In 2023, Abel Tesfaye declared that he wanted to “kill The Weeknd.” His final album as The Weekend, “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” delivers on that promise, bringing his career-long trilogy to a grand, cinematic conclusion. From the neon visuals and themes of heartbreak present in “After Hours” to the eerie purgatory of “Dawn FM,” every one of Tesfaye’s projects have led to this moment: an angelic yet apocalyptic parting note that signals the death of The Weeknd as we know him. “Hurry Up Tomorrow” presents itself as a film, complete with narrative arcs, and even has the run-time of a film at one hour and 24 minutes.
The album opens with a soaring homage to Michael Jackson on “Wake Me Up,” dipping into familiar electronic pop territory with French duo Justice crafting the song’s thunderous intro. Foreshadowing his inevitable downfall, The Weeknd delivers haunting lines over pulsating synths: “All I have is my legacy / I been losing my memory / No afterlife, no other side / I’m all alone when it fades to black.”
From there, “Hurry Up Tomorrow” veers into unexpected territory, injecting the bass-heavy nature of Brazilian funk into two tracks. “Cry for Me” finds The Weeknd spiraling into paranoia against producer Metro Boomin’s warped rhythms, while “São Paulo” brings Brazilian singer Anitta into the mix. It’s a typical Weeknd affair — hedonism, desire and disaster lurking just beneath the surface, all draped in hypnotic, feverish production.
The two tracks are divided by a brief interlude. A clip of Tesfaye screaming “I can’t sing” plays as a haunting reminder of his infamous SoFi Stadium show, where he lost his voice mid-performance and was forced to cancel to prevent permanent vocal damage. The album’s momentum is kept up as The Weeknd is “falling in love again” on “Open Hearts,” which has some of the best bass lines and synths on the entire project.
After a series of upbeat tracks, the album begins its descent into a calmer tone. “Reflections Laughing” introduces a melancholic guitar passage with Florence + The Machine’s ghostly backing vocals setting the tone. A recorded phone call plays and a woman tells The Weeknd he “didn’t look good,” while the clinking of glasses suggests Tesfaye is drowning himself in liquor. Travis Scott creeps in at the song’s end, his voice pitched down over Metro Boomin’s slow, woozy drums, symbolizing Tesfaye slipping further into a state of intoxication.
The haze thickens with “Enjoy The Show,” which samples “Homemade Gun” by the band Loaded Honey to make a hypnotic R&B-rap fusion where The Weeknd drifts like a man losing his grip on reality. Future’s unexpected verse strips away his usual bars about toxic relationships and replaces them with gut-wrenching melodies and vulnerable lines like: “I don’t wanna feel like I’m alone anymore / I can’t live without you, I’ve been goin’ through withdrawals.”
The downward spiral continues on “Given Up On Me,” where the beat and lyrics flicker between paranoia and desperation. The refrain, “I think I’m in too deep,” repeats like a mantra before the track unexpectedly shifts, morphing into a gospel-tinged plea: “Ooh, Lord / I want your company (Eh) / Ooh, oh, Lord, oh, Lord / Don’t you give up on me / Mercy-cy me.”
As the album nears its closing stretch, “Timeless” features Playboi Carti on a slow-burning, dreamlike track that leans into layered vocals and warped melodies. Carti’s smooth tone bends reality as The Weeknd’s falsetto drifts like a lingering memory. The album wraps up with the title track “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” with Tesfaye crafting a farewell that is as grand as it is intimate. As producer Mike Dean’s shimmering synths swell, Tesfaye delivers the final line: “I want the pain no more, no more, no more.”
Fans have noticed that the closing notes of this track seamlessly blend into “High For This,” the opening song of The Weeknd’s debut commercial project “House of Balloons,” theorizing that, despite his attempts to move forward, the persona he embodies remains trapped in a vicious cycle, doomed to repeat the same highs and lows.
This album swings between euphoric highs and existential lows — with seamless transitions in between each track that provide a cohesive flow — culminating in a finale that cements his legacy as one of pop’s most cinematic storytellers. Whether The Weeknd truly fades away or Tesfaye reinvents himself, one thing is clear — this is the perfect curtain call for this chapter of his career.
Contact Antonio Johri at [email protected].