The Weeknd shared a nearly two-minute preview of a new song. The title is currently unknown, although it is the ostensible introduction to his next album cycle after After Hours. “Fuck it … IT STARTS TODAY,” he teased before the song was released. Check it out below.
After his appearance at the Billboard Music Awards in May 2021, he gave a short acceptance speech, in which he indicated that the next era of new music would begin: “Dawn is coming,” he said. The video below shows the horizon at dawn. In interviews and tweets over the past year, he alludes to the preparation of new music.
After Abel Tesfaye appeared alongside Adam Sandler in the Safdie brothers’ Uncut Gems last year, he released his album After Hours in March. Later that month he released three more new songs – “Missed You”, “Nothing Compares” and “Final Lullaby” – on a deluxe edition of the album. He later released a handful of After Hours remixes with Rosalía (“Blinding Lights”), Ariana Grande (“Save Your Tears”) and Kenny G (“In Your Eyes”).
After After Hours, Tesfaye headlined the 2021 Super Bowl Halftime Show, an effort he had partially funded himself. Despite the album’s success – a run that included a No. 1 Billboard debut – it was banned from Grammy nominations. Tesfaye responded by calling the Recording Academy’s voting committees “corrupt” and saying that he would no longer submit his work for Grammy consideration. Although the Recording Academy announced changes to its nomination process in late April, Tesfaye has retained his position.
Read “The Weeknds Director Alex Lill Unpacks The Singer’s Eccentric Series of After Hours TV Appearances” on the pitch.