Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd, has spent the majority of his career being one of the most well-acclaimed artists on the planet. Since his debut in 2011 with the mixtape “House of Balloons,” he has made seven No. 1 hits, became the fourth most streamed artist of all time on Spotify and has sold over 200 million records. Many believe his massive success can be partially credited to his unique sound, which is a dark, futuristic take on conventional pop and R&B.
“I like that he takes a lot of inspiration from … a lot of horror movies,” Maddox Stone (12) said. “I like how he incorporates that into his sound … and even his music videos have a really cinematic feel to them. Another thing is, with his lyrics, a lot of it is maybe a little bit more subtle. Every time you hear something from him, it’s coming from the voice of a very unreliable narrator. So everything’s not exactly as it seems.”
On Jan. 31, he released his latest album, “Hurry Up Tomorrow.” The album features artists such as Playboi Carti, Anitta, Lana Del Ray and Future. The lead single, “Dancing in the Flames,” was removed from the album due to the album release date coinciding with the Los Angeles wildfires.
“[‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’] is amazing,” Rigeyye Abdun (12) said. “[My favorite song is] ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow,’ the last [track], because he’s ending an era. If you listen to the lyrics, he’s talking about ending something; he’s starting a new chapter.”
To promote the album, The Weeknd made a surprise appearance at the 2025 Grammy awards. This came after his 2020 album, “After Hours,” which included the massive hits “Save Your Tears” and “Blinding Lights,” was snubbed in every category it was submitted in, not receiving a single nomination. He announced that he would boycott the Grammys following the snubbing, and he did not submit any music from his 2022 album “Dawn FM” for consideration.
“The snubbing is insane … I mean, he made the most streamed song ever, and he didn’t even get a nomination for that year,” Stone said. “I can’t imagine how anyone must feel about that … being told ‘This is your year; you made the most streamed song,’ and not even getting a nomination [and] how defeated you might feel. As for him going back to the Grammys, I can see how it kind of goes along with the message of [Hurry Up Tomorrow]: forgiveness.”
A companion film to “Hurry Up Tomorrow” has been announced for release this May. The Weeknd will star in the lead role.This will not be his first lead acting role, as previously, in 2023, he starred in “The Idol,” an HBO series he co-produced with Euphoria creator Sam Levinson. The show was widely panned on release, particularly for its writing, its tone and the Weeknd’s performance as Tedros Tedros, the lead role.
“[I started watching ‘The Idol’] but I never finished it,” Abdun said. “I mean, he’s okay as an actor, but I really don’t think it’s his thing. But he’s making a movie, ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow,’ and I’m looking forward to seeing that, because a TV series and a movie are two different things, so the movie will probably be better compared to the series.”
“Hurry Up Tomorrow” has been rumored to be Tesfaye’s last album under the persona of The Weeknd. The album’s final song, “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” the title track, ends the same way that ‘‘High For This,” the first song on the Weeknd’s first mixtape, starts, hinting that The Weeknd’s musical career has come full circle.
“I think I would listen to [a Tesfaye album without The Weeknd persona] because it’s still the same person making music, just under a different name,” Logan Swan (10) said.