The drought for fans of Scarborough-raised singer-songwriter The Weeknd is almost over as a new album will drop on Friday, marking what looks to be the star’s last music under that name.
Born Abel Tesfaye, the “Blinding Lights” singer says he will retire his stage name after one last album as The Weekend, however XO stans don’t have to worry as he will continue making music under his birth name.
Tesfaye plans to end this chapter of his career with a highly anticipated album titled “Hurry Up Tomorrow” that he has been teasing for a little over a year.
He has been slowly rolling out details of his high-production comeback, which promises more than just new music. Here’s everything you need to know about the new album.
When does The Weeknd’s new album release?
“Hurry Up Tomorrow,” his sixth studio album, is slated to drop on Jan. 31. It will be the artist’s first album since 2022’s “Dawn FM” and the final part of the trilogy that started with the chart-topping “After Hours” in 2020, a record that was a deep dive into the singer-songwriter’s pain from a broken heart as he grappled with loneliness during the pandemic, when much of the world felt lost and alone.
It was announced in late November that “Hurry Up Tomorrow” would come out on Jan. 24 but, following the quick-growing mammoth fires ravaging the Los Angeles area, Tesfaye announced he would postpone its release “out of respect and concern” for the community. He also cancelled a comeback show he was planning to play at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif., one of the regions affected by the destructive Eaton fire.
“Hurry Up Tomorrow” comes just before the 2025 Grammy Awards on Sunday, the prestigious music awards that The Weeknd has been boycotting since 2021 after the well-received “After Hours” was snubbed by the Recording Academy.
Is The Weeknd retiring?
Although Tesfaye doesn’t plan to retire from the music industry, he says “Hurry Up Tomorrow” will be his final rodeo as The Weekend.
In an interview with Variety, when asked if he would quit music, he responded: “I don’t think I can stop doing that.”
“But everything needs to feel like a challenge. And for me right now, The Weeknd, whatever that is, it’s been mastered. No one’s gonna do The Weeknd better than me, and I’m not gonna do it better than what it is right now.”
In late December, the artist teased the end of his career as The Weekend when billboards with the words “The End Is Near” starting popping up in cities around the world.
What is The Weeknd’s ‘After Hours’ trilogy about?
From starting in Toronto’s underground music scene and experiencing homelessness in his hometown to becoming a global superstar and living in glitzy Bel Air, Tesfaye’s music is inspired by his life, exploring themes that include toxic love, drug addiction, and his struggles with fame and heartbreak.
“After Hours” focuses on a battered and bruised Weeknd alter ego, wearing a red suit while bandaged and distorted, which the artist himself said represents “the absurd culture of Hollywood celebrity and people manipulating themselves for superficial reasons to please and be validated.”
“Dawn FM” is a conceptual album that follows a fictional radio station called “103.5 Dawn FM” — with Canadian-American actor and comedian Jim Carrey as a radio DJ — that helps listeners search for answers about the afterlife, transitioning through the phases of purgatory. Much like its predecessor, “Dawn FM” is a reflection of The Weeknd’s struggles with past trauma but also displays his hopeful side, teasing better days in the future.
Both albums have contributed to The Weekend becoming a household name, known for his distinctive voice and use of falsetto. He has 25 songs to his name that have made it to the billions club on Spotify, making him the first artist on the platform to accomplish this feat. He is currently Spotify’s second most streamed artist in the world and his hit “Blinding Lights” is the platform’s top played song with more than 4.6 billion streams.
What can fans expect from ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’?
Storyline and themes
The story of Tesfaye’s alter ego is expected to continue.
Speaking to Variety, The Weeknd spilled few details about his upcoming album while saying he felt like a failure when he lost his “secret weapon” — his voice — during his 2022 show at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
Tesfaye said his heart dropped when his voice “went out” during the first song and he felt “defeated” for disappointing his fans. He said his condition was exacerbated by exhaustion and stress due to touring while also filming his HBO TV series “The Idol.”
He says “Hurry Up Tomorrow” is based on the “mental breakdown” he experienced after the 2022 mishap.
“It’s almost like my whole life flashed before my eyes,” he told Variety.
Sound and music style
The Weeknd has widely been credited with reviving ’80s synth pop after dabbling with the sound on “After Hours” ahead of the heavily synth-pop-inspired “Dawn FM.”
With “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” fans can expect a return to the sound, as evident in the September release of “Dancing in the Flames,” which has been confirmed as a track on the upcoming album.
Variety revealed that one track on “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” possibly the final song on the album, is reminiscent of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” while Tesfaye explores other genres and sounds including classic R&B, pop, acoustic guitars and fast beats.
The Weeknd said the album feels “almost like an opera,” calling it a “gothic, operatic finale to the trilogy.”
Album cover
Fans witnessed a bloodied Tesfaye on the album cover of “After Hours” and an older self with grey hair and wrinkles on “Dawn FM.”
On the main album cover for “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” The Weeknd is young again but dejected, appearing to be holding back tears.
Have any songs on ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’ been released?
Along with “Dancing in the Flames,” other songs that are suspected to be on the album include “Timeless” with Playboi Carti and “São Paulo” with Anitta. The Weeknd released music videos for both and live performance videos from his September one-off concert in São Paulo, Brazil.
“Timeless” is a return to gritty lyrics in a hip-hop trap song.
“São Paulo” sees Tesfaye sing in Portuguese on an explicit, Brazilian funk track, with a music video with surreal, body horror imagery, including an apparently pregnant Anitta, whose belly button transforms into lips that fans say could belong to a young Tesfaye.
Who might feature on The Weekend’s new album?
Other than Anitta and Playboi Carti, Tesfaye hasn’t publicly announced who might appear, but sources say the record will feature several “major special guests.”
A few producers have been disclosed as having participated in the production of “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” including Pharrell Williams, Mike Dean, Ojivolta and Giorgio Moroder, the Italian producer-composer dubbed the “father of disco,” known for his work with disco queen Donna Summer on songs “Hot Stuff” and “I Feel Love.”
In his Variety interview, The Weeknd called Moroder a “huge inspiration for this album,” adding that he contributed vocals, keyboards and arrangements.
“His DNA has always been in all of my music,” The Weeknd said of Moroder, “but I’m really honing in on it here, especially the operatic synths in ‘Scarface.’”
Is The Weeknd releasing a movie?
The artist will star in a film also called “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” a suspense thriller he co-wrote that co-stars Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan, and is set for release on May 16. The film ties into the album storyline, extending The Weeknd’s vision beyond music.
Is The Weeknd going on tour?
The Weeknd revealed the comeback would include a new tour this year, however no details about cities, dates or tickets have been confirmed.
