The Weeknd's final act? New 'Hurry up Tomorrow' album hints at curtain call

USA Today

31-01-2025

After a weeklong delay, The Weeknd dropped a new album Thursday night.
"Hurry Up Tomorrow," the third and final chapter in his "After Hours" trilogy, was originally set for a Jan. 24 release. After wildfires destroyed large swaths of land and displaced hundreds in the Los Angeles area, however, the artist postponed the drop and canceled an accompanying show set to take place at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California.
Proceeds from "Take Me Back To LA" − a track on the new album − will be donated to LA Regional Food Bank, according to a release announcing the project. After the concert cancellation, The Weeknd also donated to $1 million to the LAFD Foundation, a firefighter organization, GoFundMe's Wildfire Relief Fund and the LA Regional Food Bank.
Now, the project is live across streaming platforms offering fans a look into the elusive artist's musical mind. Following up 2020's "After Hours" and 2022's "Dawn FM," "Hurry Up Tomorrow" has a confessional quality to it − heavy on conflicted love songs, light on ballads. It samples voicemails, heavy breathing and conversation intervals, breaking the fourth wall at times to let listeners in on the emotion behind the music.
In an interview with Variety earlier this month, the artist hinted that this album may be the end of The Weeknd − the persona Abel Tesfaye has long employed when performing.
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"It's a headspace I've gotta get into that I just don't have any more desire for. I feel like it comes with so much," he told the outlet. "When is the right time to leave, if not at your peak? Once you understand who I am too much, then it's time to pivot.'
That pivot was seemingly previewed in the accompanying text for "Hurry up Tomorrow." "Whether it's the end of a trilogy or the end of The Weeknd, Tomorrow is here," the project's description on Apple Music reads.
The Weeknd goes deep on 'Enjoy the Show'
With his signature falsetto vocals, the music offers an ethereal sound but doesn't hesitate to cut through it periodically with old-school disco loops.
Chronicling heartbreak, fear, and industry woes the tracks bleed into one another clearly designed to be listened to as a whole rather than single-by-single. Addiction, a theme long-mined by The Weeknd, weighs heavy on the album, particularly in "Enjoy The Show." In it, the artist alludes to a cyclical battle and seems to gesture at the audience that this is his final act.
"And when the curtains call / I hope you mourn," he sings, "but if you don't, I hope you enjoyed the (expletive) show / Let me know."
On "Baptized In Fear," either through metaphor or actual recounting, he sings of a near-drowning and a decision to live rather than give in − a theme throughout the project.
The Weeknd album features include 'The Abyss,' 'Reflections Laughing'
The album is full of surprising features ranging from Florence + The Machine and Travis Scott, to Future and Lana Del Ray.
"Reflections Laughing," a mid-album track features Florence while "Abyss," one of the project's final songs features Del Ray.
In "Sao Paulo," a previously released single with Playboi Carti, The Weeknd speeds past some of the rest of the album with a heart-pounding techno beat.
Later this year, The Weeknd will also release a feature film to accompany the album. He'll star alongside Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan in the psychological thriller, which will hit theaters May 16.