Lana, the tortured lover, and the Weeknd, the addict, sound exactly as you’d expect on this bombastic morbid-pop-meets-lusty-R&B ballad. Chris DeVille of Stereogum called 'Prisoner' 'the most intriguing part' of Beauty Behind the Madness, and said the song 'feels like an old Weeknd mixtape track, but with touches of Del Rey’s doomed noir glamor'. Personally, I'm digging it.' In his review of the album, Rolling Stone 's Jon Dolan described the song as 'a summit of luxuriant sadness' and 'quite the slow-burning pity party'. Depending on how you feel about The Weeknd and Del Rey - two artists who share a flair for the dramatic - this either makes the track absolutely perfect or absolutely unlistenable.
Critical reception Īlex Kritselis of Bustle wrote, 'The mid-tempo duet sounds exactly how you'd expect it to sound: dark, tortured, and a little bit over-the-top. Live performances ĭel Rey and the Weeknd performed the song live together for the first time on Decemat The Forum, Los Angeles. The song also accrued 3.7 million US streams.
'Prisoner' debuted at number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100, with 51,291 copies sold in its first week.
