The Weeknd has taken to social media to tease a new album – which will not only complete a purported trilogy following 2020’s After Hours and 2022’s Dawn FM, but potentially be the final album under The Weeknd moniker entirely.
On Instagram, a carousel of three images showed the cover of After Hours first, then Dawn FM. Its third slide, however, featured only a black square with a glowing white question mark in the centre and a Parental Advisory sticker in the corner. The post’s caption, meanwhile, featured only an emoji with the number 3. The post can be viewed below.
The Weeknd first alluded to an album trilogy in January of 2022, shortly after the release of Dawn FM. “I wonder… did you know you’re experiencing a new trilogy?” he posted on X (then Twitter), paired with visuals from Dawn FM. His use of “new” alludes to the origins of The Weeknd circa 2011: That year, he released three consecutive mixtapes online for free (House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence) that were later remastered and repackaged as the 2012 compilation Trilogy.
The Weeknd – ‘Gasoline’
In-between the filming of his divisive 2023 HBO series The Idol, which was not picked up for a second season, The Weeknd has continued to play stadiums on his After Hours ‘Til Dawn world tour. The tour was meant to come to Australia this past November, but was indefinitely postponed weeks out. At the time of writing, new Australia and New Zealand tour dates had not been officially announced.
Given that The Weeknd’s career began with a trilogy, and this as-yet-untitled sixth studio album will complete a second one, fans have speculated that The Weeknd as a musical project will not continue beyond the next album. Abel Tesfaye, the man behind The Weeknd, addressed this to an extent in an interview with W back in May 2023.
“It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter,” Tesfaye said at the time. “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.”
Further Reading
The Weeknd Donates $2.5m to Palestinian Aid
The Weeknd Breaks All-Time Record for Spotify Monthly Listeners
The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ is Spotify’s Most Streamed Song Ever
