False Alarm (The Weeknd song)

{{Infobox song

| name = False Alarm

| cover = The Weeknd - False Alarm.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = the Weeknd

| album = Starboy

| released = {{Start date|2016|09|29}}

| recorded = 2016

| studio = Conway {{Small|(Los Angeles)}}{{cite AV media|date=November 23, 2016|title= Starboy Credits|url=http://cache.umusic.com/_sites/theweeknd.com/pdf/starboy.pdf}}

| venue =

| genre = * Dance-punk{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/xdwy8a/with-false-alarm-the-weeknd-has-finally-become-the-punk-rocker-only-he-can-be|title=With "False Alarm," the Weeknd Has Finally Become the Punk Rocker Only He Can Be|last=Witmer|first=Phil|magazine=Vice|date=September 30, 2016|access-date=January 22, 2022}}

electro-rock{{cite web|url=https://vman.com/article/weeknd-new-single-false-alarm/|title=The Weeknd Shares New Dance Anthem "False Alarm"|date=September 30, 2016|access-date=January 22, 2022|last=Ramsay|first=Kate|magazine=VMan|archive-date=January 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123012441/https://vman.com/article/weeknd-new-single-false-alarm/|url-status=dead}}

| length = {{duration|m=3|s=50}}

| label = {{hlist|XO|Republic}}

| writer = {{hlist|Abel Tesfaye|Martin McKinney|Benjamin Diehl|Henry Russell Walter|Emmanuel Nickerson|Ahmad Balshe}}

| producer = {{hlist|Doc McKinney|The Weeknd|Cirkut|Mano}}

| misc = {{External music video|type=single|{{YouTube|CW5oGRx9CLM|"False Alarm"}}}}

| prev_title = Starboy

| prev_year = 2016

| next_title = I Feel It Coming

| next_title2 = Party Monster

| next_year = 2016

}}

"False Alarm" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd, from his third studio album, Starboy (2016). It was released as the album's second single on September 29, 2016, through XO and Republic Records. The song was written and produced by the Weeknd, Doc McKinney, Cirkut, and Mano, with additional writing credits going to Belly and Ben Billions.

Background and release

The song was revealed to be the third track from Starboy, when pre-orders for the album became available on iTunes.{{cite web|last=Giles|first=Jeff|url=https://diffuser.fm/weeknd-daft-punk-starboy/|title=The Weeknd Debuts Daft Punk Collaboration 'Starboy'|website=Diffuser|date=September 22, 2016|access-date=March 13, 2024}} "False Alarm" was released as the second single from the album on September 29, 2016.{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2016/09/30/the-weeknd-false-alarm-single-starboy-snl/91313086/|title=Not a 'False Alarm': The Weeknd drops another new single|last=Lawler|first=Kelly|date=September 30, 2016|work=USA Today|access-date=October 12, 2016|via=Gannett Company}}{{cite web|url=http://www.spin.com/2016/09/the-weeknd-starboy-album/|title=The Weeknd Reveals His New Album Starboy|last=Josephs|first=Brian|date=September 21, 2016|publisher=Spin|access-date=October 12, 2016}}

Composition

"False Alarm" runs for a duration of three minutes and fifty seconds, and has been described by critics as a dance-punk{{Cite magazine|last=DiMeglio|first=Mary J.|date=September 30, 2016|title=The Weeknd Unveils Second New 'Starboy' Single, the Frantic 'False Alarm': Listen|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/weeknd-new-starboy-single-false-alarm-listen-7526466/|access-date=January 23, 2022|magazine=Billboard|language=en-US}} and electro-rock track.{{Cite web|last=Jenkins|first=Craig|date=January 7, 2022|title=The Weeknd Knows No Bounds|url=https://www.vulture.com/2022/01/the-weeknd-dawn-fm-album-review.html|access-date=January 23, 2022|website=Vulture|language=en-us|quote=...on which the singer-songwriter born Abel Tesfaye revisits the electro-rock attempt of Starboy’s “False Alarm”...}} Lyrically, the song revolves around drugs, unromantic relationships and materialism.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/187005-the-weeknds-false-alarm-lyrics-explore-familiar-themes-in-a-cool-new-way-listen|title=The Weeknd's "False Alarm" Lyrics Explore Familiar Themes In A Cool New Way — LISTEN|last=Atkinson|first=S.|date=September 30, 2016|work=Bustle|access-date=October 12, 2016}}

Music video

The song's music video was released on October 13, 2016, and was directed by Ilya Naishuller. It depicts a bank robbery through the first-person perspective of one of the robbers. Due to the graphic violence in the video, a disclaimer was put in the opening, warning that explicit content could advise viewer discretion. This video was also made to look like it was done in one take.{{Citation |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW5oGRx9CLM|title=The Weeknd - False Alarm|date=October 13, 2016 |access-date=October 15, 2016}}

=Synopsis=

The video begins with the heist underway, with the protagonist (the Weeknd), a robber wearing a red skull mask (Randy Irwin), a robber wearing a yellow skull mask (Sam Hale), a robber wearing a white skull mask (Damion Poitier), and a robber wearing a black skull mask loading money into three bags while the police start to show up outside. The team heads to the back exit to escape, taking a young woman (Kristine Froseth) hostage in the process. The team loads all the money and the hostage into a van, although the black-masked, white-masked, and yellow-masked robbers are killed by the police.

Another van shows up for the surviving robbers to board and throw the money onto. The first bag makes it onto the new van, but the second bag is lost, and the protagonist chooses to throw the hostage into the new van instead of the last bag of money before boarding it himself, which infuriates the red-masked robber. After the first van crashes into a parked car and explodes before the driver can board the second with the last bag of money, the red-masked robber attempts to kill the protagonist. The hostage shoots the red-masked robber with one of his own guns, allowing the protagonist to finish him off, but a stray bullet kills the driver. Without anyone behind the wheel, the van is sent into a ditch by an oncoming truck while the protagonist shields the hostage with his body.

Both the hostage and the protagonist survive the crash, but a large piece of glass becomes lodged in the latter's stomach. Incapacitated from his injury, the protagonist is unable to prevent{{Citation needed|date=July 2023|reason=It is heavily implied that the hostage and the Weeknd are working together}} the hostage from abandoning him with a bag of money. As the police travel closer to the scene and the sirens become progressively louder, the protagonist looks into a mirror, revealing his identity as the singer himself. The Weeknd points the gun to himself and commits suicide, as the screen cuts to black.

Live performances

The Weeknd performed "False Alarm" during the season 42 premiere of Saturday Night Live on October 1, 2016.{{Cite news|url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/10/the-weeknd-kicks-off-saturday-night-lives-42nd-season-in-style-watch/|title=The Weeknd kicks off Saturday Night Live's 42nd season in style — watch|last=Young|first=Alex|date=October 2, 2016|work=Consequence of Sound|access-date=October 12, 2016}}

Appearances in other media

"False Alarm" was the official theme song of WWE's 2016 Survivor Series pay-per-view.{{cite web|last=Keller|first=Wade|title=KELLER'S WWE RAW REVIEW 11/7: Survivor Series hype for first Raw ever in Scotland including big five-person main event|url=http://www.pwtorch.com/site/2016/11/07/kellers-wwe-raw-review-117-survivor-series-hype-first-raw-ever-scotland-including-big-five-person-main-event/|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|date=November 7, 2016|access-date=November 12, 2016|quote=Graves plugged the official theme song of Survivor Series, "False Alarm" by the Weeknd.}}

Charts

scope="col"\| Chart (2016) ! scope="col"\| Peak position
class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
scope="row"\| Australia (ARIA){{cite web\|url=https://www.auspop.com.au/2016/12/aria-chart-watch-397/\|title=ARIA CHART WATCH #397\|publisher=auspOp\|date=December 3, 2016\|access-date=December 3, 2016\|archive-date=March 28, 2019\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328020315/https://www.auspop.com.au/2016/12/aria-chart-watch-397/\|url-status=dead}} \| 72
scope="row"\| Australia Urban (ARIA){{cite web\|url=http://www.ariacharts.com.au/charts/urban-singles-chart\|title=ARIA Urban Singles Chart\|publisher=ARIA\|date=December 4, 2016\|access-date=December 11, 2016}} \| 9
{{single chart\|Canada\|33\|artist=The Weeknd\|rowheader=true\|access-date=December 6, 2016}}
{{single chart\|Czechdigital\|38\|year=2016\|week=48\|rowheader=true\|access-date=December 6, 2016}}
{{single chart\|France\|98\|artist=The Weeknd\|song=False Alarm\|rowheader=true\|access-date=October 22, 2016}}
{{single chart\|Ireland3\|65\|artist=The Weeknd\|rowheader=true\|access-date=December 3, 2016}}
{{single chart\|Dutch100\|79\|artist=The Weeknd\|song=False Alarm\|rowheader=true\|access-date=December 3, 2016}}
scope="row"\| New Zealand Heatseekers (Recorded Music NZ){{cite web\|url=https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/singles/2016-10-07\|title=NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart\|publisher=Recorded Music NZ\|date=October 10, 2016\|access-date=October 12, 2016}} \| 1
{{single chart\|Portugal\|45\|artist=The Weeknd\|song=False Alarm\|rowheader=true\|access-date=December 9, 2016}}
{{single chart\|Scotland\|86\|date=2016-10-07\|rowheader=true\|access-date=October 12, 2016}}
{{single chart\|Slovakdigital2\|25\|year=2016\|week=48\|rowheader=true\|access-date=December 6, 2016}}
{{single chart\|Sweden\|89\|artist=The Weeknd\|song=False Alarm\|rowheader=true\|access-date=October 12, 2016}}
{{single chart\|Switzerland\|85\|artist=The Weeknd\|song=False Alarm\|rowheader=true\|access-date=October 12, 2016}}
{{single chart\|UKsinglesbyname\|51\|artist=The Weeknd\|rowheader=true\|access-date=December 3, 2016}}
{{single chart\|Billboardhot100\|55\|artist=The Weeknd\|rowheader=true\|access-date=December 6, 2016}}
{{single chart\|Billboardrandbhiphop\|23\|artist=The Weeknd\|rowheader=true\|access-date=December 11, 2017}}

Certifications

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2016|certyear=2024|access-date=February 7, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Brazil|type=single|artist=The Weeknd|title=False Alarm|award=Platinum|certyear=2024|relyear=2016|access-date=April 4, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=The Weeknd|title=False Alarm|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2016|certyear=2020|access-date=January 29, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=The Weeknd|title=False Alarm|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2016|certyear=2023|source=radioscope|access-date=December 23, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=The Weeknd|title=False Alarm|award=Silver|relyear=2016|certyear=2021|access-date=March 8, 2021|id=13968-4005-1}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=The Weeknd|title=False Alarm|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2016|certyear=2020|access-date=March 14, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|noshipments=true|nosales=true}}