Who Produced The Weeknd Elastic Heart Track?

Totally into this little music trivia — the version of 'Elastic Heart' that features The Weeknd was produced by Diplo (Thomas Wesley Pentz). That collaboration originally appeared on the soundtrack for 'the hunger games: catching fire' in 2013 and is the version where The Weeknd provides guest vocals alongside Sia, while Diplo handled the beat and production fingerprints that give it a more electronic/club-leaning texture.

What trips people up is that 'Elastic Heart' actually exists in a couple of well-known forms. The Diplo-featuring cut (with The Weeknd) was the earlier soundtrack release and has that heavy Diplo electronic touch. Sia later released a solo reworked version on her 2014 album '1000 Forms of Fear' — that one has a different production vibe and is associated with producer Greg Kurstin, who also produced big Sia singles like 'Chandelier'. So if you hear the stripped, anthemic version with the famous video starring Maddie Ziegler and Shia LaBeouf, you’re hearing the Greg Kurstin-produced solo single; if you’re listening to the darker, more beat-driven track with The Weeknd’s vocals, that’s the Diplo-produced soundtrack cut.

I always find it fascinating how one song can live in two different worlds depending on production and collaborators. The Weeknd’s contribution on the Diplo version gives it a smoky, nocturnal feel that meshes with Diplo’s club-oriented touches, while Sia’s solo take becomes this huge emotional pop ballad under Kurstin’s production. For anyone tracing credits, Diplo is the producer to name for The Weeknd’s version; Greg Kurstin is the name tied to Sia’s later solo single. It’s a neat example of how producers can totally reframe a song’s personality, and I still get a kick out of comparing the two — each one brings its own kind of intensity.