It's fittingly poetic that one of the most monumental music careers of the past 15 years will seemingly begin with a trilogy and also end with a trilogy. Of course, we're talking about The Weeknd's highly anticipated follow-up to Dawn FM and After Hours, which will conclude not just this era of his journey, but also possibly his stage name. Moreover, the hype for this project just caught a fresh new wind thanks to his most recent social media post, which is a cinematic trailer showcasing the aesthetics and a sonic mashup of the aforementioned 2020s albums. The final part of the clip shows what seems to be a young version of Abel Tesfaye amid grass, with the message: "There are three chapters to this tale."
Furthermore, fans think that The Weeknd will kick off his next album's rollout into full gear now, especially thanks to a one-off show in São Paulo, Brazil on September 7. This also follows previous teases, such as a possible Apple collab, that have given vague but exciting hints about what's to come. From what this new trailer indicates, perhaps this new version of the Canadian superstar will be his rebirth or reincarnation following the death (or purgatory) narrated on After Hours and Dawn FM. That's just speculative, though, so we'll have to see what the LP actually indicates.
The Weeknd Is Ready To Close His 2020s Trilogy
Elsewhere, though, The Weeknd has had a pretty notable 2024 without having to do much, as he's a player in the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef. His features on Future and Metro Boomin's We (Still) Don't Trust You album series this year seemingly contained a couple of 6ix God shots, and his appearance at Kendrick's "Pop Out" also furthered this narrative. Still, Abel didn't really become part of the whole narrative. It's just wild that he was still a huge name this year despite not doing much to warrant this, but then again, that's his massive artistry at work.
Meanwhile, speaking of Metro Boomin, we know that he will at least provide some production to The Weeknd's next project. Given the conceptual and musical directions of After Hours and Dawn FM, this will likely be another highly ambitious affair. We don't know whether it will be a sonic evolution or more of the same in this trilogy, but either way, we should be in for a treat. Let's hope that he follows up this trailer with some more concrete news.