Meaning of Popular (feat. Playboi Carti) [Music from the HBO Original Series The Idol]

by The Weeknd & Madonna · 2024

The song “Popular” explores the dark side of fame, depicting a person who is obsessed with being in the limelight and is willing to sacrifice authenticity and potentially their soul for popularity and recognition.

This song has been Shazamed over 5,138,116 times. As of this writing, Popular (feat. Playboi Carti) [Music from the HBO Original Series The Idol] is ranked 54

The song “Popular (feat. Playboi Carti)” by The Weeknd and Madonna from the HBO series “The Idol” weaves a tale of the dark side of fame and the lengths one might go to achieve it. Let’s explore what the song tells us about the quest for popularity. ⬇️

🌆 The track paints a vivid picture of Los Angeles’s seductive nightlife, where the allure of fame can lead to a pact with the devil himself. It’s a narrative of ambition tangled with deception, set against the backdrop of Sunset Boulevard’s flashing lights.

🎭 At the heart of the chorus lies a desperate craving for recognition, where being “popular” becomes an obsessive chant, a mantra for those trapped in the spotlight’s glare. “Beggin’ on her knees to be popular,” the lyrics throb with the pulse of yearning; a dream so fervent it blurs the line between aspiration and obsession, whispering tales of souls bartered for the ephemeral glow of stardom.

📸 Delving into the verses, one can taste the bittersweet irony of a life spent chasing cameras only to feign surprise upon their flash. “Tell me, do you see her? She’s livin’ her life,” The Weeknd croons, sketching a portrait of a starlet who’s become a prisoner of her own facade—a paradox of wanting and loathing the fame that shackles her.

💸 The verses are a relentless march of contradictions—wealth heaped upon wealth, yet freedom remains elusive. “Money on top of me, money on top of her,” echoes like a hollow victory chant, where financial success fails to fill the gaping void left by lost authenticity. Here, the song reveals the irony of achieving the dream only to be ensnared by it, a Sisyphean struggle in the opulent hills of Hollywood.

The song ultimately serves as a cautionary hymn to the soul-sapping machine of fame, where the desire to be “popular” can lead to a life of perpetual performance, never quite touching the truth of oneself.

Writer(s) of Popular (feat. Playboi Carti) [Music from the HBO Original Series The Idol]: Michael Walker, Mike Dean, Abel Tesfaye, Jordan Terrell Carter, Johnny Flippin, Leland Tyler Wayne, Sam Levinson

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