And just like that, he’s back ladies and gentlemen! The man, the myth, the legend; Abel Tesfaye.
Let’s Get Up to Speed
The Weeknd returns after announcing a short hiatus after having a big year in 2023. This included collaborations in the entertainment industries—music, TV, and video games. In addition to working with Ariana Grande, Travis Scott, and Diddy on hit songs, he released a live album and had an appearance on Mike Dean’s album. In addition, The Weeknd is back from co-creating and acting in the branded “disastrous” HBO series The Idol where he played Tedros. Moreover, he was the face of the video game industry’s Fortnite Festival, where gamers could purchase exclusive in-game attire based on The Weeknd’s career. In addition, he hinted about retiring his stage name while surpassing 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify and receiving an invitation to join the Academy.
So, What’s Next?
In 2022, Abel began to tease a possible next step on social media with a statement on Twitter saying, “[I] wonder… did you know you’re experiencing a new trilogy?”. This would be the upcoming third chapter to his ongoing After Hours and Dawn FM albums. This sent fans, including myself, into a frenzy. Now fast forward to 2024, he continued to tease an upcoming album and was featured in both the We Don’t Trust You and We Still Don’t Trust You albums by Future and Metro Boomin. So, this raises the big question again, are we getting a new album? Fortunately for The Weeknd’s fan base he announced an upcoming sixth album called Hurry Up Tomorrow on September 4th. This was announced just 3 days after he hosted a one-night-only live event in SĂŁo Paulo, Brazil that took place September 7th. His event was broadcasted across the nation, with special guests including Anitta and Playboi Carti. Over 75,000 people were in attendance and millions more watched online.
What Should We Expect for This New Album?
A press release statement explained that Hurry Up Tomorrow would be “the creative apex of the project, serving as the third and final chapter crafted with existential and self-referential themes as seen with the latest visionary teasers that have set fans ablaze with anticipation for this concluding installment.” Although Hurry Up Tomorrow hasn’t dropped quite yet, we can still review some of the unreleased music he performed in SĂŁo Paulo. These included the songs –
- Fades to Black/Runaway
- Wake Me Up
- Take Me Back to LA
- Dancing in The Flames
- SĂŁo Paulo Ft. Anitta
- Let’s End It All
- Hurry Up Tomorrow
However, there is some good news coming in the near future! This Friday, September 13th, The Weeknd is releasing his new single Dancing in The Flames. So, keep your eyes and ears open for this new drop!
What Does This Mean for The Future?
Many fans have begun to speculate with the releasing of this sixth album, a possible tour may be on its way. For now, all we can do is hope. The next step is to stay on the lookout for the confirmed release date of the Hurry Up Tomorrow album. Happy listening :)