Playboi Carti shared a screenshot of himself on FaceTime with The Weeknd on Instagram, Sunday, ahead of the release of their new collaboration. The Weeknd previously teased the unreleased track at the premiere of The Idol at Cannes Film Festival, last week.
The snippet of the yet-to-be-released song played as cast members from HBO's upcoming show walked the red carpet in France. A clip of the moment it played surfaced on social media soon afterward.
The Weeknd At The Premiere Of "The Idol"
The collaboration comes as The Weeknd recently announced that he plans to abandon his artist name. Speaking with W Magazine, he explained that he wants to return as Abel and would continue making music. “I’m going through a cathartic path right now,” he said. “It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close The Weeknd chapter. 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. 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.”
The Weeknd stars in The Idol alongside Lily-Rose Depp. It's Sam Levinson's first series for HBO since creating Euphoria. The show has been plagued with behind-the-scenes controversy regarding chaotic scheduling, budgeting issues, and more.
The Weeknd & Playboi Carti's FaceTime
As for The Idol, the show had a controversial two-episode premiere at Cannes. Many critics felt that the show was over-sexualized and described there as being near-constant nude imagery of Lily-Rose Depp.
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