Eric Bellinger shared his thoughts on whether The Weeknd can actually sing, and his opinion teetered towards unimpressed.
On the Friday (July 10) episode of Cam Newton's Funky Friday podcast, the retired NFL player put the R&B singer-songwriter in the hot seat by directly asking if he thought The Weeknd could sing. The topic was raised around the 1:07:00 mark of the video below, after Bellinger reflected on The Weeknd claiming that Usher bit his style on the singer’s 2012 single, “Climax.”
“I was in the studio with Usher. I was like, ‘Bro, I got this. You don't even got to respond. I got you.’ So I did my video. But then he still walked behind me,” Bellinger recounted. “It's like we just be having fun with it. I'mma call somebody out.”
Bellinger added that Usher’s vocals on the song weren’t in The Weeknd’s “register.” “I ain’t never heard you up there, champ,” the vocalist said.
On whether the Hurry Up Tomorrow artist can sing, Bellinger replied, “I think he can sing... if you like the billy goat vibe. He's a hitmaker, and it ain't no doubt about it.”
In April 2020, The Weeknd told Variety that the song felt like "a Weeknd song," claiming it drew from his 2011 mixtape House of Balloons. Bellinger, who’s been a songwriter for Usher for years, took offense to the remark and launched #ClimaxChallenge on social media. The song’s co-producer, Diplo, however, would admit that HOB was an influence on the track’s sound.
"I knew he wasn't going to say anything, I knew no one else was going to say anything. You know, that's The Weeknd, number-one artist in the world, but I just feel like we live in a day and age where nobody holds anyone accountable," Bellinger said at the time, per Page Six.
Along with Mario and Tank, Bellinger is currently a backing vocalist on select dates of Usher and Chris Brown’s R&B Tour.
