· Alex Harris · Trending
The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow: A Bold, Unpredictable Goodbye—or Just the Beginning?
The Weeknd’s latest album opens with the kind of thunderous production that makes you question your speaker system.
Wake Me Up, crafted by an unlikely alliance between French electronic duo Justice, experimental composer Oneohtrix Point Never, and hip-hop veteran Mike Dean, sets the tone for what might be Abel Tesfaye’s most sonically adventurous record yet.
The 84-minute Hurry Up Tomorrow arrived January 31, 2025, with some unexpected twists—a brand new album cover replacing the promotional art used for months, and the complete removal of intended lead single Dancing in the Flames.
But these last-minute changes feel fitting for an album that’s all about transformation.
Who Are the Features on Hurry Up Tomorrow?
While many artists use guest appearances as mere commercial hooks, The Weeknd embeds his features into the album’s storytelling.
Future appears on Enjoy the Show and Given Up on Me, reinforcing the theme of fame’s dark underbelly.
Travis Scott’s ghostly presence on Reflections Laughing almost feels like a distorted echo from a past life.
Playboi Carti and Anitta, initially credited on streaming services, were later removed, turning their contributions into hidden surprises.
Lana Del Rey makes a haunting return on The Abyss, her first collaboration with The Weeknd since 2016, while Florence + The Machine lend their ethereal touch to Reflections Laughing.
Tracklist & Production Credits
- Wake Me Up – Produced by Justice, Oneohtrix Point Never, Mike Dean
- Cry For Me
- I Can’t Fucking Sing
- São Paulo (ft. Anitta) – Produced by Metro Boomin
- Until We’re Skin & Bones
- Baptized In Fear – Produced by Max Martin
- Open Hearts
- Opening Night
- Reflections Laughing (ft. Florence + The Machine & Travis Scott)
- Enjoy The Show (ft. Future)
- Given Up On Me (ft. Future)
- I Can’t Wait To Get There
- Timeless (ft. Playboi Carti)
- Niagara Falls
- Take Me Back To LA – Proceeds go to LA Regional Food Bank
- Big Sleep (ft. Giorgio Moroder)
- Give Me Mercy
- Drive
- The Abyss (ft. Lana Del Rey)
- Red Terror
- Without a Warning
- Hurry Up Tomorrow
Is This The Weeknd’s Last Album?
With Hurry Up Tomorrow, The Weeknd signals the possible end of an era.
He has stated that this will be his final project under his stage name, with hints that he may continue releasing music under Abel Tesfaye.
The album’s final moments drive this point home: the title track seamlessly transitions into High for This, the opening track from his 2011 House of Balloons mixtape, bringing his career full circle.
“No one’s gonna do The Weeknd better than me, and I’m not gonna do it better than what it is right now,” Tesfaye told Variety.
How the Album Connects to The Weeknd’s Upcoming Film
Beyond just an album, Hurry Up Tomorrow serves as a prelude to The Weeknd’s upcoming psychological thriller of the same name, starring Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan.
Directed by Trey Edward Shults, the film is set to release in May, with Tesfaye and Oneohtrix Point Never composing the score.
“The album is really a companion piece to the film,” Tesfaye explained in an interview.
The album’s cinematic approach—complete with interludes and abrupt sonic shifts—makes even more sense in this context.
Why Was Dancing in the Flames Removed?
One of the biggest surprises before the album’s release was the removal of Dancing in the Flames, an intended lead single.
Though the track was initially promoted, all mentions of it were scrubbed from streaming platforms and The Weeknd’s social media.
While Tesfaye has not provided an official explanation, speculation suggests it may not have aligned with the album’s final narrative or sonic direction.
Pushing Genre Boundaries
Originally scheduled for release on January 24, 2025, Hurry Up Tomorrow was postponed to January 31, 2025, due to the Los Angeles wildfires.
The Weeknd made the decision out of respect for those affected, canceling a planned Rose Bowl concert in the process.
From the outset, Hurry Up Tomorrow establishes itself as The Weeknd’s most sonically ambitious work.
The opening track, Wake Me Up, produced by French electronic duo Justice alongside Oneohtrix Point Never and Mike Dean, sets a thunderous, cinematic tone.
The eerie synths and dramatic percussion have a striking resemblance to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, blending a sense of grandeur with an undercurrent of unease.
The album then swerves between industrial R&B (Baptized in Fear), disco-noir (Big Sleep, featuring Giorgio Moroder), and experimental trap (Given Up on Me, produced by Metro Boomin and Mike Dean).
This duality between synthetic and organic, polished and chaotic, runs throughout the record, making it one of The Weeknd’s most unpredictable releases.
Tesfaye pulls together past influences in a way that feels both reflective and forward-thinking, touching on the shadowy atmospherics of House of Balloons while embracing the stadium-ready adrenaline of Blinding Lights.
Songs like Until We’re Skin & Bones layer in EDM-infused elements, while Enjoy the Show filters J Dilla-style sampling through a massive pop lens, balancing rawness with cinematic ambition.
Anitta brings a funk carioca energy to São Paulo, a track subtly altered from its original live debut with added atmospheric crowd noise.
Meanwhile, Florence + The Machine and Travis Scott provide unexpected chemistry on Reflections Laughing.
The Abyss reunites The Weeknd with Lana Del Rey, adding an eerie, otherworldly layer to the album’s emotional core.
The result is a record that, while dense and layered, remains accessible—a bold conclusion to The Weeknd’s trilogy and a sonic supernova that refuses to stay confined to a single genre.
A Fitting Farewell—Or a New Beginning?
Though Tesfaye has declared this his final project as The Weeknd, he’s left the door open for reinvention.
“I’ll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd. And I will. Eventually,” he told W Magazine.
Whether he continues as Abel Tesfaye or finds a new creative direction, Hurry Up Tomorrow captures an artist pushing his limits and embracing change.
It’s a maximalist, boundary-pushing finale that doesn’t just signal the end of an era but hints at whatever comes next.
