From “After Hours” to “Dawn”, the announcement of The Weeknds’ final album has left fans patiently waiting for the release and theorizing what the theme will be after speculation of a sister trilogy.
Abel Tesfaye, more widely known as “The Weeknd”, began releasing music in 2009 anonymously, but did not start to pick up speed until the release of 3 mixtapes –House of Balloons”, “Thursday”, and “Echoes of Silence”– after co-founding the record label XO.
“Can’t Feel My Face”, was released in 2015 and sent a shockwave through the music industry, debuting at number 24 on the US Billboard Hot 100, ranking as best song of 2015 by “Rolling Stone, being nominated for two Grammy Awards, and much more. This would only lead The Weeknd to gain traction in the media and explode in popularity.
On Sept. 4, 2024, Tesfaye announced the title of the album, “HURRY UP TOMORROW”, with no hint of a release date. To accompany the announcement of the title, a trailer was released. On Sept. 7, Tesfaye posted the cover for the album on both Instagram and Twitter.
While not much is known about this album, “HURRY UP TOMORROW”, will be the final album of a trilogy consisting of Tesfayes’ previous albums, “After Hours(2020)” and “Dawn FM(2022)”. While this is confirmed, there are also a few different details that help connect the albums.
For all three album covers, Tesfaye used a photo of his face, but all three are at different angles. “After Hours” shows Tesfaye chin up, as a bloodied and beaten version of himself. “Dawn FM” shows Tesfaye staring blankly, now with a thick beard and white hairs. “HURRY UP TOMORROW” shows Tesfaye with his head angled down, staring up at the viewer with an unsettling look.
“After Hours” was prefaced saying, “You can find love, fear, friends, enemies, violence… all in the After Hours of the night.” “Dawn FM” was used to represent the in-between of life and death or purgatory, where it was repeated throughout the album that there was no escape. “HURRY UP TOMORROW” is theorized to be themed on the “after life” after Tesfaye had spent his time in purgatory and now has to face whatever awaits him.
The releases of singles, “Dancing In The Flames” on Sept. 13 and “Timeless” (With Playboi Carti) on Sept. 27 have left fans desperately awaiting the release of The Weeknds final album. After years of sitting among the greats of the music world, The Weeknd’s last hoorah is sure to send him off with a bang.
