Artist: Weekend
Title: How It Ends
Genre: Rock Pop
Length: 3:59
Written By: D.Blue, B.Khan, S.Wellington
Produced By: run
Label: Five Pesky Kids
From The Album: TBC

Background
"How It Ends" is a rock/pop ballad performed by Weekend and written by members; Dustyn Blue, Billy Khan and Scott Wellington. The ballad is the lead single from Weekend's upcoming sophomore album. It is rumoured that the original title of the album, 'Wild Young Free' will undergo a change. Weekend postponed the release of their second studio album as they decided to take some time out to focus on their family lives. During their time away from the forefront, a promotional single titled Out Of My Mind was released in summer 2013. Since How It Ends serves as the lead single, the promotional track Out Of My Mind will not appear on the album. How It Ends was written in late 2013 and was produced by English trio, run."

The song is about having a great relationship with a female friend but after years of being close, you find yourself wanting more. The female in the song is already involved with another guy but it's made clear that things are rocky between them as she constantly turns to her male friend for comfort. The boys take on the role as this friend. Seeing how unhappy she is at times, having strong feelings for her and already having a strong bond, they decided to tell the truth and confess their feelings. While the girl rejects the offer, she states that they can still remain good friends but the boys have their doubts. Confessing something on this scale is bound to change things and while they can both go on pretending that nothing happened, at the end of the day they both know that they see one another differently. People have branded the song as "the friend zone anthem" and it has also been praised for being the most "mature" sounding song to be released by the group.

Vocals
Oscar - Oscar is featured prominently throughout the track just like the majority of Weekend's songs. He opens up the track, singing the first verse in his deep, husky vocals. While Oscar's voice is known for being very strong and powerful, in the first verse he sounds rather fragile and hurt. His tender voice has a slight edge to it due to his throaty vocals. While all of the boys sing in the chorus, Oscar's (alongside Riley's) vocals are easier to pinpoint. In the chorus, we can hear the real power in his vocals and it contrasts greatly with the softness in his first verse.

Dustyn - Dustyn follows on from Oscar, taking on the second verse. His voice is similar to Oscar's as they are both deep and throaty however, Blue's vocals are richer and his Irish twang can be heard throughout. Despite having similar tones with Oscar, nobody can mistake the unique vocals of Dustyn Blue. Many people have stated that his voice has matured greatly since the first record and while some adore his bluesy, husky voice, a lot of people find that it grates on the ears. However, he tones it down on this track and keeps the vocal acrobatics to a minimum.

Billy - Billy is also prominent on the new single. His silky voice may not be as strong as that of Ward and Blue but many have dubbed him as Weekend's secret weapon and that he "sprinkles sugar over the songs". The song starts off with two very deep, gruff vocals but as it approaches the pre-chorus, Billy comes along with his smooth, dreamy voice and caresses the listener's ears. He also takes on the bridge in the song which, apart from the chorus, is the most vocally challenging part of the song, involving a lot of belting. Billy's voice has really grown from the first album as he can now take on a lot more challenging notes and features in songs a lot more than he used to.

Riley - Riley takes the third verse of the song and like the first two, he sings as though he is in a very fragile state of mind and is close to tears. His voice is naturally higher than the others so when his verse comes around, it is an octave above the previous two. Many have said his voice rather nasally and too high pitched but here, although still higher than the other boys, he still manages to tone it down and sound hurt while delivering his lines. Also, in the chorus, his vocals can be easy to pinpoint as he does the high harmony throughout.

Scott - Scott has always been dubbed as the least vocally talented and while his voice may be thin, Scott has a lovely tone and knows his limits vocally. His voice is naturally soft sounding and he sings in a higher register like Riley although having a smaller range. On the first record, Scott received the least solos which was possibly due to his voice not being as strong as the others. Despite his vocals becoming slightly stronger, he still sings less than the others on "How It Ends", having only two lines.


How It Ends

ALL
BILLY
DUSTYN
OSCAR
RILEY
SCOTT

I'm over here. I'm over here, why can't you see me?
I'm calling out. I'm calling out, why can't you hear me?
I've watched him break your heart
I've picked up the pieces each and every time
How could you say he loves you better than I can?

Do you know how I feel? How I feel when you turn away
Let it all out. When you let it all go, I'm your shoulder to cry on
You say you want someone just like me
Someone you can turn to no matter where or when
I'm standing right here yet you look right through me

He can never love you like I do, hold you like I do
When all goes wrong who is the one you run to?

You say that we should just stay friends
But we both know how that story ends
We could try to carry on and play pretend
But things will never be the same again
I poured my heart out now I don't know what to do
The silence is deafening, guess it was the wrong move
I could lie, smile and say I'm happy just being your friend
But as time goes on, we both know how it ends

I see you with him. I see you slow dancing under moonlight.
I'm in the corner. Back against the wall, still I'm glad to see you smile.
While he gets to be the one who takes you home
I'll be the one who is still dancing all alone
Do you know the way it feels when I see you leave in his arms?

He will never understand like me, bet he can't even kiss like me
I'm so wrapped up, I've fallen in too deep

You say that we should just stay friends
But we both know how that story ends
We could try to carry on and play pretend
But things will never be the same again
I poured my heart out now I don't know what to do
The silence is deafening, guess it was the wrong move
I could lie, smile and say I'm happy just being your friend
But as time goes on, we both know how it ends

Many times before I couldn't find the words to say
But now here I am, I want you to stay
Stay the night inside my arms
You say that a real man is hard to find
But I think I've proved myself over all this time
One chance, we can change how the story goes

You say that we should just stay friends
But we both know how that story ends
We could try to carry on and play pretend
But things will never be the same again
I poured my heart out now I don't know what to do
The silence is deafening, guess it was the wrong move
I could lie, smile and say I'm happy just being your friend
But as time goes on, we both know how it ends

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