Hurry Up Tomorrow
Hurry Up Tomorrow | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 24, 2025 | |||
Studio | Conway (Los Angeles) | |||
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Producer |
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The Weeknd chronology | ||||
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Singles from Hurry Up Tomorrow | ||||
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Hurry Up Tomorrow is the upcoming sixth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It is scheduled to be released through XO and Republic Records on January 24, 2025. The album contains confirmed guest appearances from Playboi Carti and Anitta. Production was handled by the Weeknd himself, Max Martin, Oscar Holter, Pharrell Williams, Mike Dean, Ojivolta, Twisco, and Sean Solymar, among others. The album was supported by three singles: "Dancing in the Flames", "Timeless" (with Playboi Carti), and "São Paulo" (featuring Anitta). It will be also be supported by the upcoming psychological thriller film of the same name. The album serves as the final part of a trilogy, following the Weeknd's previous two studio albums, After Hours (2020) and Dawn FM (2022).
Background and recording
[edit]On March 25, 2020, five days after he released his fourth studio album, After Hours, the Weeknd previewed five unreleased tracks during an Instagram Live stream,[1] some of which were reportedly intended for the album.[2] Three of these songs were later included in the deluxe edition of the album.[3] However, the other tracks did not make the final cut of the deluxe edition or the album's successor, Dawn FM, which was released on January 7, 2022. One of the tracks that were previewed in the livestream, "Regular", resurfaced in a CGI teaser for the Weeknd's then-upcoming next album on July 23, 2024.[4] On March 1, 2024, American record producer Mike Dean performed a DJ set at the Pellissier Building and Wiltern Theatre for his 59th birthday, in which he brought the Weeknd out to perform a few songs. "Take Me Back to LA" was one of them[5] along with, "In Heaven", which is the Weeknd's rendition of the original song from the 1977 film Eraserhead.[6] On September 7, 2024, the Weeknd performed a one-night-only concert at Estádio do Morumbi (also known as MorumBIS), where he performed most of the songs from the album.[7][8]
On January 10, 2022, the Weeknd seemingly revealed that both After Hours and Dawn FM were both part of a trilogy, with his next album being the final offering from it, writing: "I wonder... did you know you're experiencing a new trilogy?".[9][10][9][10] The new trilogy may possibly serve as a reference to his 2012 compilation album, Trilogy, which combines his first three mixtapes: House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence (2011).[11] Fans have speculated that the three-album trilogy is inspired by the Italian narrative poem Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri because of its similar themes, symbolism, and narrative arc. According to this theory, the albums represent a journey through Hell with After Hours, Purgatory with Dawn FM, and Paradise with Hurry Up Tomorrow.[12]
On May 8, 2023, in an interview with the W magazine, the Weeknd stated that he is "ready to close The Weeknd chapter" in his life and will probably release a final studio album under his moniker, therefore starting and ending its journey with a trilogy:
"The album I'm working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd. This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I've said everything I can say. I'll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd. And I will. Eventually. I'm definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn."[13]
On January 7, 2024, the Weeknd first teased Hurry Up Tomorrow by posting the cover arts for After Hours and Dawn FM, as well as a black square with a white question mark in the center, captioned by the number "3" on Instagram.[14] In July 2024, he shared a trio of CGI teasers, being titled "There Are Three Chapters in this Tale", "When you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you", and "Unprepared Certainty", with the second one being a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche. The teasers featured an animation of a young boy, presumably the Weeknd as a child, and his characters from other albums, such as Trilogy, After Hours, and Dawn FM. The rollout of Hurry Up Tomorrow continued over time as three more then-unreleased songs from the album were later teased: "Regular", "Wake Me Up", and "Runaway".[15] On September 6, an interview with Billboard Brasil, the Weeknd revealed that a "central song" was composed in São Paulo, with the album exploring different sounds, which he nicknamed "frankenstein".[16] In the same publication, a collaboration with Brazilian singer Anitta was confirmed after months of rumours, although Billboard Brasil later deleted the article.[17]
Promotion
[edit]São Paulo concert
[edit]On July 17, 2024, the Weeknd announced a special one-night concert in São Paulo, Brazil featuring "never-before-seen production", taking place on September 7.[18] The show sold out in under one hour on July 22, 2024, with 420,000 fans attempting to buy tickets.[19] A trailer released August 20 revealed the show would stream live on YouTube.[20] The album title Hurry Up Tomorrow was officially announced on September 4, a few days before the concert, through a video with a written poem.[10] Hours before the concert on September 7, the album cover was revealed, with album preorders on vinyl and CDs subsequently being opened through the XO webstore.[21][22]
The 90-minute concert was held in the MorumBIS Stadium, where the Weeknd performed over 20 songs exclusively from After Hours and Dawn FM, and debuted new songs from Hurry Up Tomorrow[23][24] including "The Crowd", "Wake Me Up", "Take Me Back to LA", "Dancing in the Flames", "São Paulo" (featuring Anitta), "Run Away", "Regular", and "In Heaven".[8] In addition to Anitta’s appearance for "São Paulo", the concert featured two performances by Playboi Carti, including a version of Travis Scott’s single "Fein" and a new song called "Timeless".[25][26]
iHeartRadio Music Festival performance
[edit]On September 21, 2024, the Weeknd performed in Las Vegas at the iHeartRadio Music Festival for the first time since 2017. He played songs from After Hours and Dawn FM, and two songs from Hurry Up Tomorrow: "Dancing in the Flames" and then-unreleased "São Paulo".
Rose Bowl concert
[edit]On November 27, 2024, exactly five years after the new trilogy had started with the release of After Hours' lead single "Heartless", the Weeknd announced January 24, 2025 as the album's release date. He also announced another "one-night only" concert, this time in Pasadena, California at the Rose Bowl stadium for the day after release,[27] featuring "never-before-seen production", and a stage that will take over the stadium's entire floor.[28] On December 2, 2024, the show was sold out in under one hour, as over 300,000 fans attempted to buy tickets.[29]
Psychological thriller film
[edit]On November 4, 2024, American film studio Lionsgate announced their acquisition of worldwide distribution rights to Hurry Up Tomorrow, a psychological thriller film based on the album of the same name.[30] It is directed by Trey Edward Schults, who wrote the screenplay with Tesfaye and Reza Fahim, who also produced the film with Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss. Making his feature film debut, Tesfaye stars alongside Jenna Ortega, Barry Keoghan and Gabby Barrett. Live Nation Entertainment financed the film on a budget of over $20 million.[31] A release date is yet to be confirmed.
Collaboration with Apple
[edit]American technology company Apple Inc. played a prominent role in promotion of the album. The announcement of lead single "Dancing in the Flames" followed Apple’s live event, where the iPhone 16 Pro was unveiled alongside a teaser of the music video, which was shot entirely on the device.[32]
The Weeknd debuted "Open Hearts," a track from his then unreleased album, during the After Hours til Dawn Tour shows in Sydney's Accor Stadium on October 22 and 23. The song was officially released on November 14 as part of an immersive music experience in collaboration with Apple, featured exclusively on the Apple Vision Pro.[33] It has not yet been made available on other platforms.
Singles
[edit]The Weeknd announced the release of his album's lead single, "Dancing in the Flames", on September 9, 2024, two days after being debuted at his concert in São Paulo. The song, accompanied by its music and lyric videos, was officially released four days later. On September 15, a live audio version of the song was released, taken from the São Paulo performance. Two days later, an acoustic version was released. The initial song debuted at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[34]
Four days after performing live at the iHeartRadio Music Festival, on September 25, the second single "Timeless" with American rapper Playboi Carti was announced. The song had already debuted live at the São Paulo concert earlier that month. It was released on September 27, alongside an accompanying lyric video. The music video was released three days later.[35] The song debuted and peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100, marking the Weeknd's highest career debut on the chart.[36]
On October 25, Brazillian singer Anitta shared a post depicting herself with a baby belly and a white face mask.[37] Two days later, she shared a post depicting an ultrasound image of a baby with sharp teeth and a forked tail asking if the creature is beautiful, to which the Weeknd responded how beautiful it looks.[38] The picture was labeled with the coordinates of São Paulo, Brazil, along with a date later revealed as the release date of the third single "São Paulo", featuring Anitta.[39] Released on October 30, the single's music video premiered simultaneously.[40][41][42] The song debuted and peaked at number 77 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[43]
Artwork
[edit]The album cover for Hurry Up Tomorrow features a portrait of Tesfaye in a black tank top, gazing at the camera and seemingly holding back tears.[22]
Collector's edition vinyls
[edit]To further promote the album, three special edition vinyl LPs featuring exclusive artwork by Harmony Korine (October 4, 2024), Hajime Sorayama (November 13, 2024), and Frank Miller (November 27, 2024) were made available for pre-order.[44] The previous two editions were available for 72 hours, with a limited restock on December 2, 2024, also lasting 72 hours.[45][46]
References
[edit]- ^ The Weeknd playing snippets of unreleased songs on Instagram Live 3/25/2020. Retrieved September 14, 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ Paul, Larisha (July 23, 2024). "The Weeknd Previews Journey Into the Abyss With Eerie New Music Teaser". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
- ^ Holmes, Charles (March 23, 2020). "The Weeknd Releases 'After Hours (Deluxe),' Featuring Lil Uzi Vert and Oneohtrix Point Never". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
- ^ Paul, Larisha (July 23, 2024). "The Weeknd Previews Journey Into the Abyss With Eerie New Music Teaser". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
- ^ Mock, Ben (March 2, 2024). "The Weeknd Performs Unreleased "Take Me Back To LA" At Mike Dean Show". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (March 2, 2024). "See The Weeknd, Travis Scott Join Mike Dean Onstage in Los Angeles". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (September 8, 2024). "See the Weeknd Debut 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Songs at Livestreamed Sao Paulo Show". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
- ^ a b Iasimone, Ashley (September 8, 2024). "The Weeknd Debuts 'Dancing in the Flames' and More New Songs in São Paulo". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ a b Price, Joe. "The Weeknd Announces New Album 'Hurry Up Tomorrow'". www.complex.com. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ a b c Aswad, Jem (September 4, 2024). "The Weeknd Reveals Title, New Details About Next Album". Variety. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ Mamo, Heran (January 8, 2024). "The Weeknd Teases Final Album in Trilogy, Following 'After Hours' & 'Dawn FM'". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
- ^ Duran, Anagricel (January 8, 2024). "The Weeknd teases return with 'After Hours' and 'Dawn FM' sequel". NME. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ "The Weeknd & Lily-Rose Depp Set the 'Idol' Record Straight". archive.is. May 8, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
- ^ Mamo, Heran (January 8, 2024). "The Weeknd Teases Final Album in Trilogy, Following After Hours & Dawn FM". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ Paul, Larisha (July 23, 2024). "The Weeknd Previews Journey Into the Abyss With Eerie New Music Teaser". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ Pacilio, Isabela (September 6, 2024). "The Weeknd is the new cover of Billboard Brazil; read the exclusive interview - Billboard Brasil". billboard.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ "The Weeknd Confirma Parceria Musical Com Anitta Em Novo álbum - Notícia Agora" (in Brazilian Portuguese). September 6, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
- ^ Mamo, Heran (July 17, 2024). "The Weeknd Announces One-Night-Only Concert in São Paulo". Billboard. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
- ^ Chart data. "The Weeknd's show in São Paulo, Brazil sells out in less than an hour. Reported 420,000 people tried to buy tickets".
- ^ Mamo, Heran (August 21, 2024). "The Weeknd to Livestream His Upcoming One-Night-Only São Paulo Show: 'Feast Your Eyes'". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ The Weeknd [@theweeknd] (September 7, 2024). "ALBUM COVER" (Tweet). Retrieved September 7, 2014 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Iasimone, Ashley (September 7, 2024). "The Weeknd Reveals 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Album Cover, Launches Preorder Ahead of São Paulo Concert Livestream". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ "The Weeknd São Paulo Tickets, Choperia N1 Estádio do Morumbi, 7 September 2024". Eventworld. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ The Weeknd – São Paulo Livestream. Retrieved September 8, 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ Aswad, Jem (September 8, 2024). "The Weeknd Brings Out Anitta and Playboi Carti, Premieres Several New Songs at Massive Concert in Brazil". Variety. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (September 8, 2024). "See the Weeknd Debut 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Songs at Livestreamed Sao Paulo Show". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ Betancourt, Emiliana (November 27, 2024). "The Weeknd Sets 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Release Date for January, Plans Rose Bowl Concert". Variety. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
- ^ Mamo, Heran (November 27, 2024). "The Weeknd Announces One-Night-Only Rose Bowl Stadium Show". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
- ^ Iahn, Buddy (December 2, 2024). "The Weeknd sells out one-night-only Rose Bowl show in under one hour". The Music Universe. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 4, 2024). "Lionsgate Makes Worldwide Deal For Hurry Up Tomorrow; Thriller Marks Film-Starring Debut Of The Weeknd". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
- ^ Masters, Kim (July 23, 2024). "What's Ailing Euphoria? Tragedy and Trauma Inside TV's Buzziest Show". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ Mamo, Heran (September 9, 2024). "The Weeknd Announces New Single 'Dancing in the Flames': Here's When It Arrives". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ Zavaleta, Jonathan (November 15, 2024). "The Weeknd Dropped His Most Immersive Music Video Yet, but There's Only One Way to See It". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ "The Weeknd Announces Release Date for New Single 'Dancing in the Flames' Along With Video Shot Entirely on iPhone 16 Pro". Variety. September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
- ^ Andrews, Elias (September 27, 2024). "The Weeknd And Playboi Carti Transcend With New Single "TIMELESS"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ^ Trust, Gary (October 7, 2024). "Shaboozey No. 1 on Hot 100 for 13th Week, Billie Eilish Flies to No. 2, The Weeknd & Playboi Carti Debut at No. 3". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
- ^ Andrews, Elias (October 26, 2024). "The Weeknd Teases Anitta Collab "São Paulo" With Cryptic Mask Post". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ Kaufman, Gil (October 28, 2024). "The Weeknd and Anitta Appear to Tease Upcoming Collaboration With Devilish Ultrasound Pic: 'Isn't He Beautiful?'". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ Zavala, Cristina (October 28, 2024). "La ecografía de Anitta tras mostrar su barriga de embarazada, nos anuncia algo grande, ¿qué se trae con The Weeknd?". Los 40 (in Spanish). Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ Strauss, Matthew (October 31, 2024). "The Weeknd and Anitta Release Video for New Song "São Paulo"". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (October 31, 2024). "The Weeknd and Anitta Mark Halloween With Body Horror-Inspired 'São Paulo' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ Mamo, Heran (October 31, 2024). "The Weeknd & Anitta Deliver 'São Paulo' Song & Video: Stream It Now". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ "Shawn Mendes and His 'Heart of Gold' Debut on Billboard Canadian Hot 100 | Billboard Canada". ca.billboard.com. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
- ^ "The Weeknd Unveils Limited-Edition 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Vinyl LP With Artwork From Frank Miller". Hypebeast. November 27, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ^ "The Weeknd and Harmony Korine Team Up for Collector's Edition of 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' │ Exclaim!". The Weeknd and Harmony Korine Team Up for Collector's Edition of 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' │ Exclaim!. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ^ Grant, Shawn (November 14, 2024). "The Weeknd Unveils Limited-Edition 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Vinyl with Japanese Artist Hajime Sorayama". The Source Magazine. Retrieved December 3, 2024.