Following the albums “After Hours” in 2020 and “Dawn FM” in 2022, Canadian singer and songwriter The Weeknd released the third and final installment of his “After Hours” trilogy with the album “Hurry Up Tomorrow” on Friday, Jan. 31 — a grand, cinematic close to his career as The Weeknd. The singer teased his album at a show in São Paulo, Brazil back in September of 2024, debuting his singles “Timeless” and “São Paulo” and performing with a never-seen-before stage and production that was well-received by audience members.

In an interview with “W” in May of 2023, the four-time Grammy winner stated that this album will mark the end to his enigmatic persona and opens the possibility of creating music under his legal name, Abel Tesfaye, to “shed that skin and be reborn.” The Weeknd also formally announced on X in December of 2024 that a psychological thriller film titled “Hurry Up Tomorrow” starring himself, Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan will be released on May 16, 2025, serving as an extension to his album’s release.

The Weeknd lures listeners into his cinematic world with the album’s opener “Wake Me Up,” an extravagant production featuring the French electronic duo Justice. The eerie tones of its orchestrated synths induce suspense for the rest of the album, effectively delivering the grandiose listening experience right off the bat. The song also shows the Weeknd’s versatility of production and songwriting, as it transitions to classic pop-synth with a sample of Michael Jackson’s 1984 hit “Thriller.”

The Weeknd continues this momentum with other tracks like “Cry For Me” and “Given Up On Me,” each including his signature falsettos that create an angelic ambiance. “Cry For Me” effectively portrays a haunting and dystopian atmosphere with the use of retro synths, while further into the album, the six-minute track “Given Up On Me” depicts the negative impacts addiction has on relationships. While first expressing hopelessness through melancholic voice echoes intertwined in rap beats, the end of the song eases into a ballad-like sense of hope as The Weeknd says, “The sunshine / I can feel the warmth on my skin for the first time.”

The Weeknd also incorporates meaningful interludes into the album, one notably being “I Can’t F****** Sing” which directly references the SoFi Stadium incident, where The Weeknd canceled his show due to not being able to sing. As a turning point in his career due to the ample hate from fans, this incident became a core motif in other tracks across the first half of the album. Distorting into overwhelming and staticky synths, the interlude leads perfectly into “São Paulo” featuring Brazilian singer Anitta, marking the Weeknd’s first steps into Brazilian funk. Although the song’s meaning veers away from the theme of faithfulness in the album, Anitta’s appearance gives fans something new to chew on and brings more diversity to the album.

Despite there being star-studded artists alongside The Weeknd on the album, the features were hit-or-miss. Some delivered intriguing performances as they were given adequate time to showcase their strengths, while others fell short as they were barely used in the song and sang differently from their conventional styles. For example, Playboi Carti’s feature on the early-release single “Timeless” showcases the duality in his voice, switching between his deep and high-pitched voice throughout the track that blended well with The Weeknd’s vocals. However, Future’s appearance on “Enjoy The Show” did not properly represent Future’s rap and hip-hop strengths. Because he attempted to match The Weeknd’s style of falsetto for his allotted time in the song, it prevented both singers from complementing each other and sounding cohesive.

While the features did have their highs and lows, The Weeknd dragged out the tracklist, as the album is composed of 22 tracks that range from three to six minutes each. Although the ethereal soundscapes were initially captivating, their persistence throughout the tracklist became a blur and displayed redundancy. The album lacked upbeat songs that could have broken up the monotony, ultimately becoming boring toward the end.

In the end, The Weeknd takes listeners on a full circle journey, with the last song on the album transitioning into his first ever release in 2012. By sharing his personal struggles through cinematic production and illustrative lyricism, The Weeknd succeeded in delivering an emotional farewell to his career as an artist that dominated the R&B industry for over a decade.

RATING: 3.5/5 

This story was originally published on El Estoque on February 15, 2025.