| Hurry Up Tomorrow | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | the Weeknd |
| Cover: | Hurry Up Tomorrow cover.jpg |
| Alt: | The Weeknd in a black tank top, looking towards the viewer and visibly holding tears back from his eyes |
| Studio: | Conway (Los Angeles) |
| Label: | |
| Producer: |
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| Prev Title: | The Idol Episode 5 Part 2 (Music from the HBO Original Series) |
| Prev Year: | 2023 |
| Year: | 2025 |
Hurry Up Tomorrow is the upcoming sixth studio album by the 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).
On March 25, 2020, the Weeknd previewed five unreleased tracks during an Instagram live session,[1] some of which were reportedly intended for After Hours,[2] which was released five days prior. 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 After Hours (Deluxe) or Dawn FM. One of the previewed tracks, "Regular", resurfaced in a CGI teaser for Hurry Up Tomorrow released on July 23, 2024.[4] Another song, "Take Me Back to LA", was teased again at a Mike Dean show in March 2024,[5] alongside a third unreleased track, "In Heaven", the Weeknd's own rendition of the original song from the 1977 film Eraserhead.[6] "Regular", "Take Me Back to LA", and "In Heaven" were performed live again on September 7, 2024, in São Paulo, seemingly confirming their inclusion on the album.[7] [8]
On January 10, 2022, three days after the release of Dawn FM, the Weeknd confirmed the existence of a follow-up album by tweeting: “I wonder… did you know you’re experiencing a new trilogy?”.[9] This revealed that the upcoming album would conclude a trilogy that began with After Hours (2020) and continued with Dawn FM (2022). The new trilogy serves as a nod to his 2012 compilation album Trilogy, which combines his debut mixtapes House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence, released in 2011.[10] Fans have speculated that his new trilogy is inspired by Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, reflecting its themes, symbolism, and narrative arc. According to this theory, the albums represent a journey through Hell (After Hours), Purgatory (Dawn FM), and Paradise (Hurry Up Tomorrow).[11]
In an interview with W in May 2023, the Weeknd stated that his next album would be his "last hurrah" under the stage name, hinting that he may make music under his real name, Abel Tesfaye:
“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.”[12]On January 7, 2024, two years after the release of his fifth studio album Dawn FM (2022), the Weeknd first teased his upcoming record by posting the cover art for his previous two studio albums, as well as a black slide with a white question mark in the center, captioned by the number "3" on Instagram.[13] 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", the second one being a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche. The teasers featured an animation of a young boy, presumably a young Abel Tesfaye, and The Weeknd's characters from other albums, like Trilogy (2012), After Hours (2020), and Dawn FM (2022). Also, new songs from the upcoming album were teased, such as "Regular", "Wake Me Up", and "Runaway".[14]
In an interview with Billboard Brasil on September 6, the Weeknd revealed that a "central song" was composed in São Paulo, with the album exploring different sounds, which he nicknamed "frankenstein".[15] In the same publication, a collaboration with Brazilian singer Anitta was confirmed after months of rumours, although the article was later removed by Billboard.[16]
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.[17] The show sold out in under one hour on July 22, 2024, with 420,000 fans attempting to buy tickets.[18] A trailer released August 20 revealed the show would stream live on YouTube.[19] 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.[20] 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".[25] 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".[26] [27]
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".
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,[28] featuring "never-before-seen production", and a stage that will take over the stadium's entire floor.[29] On December 2, 2024, the show was sold out in under one hour, as over 300,000 fans attempted to buy tickets.[30]
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.[31] 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.[32] A release date is yet to be confirmed.
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.[33]
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.[34] It has not yet been made available on other platforms.
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.[35]
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.[36] The song debuted and peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100, marking the Weeknd's highest career debut on the chart.[37]
On October 25, Brazillian singer Anitta shared a post depicting herself with a baby belly and a white face mask.[38] 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.[39] 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.[40] Released on October 30, the single's music video premiered simultaneously.[41] [42] [43] The song debuted and peaked at number 77 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[44]
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]
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.[45] The previous two editions were available for 72 hours, with a limited restock on December 2, 2024, also lasting 72 hours.[46] [47]