I’M CONCERNED ABOUT “HURRY UP TOMORROW…”
(“Hurry Up Tomorrow” Album Cover)
There is no other artist who’s music has touched as much as Abel Tesfaye, popularly known as “The Weeknd.” There have been artists before him that have written about his recurring themes—living the highs of the “fast life,” heartbreak, romantic apathy, etc, but there is no artist on the planet who can make songs about subjects so raw, gripping, and sometimes uncomfortably honest somehow be simultaneously such serene listening experiences.
There’s something especially intoxicating about his work, and it is this very uniqueness that sets him apart in an era of music where many critics argue that artists are starting to blend together.
For his entire career, The Weeknd has excelled off of his ability to constantly push the boundaries of what we expect from music artists. He’s been allergic to the idea of complacency—and has constantly striven to innovate as an artist. He built his image off of his eccentricities and his ability to take risks. He’s found success in Alternative R&B, 80s-inspired Pop, Trap, Electronic, Dance, Mainstream Pop, and a plethora of other genres.
However, despite his iconicity being built off of his penchant for innovation, the music we’ve heard from his new album, “Hurry Up Tomorrow”—now releasing on Jan. 31 after being delayed due to the Los Angeles fires, feels peculiarly bland in comparison. The album is supposed to act as the final in the After Hours trilogy and also the final album under his stage name, but the creativity in it feels if it’s at an all-time low. The Weeknd has released three singles in promotion for his newest album, and while none are necessarily bad, they feel noticeably lazy in comparison to his discography.
The first single he released in anticipation for his new project, “Dancing in the Flames,” doesn’t sound bad, but it feels painfully similar to Dawn FM’s “Less Than Zero,” and devoid of any of the lyrical composition that made that song such a classic. “Less Than Zero” felt special because of the contrast it created by layering an upbeat, 80s-inspired song over lyrics that talk about the heartbreak that he feels for souring a relationship—causing a girl who used to be madly in love with him to think of him as “less than zero.”
As for “Dancing in the Flames,” well… I couldn’t really tell you exactly what that song is about? It feels like it vaguely centers around the idea of the chaos of toxic love, but in its execution, it comes across as sloppy and cheesy. The song just feels like an assortment of cliche phrases strung together in a hope that they could create a final product with some semblance of cohesion. The beat is addictive, and The Weeknd’s voice sounds amazing, but it doesn’t leave any kind of lasting impression.
His other two promotional singles, “Timeless,” with Atlanta-born rapper Playboi Carti and “São Paulo,” with Brazilian pop icon Anitta also feel like they’re lacking in terms of actual substance. “Sao Paulo” especially strikes as a missed opportunity. A collaboration between the biggest R&B artist of our generation and the biggest Brazilian popstar of our generation should not come out like just a basic rendition of typical Brazilian funk.
Even the music video—an area that The Weeknd especially has thrived in to tell stories about his albums and songs, felt so disorganized. Instead of being a calculated risk that branches out of the norm for a music video, it just feels like a combination of the absolute weirdest ideas possible being thrown together with no structure. Why does Anitta have a talking, prosthetic pregnant belly? There is no symbolism or meaning behind it—it’s just a shock value for the sake of it.
“Timeless” is admittedly my promotional song released up until this point, because while it is arguably the worst offender of creative bankruptcy out of the three songs, it is the best out of the three in terms of its ability to just be addictive to listen to. If I’m at a party and this comes on, I’ll happily sing along just as loud as the rest of the room. It’s the only song out of these three that I saved in my library, and also the only one that I still sometimes go back to.
However, still, the problem with this song, and all of the promotional music that The Weeknd has released in anticipation for his latest project isn’t that it sounds bad—it’s that it sounds generic. Part of what made The Weeknd feel so unique was his ability to make wildly enjoyable music that could simultaneously make his listeners feel a range of so many emotions. In these songs, he’s only doing the former. It’s seemingly the only time in his career where he’s bending the knee to quick, easy commercial success at the expense of substance.
Even Starboy, an album that dedicated fans often give a hard time for its perceived over-pandering to mainstream pop tropes, has so many songs that are still constantly in my rotation because of their ability to straddle the line between being impactful listens and being gratifying listens.
It might be slightly over-bloated, but the highs of “A Lonely Night,” “Secrets,” “Party Monster,” and “Die For You” are as high as the best work in his discography. They feel original, and also feel like songs that only The Weeknd could do. When I first heard “Dancing in the Flames,” I thought to myself, “It’s catchy, but I feel like I’ve heard this before.” When I first heard “Timeless,” I thought to myself, “this sounds good, but someone else definitely could’ve done this.”
Fortunately for The Weeknd, and unfortunately for the rest of us, The Weeknd is currently at the height of his popularity in his career, and has already accomplished more than most artists could only dream of. He’s performed at a Super Bowl, headlined Coachella, and ran what has become the 10th highest grossing-musical tour of all time. As of January 2025, he also has the second-most monthly listeners on Spotify, despite the fact that he hasn’t released a single studio album in three years.
This can be his worst album, and he will still have the starpower, discography, and name recognition to continue to dominate streaming charts and break more records with his inevitable future tours. However, if this is going to be the last hurrah for one of the most gifted artists of our generation, then he deserves to go out as the industry trailblazer that he’s been for his whole career—not just as another mildly enjoyable pop artist.