-viewer-numbers
Furthermore, the hyper focus on gaming as a cultural cornerstone is in fact coming to North America. I hope you don't actually need convincing on this point, but here is a fact for you:
Prior to COVID, studies were already showed that over 90% of all children in America were gaming in some capacity.
>Source: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/video-games-saints-or-psychopaths-082814#:~:text=More%20than%2090%20percent%20of%20American%20kids%20play%20video%20games,of%20Americans%20over%2050%20play.
Now for comparison, most of us now adults grew up while gaming became a thing. If you are a similar age to me, you know when we were growing up, it was like 20-40% of boys gamed, and maybe 1-5% of girls gamed. This dramatic cultural shift is staggering. Obviously, this trend has been solidified this year with COVID. These gamers will and are translating to not only playing, but also watching games. That's Amazon's Twitch platform is growing fast AF. Watching video games is big big big money.
>Twitch facts: https://www.businessinsider.com/twitch-viewership-grows-faster-than-previously-forecast-2020-9#:~:text=That's%20a%2026.2%25%20increase%20from,gaming%20streams%20are%20gaining%20popularity.&text=We%20forecast%20that%20the%20number,next%20year%2C%20to%2044.0%20million.

Who are their competitors?

Actually this is where I think it gets particularly interesting. As a huge gamer and esports believer, I have been looking to find esports investments, but having a real hard time finding pure esports plays. There aren't many companies out there to invest in that are strictly set to capitalize on esports. Frankly, most of the stocks I have found are seemingly doing dick all. I would encourage you to google esports companies. You will mostly find a bunch of garbo sounding companies that are somehow valued at $25m-$50m market cap, but their websites are broken and aren't even up-to-date. Really the only "esports" companies to invest in are the tech majors like Microsoft, Amazon, or Facebook, and the video game companies like Sony, Nintendo, ATVI, EA etc. Sure these are all great companies, but none of them are strictly focused on esports and none of them are new or cheap enough to turn into a ten bagger.
*** IF YOU ARE SKIMMING, THIS NEXT ARTICLE IS IMPORTANT**\*
Forbes recently released a report on the top 10 most valuable esports companies. Obviously, EGLX is on the list, or I wouldn't be mentioning it. But get this, EGLX is not only the ONLY publicly listed company that forbes identified, but they also have the highest revenue by a long shot.
>SORCERY: https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinasettimi/2020/12/05/the-most-valuable-esports-companies-2020/?sh=2e4769ae73d0
EGLX is honestly positioned as the supreme pure esports play in the world right now.

Who the hell is leading this little company?

Well my number one most important metric when assessing a little random undiscovered company is who is captaining the ship? The best way to tell if a small cap stock is a scam or the real deal is to see who is involved. In fact, the biggest reason I chose to invest in the above mentioned companies was because of who was leading them (PLTR = Theil, C3.ai = microsoft ties and the dude from oracle, Telos = a former US general)
Good news of course, EGLX has an A+ grade with leadership legitimacy.
Adrian Montgomery, the former CEO of the Aquilini Sports and Entertainment (AKA THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS) is running EGLX. These guys are the real deal and they aren't fuckin about in some scam company. If they can run the Canucks, they can run an esports team.

But how do they profit?

EGLX does not own games or huge streaming platforms like twitch. So you may be wondering how they actually make money? INFLUENCER MARKETING. That's how. They are generating money through ad placements and influencer marketing on their huge platform. (And remember, they are in the top 100 US online companies in terms of reach.)
Facebook and Google are already soaking up ungodly amounts of money through online advertising and taking over the world. But paid ad placements only go so far. I don't know of a good source off hand, but I am telling you subjectively that influencer marketing is one of the "next big things". Companies are paying people with major social followings to review and talk about their shit. This is a very very big industry. I truly believe influencers are going to overtake hollywood and MSM. You shall see... No sources here. Pure opinion.

Is it actually making money?

Shit loads actually. This year EGLX is talking about increasing their total revenue from $9m last year to $120m this year for like a 1100% annual revenue increase. Obviously, if their proforma numbers turn out to be bogus the stock will collapse. But, referring to the fact that the owners of the Canucks are running this company, I am hoping we are not all being lied to and frauded out of our money.
https://www.enthusiastgaming.com/financial-statements/

How do you know I will make the tendies though?

***IF YOU ARE SKIMMING, ALSO READ THIS PART**\*
EGLX is currently trading at a $450m CAD or about $300M USD market cap. That is absolute peanuts compared to any other hype stock in the memesphere. With $120m annual revenue, that puts them at about a 3x price to sales ratio, which really isn't that bad at all for even a boring a blue chip. For a growth stock, it is extremely low.
But if you dig into their investor presentation, they are actually claiming they will raise their Revenue Per User from $0.40 to $3 in the next 2 years, or a nearly 750% revenue increase, not accounting for growth in the size of their social reach. If you include reach growth, it could be nearly 10 times revenue growth. By that point, the current market cap would be a fraction of their annual sales.
This stock is absurdly undervalued if the promises being made by the leadership come true.
>Go look: https://www.enthusiastgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/EG-Presentation-November-2020-Nov-27.pdf

Final Fun facts:

- They own the best Overwatch team.
- They own the Seattle Call of Duty team, which happens to be among the nerdiest cities in America.
- They claim to have the best Fortnite players, but idk that game is trash so I couldn't really say if it's true or not.
But wait there's more!
Saved the best info for last.
The stock tripled in the past month. Why?
Because EGLX is still only trading on the TSX and they have applied to list on the US stock exchange.
They have appointed KPMG as the auditor for the application, and having nice big reputable firm involved certainly increases the odds it will get approved. Furthermore, I actually emailed their investor relations folks and asked when they expect to hit the US markets. Surprisingly, they responded and told me they expect their application to be approved Q1 2021.
Once this puppy hits wallstreet, I see it breaking $1B USD in no time, which would be a 3x return. $3B-$5B doesn't seem unreasonable if the current market insanity persists through 2021.
We have the opportunity to get in on this company before those darned Americans pump it to the moon.
CANADIANS HAVE THE UPPER HAND IN THE STONK MARKET FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OUR DAMN LIVES. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT.
--
PS: Risks. Risks. I think it's almost certain that these guys will issue more shares to raise some capital. They are kinda acting like the want to pump their own stock with unnecessary positive announcements, and honestly, they are pretty low on cash. Think they only have $9m on hand or something small like that. Too lazy to look it up again. Just watch out for dilution. My bet is that they will do it after listing on the US exchanges and mooning. But honestly I am not too worried in the long run because they need the cash to compete in this space.
PSS: More risks. If the us exchange application gets denied it will be bad bad news for my TFSA.

Wall Street look ahead for the trading week beginning February 8th, 2021

Good Saturday afternoon to all of you here at smallstreetbets. I hope everyone on this sub made out pretty nicely in the market this past week, and is ready for the new trading week ahead.
Here is everything you need to know to get you ready for the trading week beginning February 8th, 2021.

Fiscal stimulus prospects and strong earnings tailwind may propel stocks in the week ahead - (Source)

Stocks head into the week ahead with a tailwind, as investors focus on a hefty fiscal stimulus package and the solid earnings season against a backdrop of rising interest rates.
There are several dozen S&P 500 companies reporting earnings, including Coca-Cola, Pepsico, Cisco and The Walt Disney Co. On the data front, there are just a few reports in the coming week, but the consumer price index inflation report is the important one to watch when it is released Wednesday.
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell speaks mid-week at a webinar hosted by the Economics Club of New York.
Stocks surged in the past week, with the S&P 500 jumping 4.65% to a new record high, in its best week since November. The S&P 500 closed Friday at 3,886.
The hyper-activity around short-squeeze names, like GameStop, receded in the past week. Market chatter turned to rising interest rates, the steepening yield curve and market expectations for inflation.
“Rates are actually going up as really an expression of the potential that economic activity is likely to start accelerating, and we’ll likely see some inflation,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities.
Hogan said investors will stay most focused on the $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which Democrats are pushing forward. If it is signed into law at its current size, the total federal spending due to the pandemic would be $5.3 trillion, according to Cowen, an investment bank.
“I think the path of least resistance has resumed to a higher level. I think we had a mini correction a week ago and I think it happened pretty quickly,” said Hogan of National Securities.
“I think we continue to grind higher and the only bumps in the road that I can see are a delay in fiscal stimulus or some exogenous factor come in and changes the dynamics,” he added.
The market is also depending on continued improvement in new virus cases, said Hogan.

Higher interest rates
The prospect of more spending and an improving economy drove Treasury yields higher in the past week.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.16% late Friday, after edging to 1.18% earlier in the day, near its recent high of 1.19%.
The 10-year is the most closely watched, as it influences the rates on mortgages and other consumer and business loans. Yields rise as the price of bonds decline.
Market pros have also been watching another bond market metric: the yield curve.
It is the spread between the yield on a short-term Treasury, like the 2-year note, and a longer duration Treasury, like the 10-year. In that case, the spread widened to reach 1.06% over the course of the week.
That is the highest level since the second quarter of 2017. A steeper curve — which is what we’re seeing today — is viewed as a sign of an improving economy.
Strategists say the move higher in Treasury yields so far is not detrimental to stocks, but instead is a reflection of the economic bounce that could come from the stimulus package.
Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, said the steepening curve is good for the stock market, creating a tailwind for his “epicenter” trade in stocks that will benefit from an improving post-Covid economy.
His preferred sectors are the cyclicals — including industrials, consumer discretionary, materials, energy and financials.
Lee said the selling by hedge funds after short squeezes in a number of stocks and the record decline in the VIX, the volatility index, has led him to change his view on the stock market. He previously expected a sell-off in the first half of the year.
Now, Lee sees a “high probability that the first half 2021 correction is over.” The VIX, which is based on puts and calls in the S&P 500, started the week over 33 and fell to 20.87 when the market closed on Friday. A low VIX signals lowered expectations for market volatility.
The sectors that did well in the past week were mostly the ones that will do better in a financial rebound, or in a higher rate environment. Financials were 6.6% higher in the past week as big banks rose along with the yield curve. Higher long-term interest rates are a positive for bank profits.
The industrial group rose 4.9%, and materials were up 3.9%. Energy, lifted by a jump in oil prices, gained 8.3%. Tech recovered some ground, gaining 4.9%.
Sectors that do not do particularly well with rising rates, were up less, including utilities, up 2.3%, and real estate investment trusts, up 3%.
“It’s really about having an economic boom, allowing policy to support that boom,” said Jim Caron, head of global macro strategies on the global fixed income team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. “That’s the key driver of why the curve is steepening.”
Some strategists say the curve is also steepening because of the U.S. will be issuing a lot of debt to pay for the trillions in fiscal stimulus, and that would cause interest rates to rise.
That has also triggered concerns about increasing inflation. While economists do not expect inflation to spike, they do see the potential, for the first time in years, for inflation to move meaningfully above 2%.
Markets will also be monitoring the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, which begins Feb. 9.
“It will get a lot of attention. Do the markets care? Maybe not, but everyone will be paying attention,” said Michael Schumacher, head of rate strategy at Wells Fargo Securities.

This past week saw the following moves in the S&P:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL S&P TREE MAP FOR THE PAST WEEK!)

Major Indices for this past week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE MAJOR INDICES FOR THE PAST WEEK!)

Major Futures Markets as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE MAJOR FUTURES INDICES AS OF FRIDAY!)

Economic Calendar for the Week Ahead:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ECONOMIC CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK AHEAD!)

Percentage Changes for the Major Indices, WTD, MTD, QTD, YTD as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

S&P Sectors for the Past Week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Major Indices Pullback/Correction Levels as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!

Major Indices Rally Levels as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Most Anticipated Earnings Releases for this week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Here are the upcoming IPO's for this week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Friday's Stock Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART LINK #1!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART LINK #2!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART LINK #3!)

Super Bowl LV: Time to Break the Tie - Go Bucs!
This year's Super Bowl will be a first for many different reasons. It will be the first-ever game played in the home stadium of one of the teams playing. It will be the first-ever game with a 43 year old starting QB. The age difference between the starting QBs will be the widest ever (18+ years). The game will not be played to a full stadium (atendance capped at 25K). We could go on. Another interesting aspect of this year's game is that it will break the tie between the AFC and NFC for number of championships won (27). The last time the two conferences had an equal number of Super Bowl titles was back in 1990 after Super Bowl XXIV when each conference had 12. The New York Giants broke that tie in 1991 when Scott Norwood went 'wide ride' to give the NFC its 7th straight and 13th total Super Bowl victory. From there, the NFC continued its domination of the AFC (and the Bills) winning the next six championship games, including three against the Bills.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
We've all heard of the Super Bowl market indicator which says that a win for the NFC bodes well for the equity market while an AFC victory is a bearish signal. For years, there actually was a wide gap in performance for the market following wins by either conference in the past, but in recent years the disparity has narrowed. In the 27 years where the AFC has won the Super Bowl, the S&P 500 averaged a rest of year gain of 6.9% with positive returns 70% of the time. When the NFC wins, though, the S&P 500's average rest of year performance has been a gain of 10.5% with positive returns more than 77% of the time.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
When it comes to individual teams, 13 have won the Super Bowl more than once. The two teams with the most victories are the Steelers and Patriots each of which has won the game six times. The Dallas Cowboys otfen refer to themselves as 'America's Team' but Pittsburgh is the "Stock Market's Team". In the six years where the Steelers won the Super Bowl, the S&P 500 experienced positive returns for the remainder of the year every time for an average gain of 18.8%! Market returns for the Patriots following their six victories has been a much more muted 4.6%, including a decline more than 21% from the end of the team's first victory in 2002. The 49ers and the Broncos have 'only' won five and three Super Bowls, respectively, but following their victories, the S&P 500 has been up for the remainder of the year every time for an average gain of more then 20%!
So, what about this year's teams? The Chiefs have won the Super Bowl twice in their history, and the S&P 500 has averaged a rest of year gain of 8.1% following their victories. While the S&P 500 was down for the remainder of the year after they won in 1970, the decline was less than 1%. The one year the Chiefs made it to the championship but lost, the S&P 500 was up over 14% for the remainder of the year.
For the NFC, Tampa Bay's one and only appearance in the Super Bowl was in 2003 (XXXVII). They won that game, and the S&P 500's rest of year gain was over 29%. Additionally, while they're on a new team now, in the three Patriots vicotries where Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski were both on the team, the S&P 500 was higher for the remainder of the year all three times for an average gain of 12.7%. Go Bucs!

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Should Investors Root For Tom Brady Or Patrick Mahomes?
The Super Bowl Indicator suggests stocks rise for the full year when the Super Bowl winner has come from the original National Football League (now the NFC), but when an original American Football League (now the AFC) team has won, stocks fall. We would be the first to admit that this indicator has no connection to the stock market, but “data don’t lie”: The S&P 500 Index has performed better, and posted positive gains with greater frequency, over the past 54 Super Bowl games when NFC teams have won. Of course, it doesn’t always work, as stocks did quite well the past two years even though AFC teams won.
It was originally discovered in 1978 by Leonard Kopett, a sportswriter for the New York Times. Up until that point, the indicator had never been wrong.
A simpler way to look at the Super Bowl Indicator is to look at the average gain for the S&P 500 when the NFC has won versus the AFC—and ignore the history of the franchises. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, this similar set of criteria has produced an average price return of 10.2% when an NFC team has won, compared with a return of 7.1% with an AFC winner. An NFC winner has produced a positive year 79% of the time, while the S&P 500 has been up only 65% of the time when the winner came from the AFC.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
Here’s the catch. Stocks have actually done just fine lately when the AFC has won. In fact, the S&P 500 Index gained 10 of the past 11 years after an AFC Super Bowl champ.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
“There have been 54 Super Bowl winners, yet only 20 teams account for those wins,” said LPL Financial Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick. “And wouldn’t you know it, the best stock market performance happens after the Bucs win the big game? But I don’t care, I’m still not rooting for Tom Brady.”
Here’s a breakdown of the 20 Super Bowl winners and how the S&P 500 has done following their victories. For some reason, the author’s favorite team, The Cincinnati Bengals, isn’t on this list. We double checked the data, but they still aren’t on there.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
Lastly, this is Tom Brady’s record 10th Super Bowl. It turns out; stocks don’t do well when he is in the game, up only 0.5% for the year. Meanwhile, should he lose (again, what the author is hoping for here), stocks actually do quite poorly, down 10.4% on average.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Post-Election Februarys Have Been Even More Troublesome

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
From yesterday’s post, we knew February has a tepid recent record. In post-election years, February’s historically record has been even worse as historical average losses swell. In order to include as much data as we have available, we are using DJIA data since 1901, S&P 500 since 1930, NASDAQ from 1971 and Russell 1000& 2000 data beginning in 1979. When comparing post-election year February to the recent 21-year February seasonal pattern, the overall shape and trend does not change greatly however, weakness becomes more prevalent as the mid-month surge is less pronounced and second half declines expand.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
Breaking down historical performance by year confirms frequent post-election-year February losses, most notably by NASDAQ and DJIA. Generally speaking, when February is positive it is an “ok” month, but when the month has been down, it has frequently been down by sizable amounts. There are seven double-digit losses in the table and not a single double-digit gain.

Typical February Trading: Lackluster Over Last 21 Years
February has historically been a rather bland month. Since 1950, S&P 500 has averaged a measly –0.04%. Over the last 21-year period S&P 500 average performance has declined to a loss of 0.6% in February. February’s first trading day has historically been good, like yesterday, and trading days eight, nine, ten and eleven have offered repeatable long opportunities over the last 21 years. Outside of these five days, the balance of February has been somewhat disappointing for bulls.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

As Goes January, So Goes The Year
Stocks got off to a nice start in 2021, until the late January selloff, as everyone got GameStop fever. Should bulls worry about what a down January might mean for the rest of 2021?
There’s an old adage on Wall Street that suggests, “As goes January, so goes the year.” This was first discussed in 1972 by Yale Hirsh of the Stock Trader’s Almanac, and it has an impressive track record. Simply put, when the first month of the year was green, it bodes well for the rest of the year (and vice versa). Given stocks closed red in January, how worried should investors be?
As shown below in the LPL Chart of the Day, the numbers confirm that when the S&P 500 has been green in January, the index has been up 11.9% on average over the rest of the year (final 11 months) and higher 86% of the time. However, when that first month was red, stocks rose only 1.7% on average over the final 11 months and were higher barely 60% of the time.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)
“A weak January could foretell of rough times ahead in 2021,” explained LPL Financial Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick. “The good news is lately the trend has been broken, as stocks have done quite well after a weak January.” In fact, 8 of the past 9 times January saw stocks lower the final 11 months finished higher.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Have We Seen the Top in Negative Yielding Debt?
Negative yielding debt has been one of the most extraordinary and peculiar consequences of global monetary policy initiatives, turning the basic premise of fixed income investing upside down. Instead of one party lending another party money, and the lender receiving interest in return for the risk incurred, since 2018 the levels of outstanding debt in which the lender pays the borrower for the privilege of loaning the borrower money has skyrocketed. This has left both lenders and fixed income investors in the unfortunate situation of attempting to “lose less” rather than “earn slightly more” than the value of the loan extended.
The total value of negative yielding debt around the globe set a new record in the final month of 2020, eclipsing more than $18 trillion as governments around the world issued debt to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of these bonds are issued by governments in the developed world such as Japan and Europe, while US Treasuries remain one of the few sovereign bonds in the developed world that held positive yields throughout the pandemic. Though the Federal Reserve has committed to keeping short-term rates near zero for the foreseeable future, it should come as a relief to investors that thus far, Fed Chair Jerome Powell has dismissed the idea of negative short-term rates in the U.S.
However, negative yielding debt does affect U.S. investors. Even after accounting for the costs of hedging out currency risks, Japanese investors can obtain 70 bps more in yield by investing in the U.S. 10-year Treasury note compared to a 10-year Japanese government bond, while German investors can earn 0.37% after hedging costs, compared with the -0.45% current yield of the German 10-year bund, which is the highest level in nearly five months. These factors increase demand for U.S. debt, which has helped to depress Treasuries yields and dampen the outlook for fixed income investors.
What does the future of negative yielding debt look like? As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, the good news is that this amount of negative yielding debt has declined substantially in the past two months and fallen back below the previous record high set in 2019. We believe this amount should continue to fall in 2021 as global economies recover and safe-haven yields rise, contributing to the 10-year Treasury yield moving toward our year-end 2021 forecast of 1.25–1.75%.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

STOCK MARKET VIDEO: Stock Market Analysis Video for Week Ending February 5th, 2021

(CLICK HERE FOR THE YOUTUBE VIDEO!)

STOCK MARKET VIDEO: ShadowTrader Video Weekly 2.7.21

([CLICK HERE FOR THE YOUTUBE VIDEO!]())

(VIDEO NOT YET POSTED.)
Here are the most notable companies (tickers) reporting earnings in this upcoming trading week ahead-

$CGC

$GM

$CRSR

$HAS

$TWTR

$KO

$DIS

$COTY

$GPN

$CSCO

$ACB

$CNC

$CHGG

$PEP

$ENPH

$ZNGA

$UBER

$CRNT

$ENR

$TTWO

$NET

$AMG

$AZN

$CRNC

$TEVA

$SPG

$KHC

$SAIA

$SQNS

$UAA

$DDOG

$GFN

$IRBT

$WCC

$TSN

$NRZ

$LH

$PERI

$CNA

$YETI

$AYX

$K

$MAT

(CLICK HERE FOR NEXT WEEK'S MOST NOTABLE EARNINGS RELEASES!)

(CLICK HERE FOR NEXT WEEK'S HIGHEST VOLATILITY EARNINGS RELEASES!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE MOST ANTICIPATED EARNINGS RELEASES BEFORE MONDAY'S MARKET OPEN!)

Below are some of the notable companies coming out with earnings releases this upcoming trading week ahead which includes the date/time of release & consensus estimates courtesy of Earnings Whispers:

Monday 2.8.21 Before Market Open:

(CLICK HERE FOR MONDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Monday 2.8.21 After Market Close:

(CLICK HERE FOR MONDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES LINK!)

Tuesday 2.9.21 Before Market Open:

(CLICK HERE FOR TUESDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Tuesday 2.9.21 After Market Close:

(CLICK HERE FOR TUESDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Wednesday 2.10.21 Before Market Open:

(CLICK HERE FOR WEDNESDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Wednesday 2.10.21 After Market Close:

(CLICK HERE FOR WEDNESDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES #1!)

(CLICK HERE FOR WEDNESDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES #2!)

Thursday 2.11.21 Before Market Open:

(CLICK HERE FOR THURSDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Thursday 2.11.21 After Market Close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THURSDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Friday 2.12.21 Before Market Open:

(CLICK HERE FOR FRIDAY'S PRE-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!)

Friday 2.12.21 After Market Close:

([CLICK HERE FOR FRIDAY'S AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS TIME & ESTIMATES!]())
(NONE.)

Canopy Growth Corporation $42.93
Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 6:00 AM ET on Tuesday, February 9, 2021. The consensus estimate is for a loss of $0.21 per share on revenue of $115.75 million and the Earnings Whisper ® number is ($0.10) per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 64% expecting an earnings beat. Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 22.22% with revenue increasing by 23.44%. Short interest has decreased by 22.8% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted higher by 60.3% from its open following the earnings release to be 106.2% above its 200 day moving average of $20.82. Overall earnings estimates have been unchanged since the company's last earnings release. On Friday, February 5, 2021 there was some notable buying of 24,236 contracts of the $35.00 put expiring on Friday, February 19, 2021. Option traders are pricing in a 12.7% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 12.4% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

General Motors Corp. $54.41
General Motors Corp. (GM) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 7:30 AM ET on Wednesday, February 10, 2021. The consensus earnings estimate is $1.62 per share on revenue of $36.90 billion and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $2.20 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 70% expecting an earnings beat. Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 852.94% with revenue increasing by 19.70%. Short interest has decreased by 10.7% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted higher by 47.5% from its open following the earnings release to be 63.2% above its 200 day moving average of $33.34. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. On Tuesday, January 19, 2021 there was some notable buying of 16,747 contracts of the $60.00 call expiring on Friday, February 19, 2021. Option traders are pricing in a 6.6% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 2.8% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Corsair Gaming, Inc. $45.23
Corsair Gaming, Inc. (CRSR) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 7:00 AM ET on Tuesday, February 9, 2021. The consensus earnings estimate is $0.56 per share on revenue of $530.96 million and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $0.61 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 77% expecting an earnings beat. The stock has drifted higher by 69.7% from its open following the earnings release. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. On Wednesday, January 27, 2021 there was some notable buying of 11,342 contracts of the $50.00 call expiring on Friday, February 19, 2021. Option traders are pricing in a 19.8% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 6.3% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Hasbro, Inc. $97.28
Hasbro, Inc. (HAS) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 6:30 AM ET on Monday, February 8, 2021. The consensus earnings estimate is $1.14 per share on revenue of $1.70 billion and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $1.23 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 66% expecting an earnings beat. Consensus estimates are for earnings to decline year-over-year by 8.06% with revenue increasing by 19.05%. Short interest has increased by 5.2% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted higher by 11.8% from its open following the earnings release to be 19.0% above its 200 day moving average of $81.74. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. On Friday, January 15, 2021 there was some notable buying of 4,150 contracts of the $97.50 call expiring on Friday, February 19, 2021. Option traders are pricing in a 9.3% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 8.4% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Twitter, Inc. $56.78
Twitter, Inc. (TWTR) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 4:05 PM ET on Tuesday, February 9, 2021. The consensus earnings estimate is $0.29 per share on revenue of $1.19 billion and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $0.38 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 57% expecting an earnings beat. Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 20.83% with revenue increasing by 18.13%. Short interest has decreased by 28.4% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted higher by 27.5% from its open following the earnings release to be 37.3% above its 200 day moving average of $41.35. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. On Friday, February 5, 2021 there was some notable buying of 13,531 contracts of the $60.00 call expiring on Friday, March 19, 2021. Option traders are pricing in a 12.5% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 13.0% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Coca-Cola Company $49.65
Coca-Cola Company (KO) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 6:55 AM ET on Wednesday, February 10, 2021. The consensus earnings estimate is $0.41 per share on revenue of $8.65 billion and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $0.46 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 53% expecting an earnings beat. Consensus estimates are for earnings to decline year-over-year by 6.82% with revenue decreasing by 4.61%. Short interest has increased by 2.6% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted lower by 3.0% from its open following the earnings release to be 1.6% above its 200 day moving average of $48.87. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. On Thursday, January 7, 2021 there was some notable buying of 8,599 contracts of the $50.00 put expiring on Friday, March 19, 2021. Option traders are pricing in a 3.4% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 2.9% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Walt Disney Co $181.16
Walt Disney Co (DIS) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 4:05 PM ET on Thursday, February 11, 2021. The consensus estimate is for a loss of $0.47 per share on revenue of $15.64 billion and the Earnings Whisper ® number is ($0.22) per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 66% expecting an earnings beat. Consensus estimates are for earnings to decline year-over-year by 130.72% with revenue decreasing by 25.02%. Short interest has increased by 8.3% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted higher by 28.6% from its open following the earnings release to be 35.8% above its 200 day moving average of $133.40. Overall earnings estimates have been revised lower since the company's last earnings release. On Tuesday, January 19, 2021 there was some notable buying of 8,283 contracts of the $150.00 put and 8,105 contracts of the $200.00 call expiring on Friday, January 21, 2022. Option traders are pricing in a 5.7% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 3.7% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Coty Inc. $7.64
Coty Inc. (COTY) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 6:45 AM ET on Tuesday, February 9, 2021. The consensus earnings estimate is $0.08 per share on revenue of $1.40 billion and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $0.12 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 68% expecting an earnings beat. Consensus estimates are for earnings to decline year-over-year by 70.37% with revenue decreasing by 40.30%. Short interest has decreased by 45.2% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted higher by 101.6% from its open following the earnings release to be 18.0% above its 200 day moving average of $6.47. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. On Tuesday, January 26, 2021 there was some notable buying of 8,662 contracts of the $7.00 call expiring on Friday, January 20, 2023. Option traders are pricing in a 20.4% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 12.1% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Global Payments, Inc. $198.27
Global Payments, Inc. (GPN) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 6:55 AM ET on Monday, February 8, 2021. The consensus earnings estimate is $1.76 per share on revenue of $1.77 billion and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $1.84 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 29% expecting an earnings beat. Consensus estimates are for year-over-year earnings growth of 8.64% with revenue decreasing by 10.96%. Short interest has increased by 20.0% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted higher by 28.7% from its open following the earnings release to be 10.7% above its 200 day moving average of $179.16. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. On Friday, January 15, 2021 there was some notable buying of 764 contracts of the $190.00 put expiring on Friday, February 19, 2021. Option traders are pricing in a 4.6% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 1.6% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Cisco Systems, Inc. $48.08
Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) is confirmed to report earnings at approximately 4:05 PM ET on Tuesday, February 9, 2021. The consensus earnings estimate is $0.75 per share on revenue of $11.92 billion and the Earnings Whisper ® number is $0.78 per share. Investor sentiment going into the company's earnings release has 70% expecting an earnings beat The company's guidance was for earnings of $0.74 to $0.76 per share. Consensus estimates are for earnings to decline year-over-year by 5.06% with revenue decreasing by 0.71%. Short interest has decreased by 1.2% since the company's last earnings release while the stock has drifted higher by 16.7% from its open following the earnings release to be 11.6% above its 200 day moving average of $43.10. Overall earnings estimates have been revised higher since the company's last earnings release. On Thursday, February 4, 2021 there was some notable buying of 25,762 contracts of the $50.00 call expiring on Friday, February 12, 2021. Option traders are pricing in a 5.8% move on earnings and the stock has averaged a 7.3% move in recent quarters.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

DISCUSS!

What are you all watching for in this upcoming trading week?
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a great week ahead smallstreetbets.

super bowl dates for the next 5 years video

Where is 2021 Super Bowl: Location, stadium, time, date, TV channel, how to live stream and more to know Super Bowl LV isn't moving far away from Super Bowl LIV Future Super Bowl locations have been set through 2025 by the NFL. Super Bowl LVI is set for SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., in 2021. The home of NFL Super Bowl 2021 news, ticket, apparel & event info. Get Super Bowl Sunday info about the National Football League's championship game. Super Bowl 2021 odds At the end of last year’s Super Bowl, odds for the game came out and the Kansas City Chiefs were next year’s favorite to win it all at 7-1 odds. Super Bowl 2020: South Florida. For Super Bowl 54 this year, the NFL will return to one of its favorite Super Bowl locations. The Miami area already has hosted 10 Super Bowls, and its 11th will ... List of Future Super Bowl Locations and Dates. FOX Sports Southwest Jan 24, 2019 at 4:32p ET . share url email fbmsngr whatsapp sms. Future Super Bowl Sites . Here is a list of ... Here are the future Super Bowl locations for the next five seasons: Super Bowl LIV: February 2, 2020, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida. Super Bowl LV: February 7, 2021, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida. Super Bowl LVI: February 6, 2022, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California Super Bowl History + indicates Hall of Fame; Table; Date SB Winner Pts Loser Pts MVP Stadium City State; Feb 7, 2021: LV (55) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 31: Kansas City Chiefs: 9: Tom Brady : Raymond James Stadium: Tampa: Florida: Feb 2, 2020: LIV (54) Kansas City Chiefs: 31: San Francisco 49ers: 20: Patrick Mahomes : Hard Rock Stadium: Miami ... Here are the future Super Bowl locations for the next five seasons: Super Bowl LIV: February 2, 2020, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida Super Bowl LV: February 7, 2021, Raymond James ... The next two Super Bowls are scheduled for Houston (2017) and Minneapolis (2018). While the winning cities will be thrilled to host a Super Bowl, there are questions as to just how profitable such ...

super bowl dates for the next 5 years top

Predicting When Your Favorite NFL Team Will Win Their NEXT ...

#SuperBowl #NFLTeams #ChampionshipIf you're new, Subscribe! → http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-TPSPicking future Super Bowl champions is no easy task.Entering the ... The San Francisco 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LIV in Miami.Subscribe to NFL: http://j.mp/1L0bVBuCheck out our other channels:NFL V... PLEASE CLICK: http://www.indiegogo.com/bucketsandtapshoes-dreamsSuper Bowl Halftime 1992 Minneapolis - PART 2January 26, 1992WATCH PART 1 FIRST...http://www.... NFL Game Pass is free through May! Click here for more full games! - nfl.com/gamepassSubscribe to NFL: http://j.mp/1L0bVBu00:00 - Start23:03 - Pat Mahomes Ru... Check out the entire history of the Super Bowl!#NFL100The NFL Throwback is your home for all things NFL history.Check out our other channels:NFL Films - YouT... A kick return 100 years in the making. Here’s to the next 100 and the game’s future stars! #NFLNext100 #SBLIV Subscribe to NFL: http://j.mp/1L0bVBuCheck out ... NFL Top 5 Super Bowl Contenders For Next Season? (2020-2021)SUBSCRIBE To Our 2nd Channel (The Goat House +) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXDH-3siJ1Z914... Love bacon and cheese? How about pistachio and dates? Nicole shows you how to make the perfect Super Bowl appetizers - dates, stuffed with pistachio and chee... #SuperBowl #NFL #Predicting Everyone loves the Super Bowl its one of the greatest and most watched sporting events Back on April 2017, we here at TPS project... IF YOU WANT PRO TIPS, SCHEMES, AND EBOOKS CHECK OUT https://hotroute.tips/product/membership/ AND USE CODE Zirk AT CHECKOUT FOR 10% OFF!SECOND CHANNEL FOR CO...

Future Super Bowl locations: Host cities, stadiums for ...

super bowl dates for the next 5 years

super bowl dates for the next 5 years - win

A Guide to The Weeknd's Discography

XO.

House of Balloons.

Thursday.

Echoes of Silence.

Trilogy.

Kiss Land.

King of the Fall.

Beauty Behind the Madness.

Starboy.

My Dear Melancholy.

After Hours.

END.

A letter to myself, as I was 15 months and 130 pounds ago

NrdRage’s Friday DD: There’s still one meme stock that’s not dead yet. I present to you The Curious Case of Benjamin Butto....err Black Berry. ($BB)

First, let’s get some misconceptions out of the way:

Let’s take a dive into the financials before we get into the story:

Where do they make their money?

(Wayne’s World flashback/dream noises)….

Enter Blackberry

OK, so that’s cool. But how does this get me TENDIES, man? How much can these guys make?

(More Wayne’s World noises)

OK, dude, my wife’s boyfriend is asking me to bring him a beer. Can you speed this along? What does this matter?

Yeah man! Cool. So I’m in. It’s gonna go to that by like, Friday or something?

TL:DR: $87.50

Shrooms completely cured my PTSD from attempted murder.

2020 Ultimate Ultimate Rate (The Weeknd/Dua/Gaga/Taylor)

The Weeknd - After Hours

Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia

Lady Gaga - Chromatica

Taylor Swift - folklore

Bonus rate

Rules

Once again, here's the link to send in scores

Emergency Pastebin ballot

Spotify & Apple Music playlist

32 [M4F] Attention bored women in the Los Angeles area! Something crazy is about to go down on Valentine’s Day and you could be a part of it!

Official r/NFL Week 15 Power Rankings

IBIO set to breakout(First EpicDD) W/illustrations

$EGLX.to - Epic eSports stock about to uplist to the Nasdaq

TLDR; EGLX.to is the single best pure-eSports play in the world.

Who the heck is Enthusiast Gaming?

Does anyone even watch video games?

Who are their competitors?

Who the hell is leading this little company?

But how do they profit?

Is it actually making money?

How do you know I will make the tendies though?

Final Fun facts:

Wall Street look ahead for the trading week beginning February 8th, 2021

Fiscal stimulus prospects and strong earnings tailwind may propel stocks in the week ahead - (Source)

Higher interest rates

This past week saw the following moves in the S&P:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL S&P TREE MAP FOR THE PAST WEEK!)

Major Indices for this past week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE MAJOR INDICES FOR THE PAST WEEK!)

Major Futures Markets as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE MAJOR FUTURES INDICES AS OF FRIDAY!)

Economic Calendar for the Week Ahead:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ECONOMIC CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK AHEAD!)

Percentage Changes for the Major Indices, WTD, MTD, QTD, YTD as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

S&P Sectors for the Past Week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Major Indices Pullback/Correction Levels as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!

Major Indices Rally Levels as of Friday's close:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Most Anticipated Earnings Releases for this week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Here are the upcoming IPO's for this week:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART!)

Friday's Stock Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades:

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART LINK #1!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART LINK #2!)

(CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART LINK #3!)

Super Bowl LV: Time to Break the Tie - Go Bucs!