Hurry Up, Tomorrow
On September 4th, The Weeknd revealed the name of his sixth studio album, Hurry Up Tomorrow with an Instagram post containing the following text:
“Yesterday was fourteen years ago…
We held our breath, falling into a shimmering sea in the after hours of the night…
Attempted to cleanse the wounds with melodies and lights, a bulletproof bandage to shield what lies beneath.
In a place where the seasons never changed, where time ceased to exist. But therein lays the problem.
Today has felt like an endless spin, I keep distorting the truth, immune to the dizziness, numb to the nausea. What lies beneath — screams in silence.
I look in the mirror and feel both old and new, stuck in limbo and unable to move. I still haven’t faced myself.
More songs could help, but what do I have left to say? Woe is me in my gilded cage, right?
The very thing that once made me invincible failed me on the world stage. A new trauma surfaced, opening floodgates.
A new path awaits.
When today ends, I’ll discover who I am.”
The body of text, with its poem-like structure, presents an introspective narrative about fame, personal trauma and self-discovery - recurring themes from the first two parts of the After Hours trilogy, but most importantly we see the theme of rebirth and a new cycle of self discovery. Hurry Up Tomorrow is set to conclude the trilogy that began with After Hours (2020) and Dawn FM (2022), marking the final chapter in a body of work that explores existential themes and personal transformation. According to the press release, the album’s place in the trilogy is meant as “the creative apex of the project, serving as the third and final chapter crafted with existential and self-refenetial themes as seen with the latest visionary teasers that have set fans ablaze with anticipation for this concluding installment.”
Following his announcement and the press release, fans got to experience a preview at his São Paulo set, where he debuted a couple of new songs, including Dancing in the Flames and São Paulo featuring Anitta. Other unreleased tracks like The Crowd and Wake Me Up were also performed live during the concert, building even more anticipation for the upcoming release. While there is no release date yet, the vinyl and CD are available for pre-order. Regardless, the album’s announcement has sparked countless conversations on social media among fans, who are eagerly awaiting more details, and hopefully a single release soon.
Album cover art, via IG @theweeknd
The cover, released a few days after the album announcement, features the artist captured in a close-up shot. While the image is quite simple, it presents the artist up in a personal, raw and vulnerable form. The emotion of the cover is found in its simplicity - we see the complexities of him as an individual, and his emotional state. What’s probably most fascinating, but sadly least talked about, as we await the release is the creative vision behind the teasers and trailers for the completion of the trilogy. The artist has been teasing this release for a while, but most recently and intensely in the past two months.
In July, a CGI trailer posted on his instagram took us through a distorted version of time, beginning with the artist in his After Hours era, continuing with his Dawn FM era, and ending with a shot of a toddler (what seems to be the Hurry Up Tomorrow era) being hit by a ray of sunlight, with the title “There Are Three Chapters in this Tale”. This clip, following the Dawn FM visual of the artist in old age, underscores a recurring theme of death and rebirth. A month later, we see the same toddler in yet another trailer, making its way through stormy weather to and through a mansion, following a female figure. At first glance, the mansion seems to be a creepy abandoned house, but upon closer inspection, it’s full of ‘clues’ -or rather, hints- that introduce the themes of exploration the album will take us through.
