“Popular” is a song by The Weeknd, Playboi Carti, and Madonna released as a single for The Idol Vol. 1 Soundtrack. The song explores the theme of desperately wanting to be popular, echoing the plot of the series The Idol, in which Abel stars. This marks the first collaboration between the three artists, who are each known for making distinctively different styles of music.
In a post by producer Metro Boomin announcing his sophomore studio album, keen-eyed fans noticed a song titled “Popular” on a whiteboard, where Metro wrote “Need Abel.”
On May 23, 2023, XO Records co-founder La Mar C. Taylor shared a snippet of the song being played at the Cannes Film Festival as The Idol cast took to the red carpet.
Despite his generally elusive nature and tendency to not clear features, Carti briefly returned to Instagram for the first time since his December 2022 arrest to post a screenshot of himself in a FaceTime call with The Weeknd, generating anticipation for the collaboration. Similarly, The Weeknd also posted numerous tweets promoting the collaboration.
On May 30, 2023, Metro Boomin confirmed the song’s title via Twitter and that it was intended to release that same week as his album, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Soundtrack).
On May 20, 2023, The Weeknd posted a photo of Madonna from the “Like a Prayer” music video to Instagram. In an Instagram post and story on May 31, 2023, The Weeknd confirmed Madonna’s presence on the song. Abel’s character, Tedros, played “Like a Prayer” at a nightclub scene in episode one of The Idol.
