The Weeknd is “really proud” of the new album he’s recording, which he teased in a series of cryptic tweets on Tuesday (July 13).
“We gettin’ there,” he wrote in a tweet alongside the CD emoji, adding in a separate message: “Really proud of this one. wow…”
Any XO fan hoping The Weeknd will drop his first taste of new music since 2020’s After Hours might need to be a little bit more patient, since he’s taking his “sweet” time with it. “Massaging it now, being sweet to it. giving it some tlc…,” he wrote in a third tweet.
According to MRC Data’s 2021 Canada midyear report, released Tuesday, The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) has dominated music in his Canadian motherland in the first half of 2021. His fourth studio album, After Hours, as well as The Highlights, the compilation LP he delivered shortly before his Super Bowl performance earlier this year, take the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively, on the top albums from Canadian artists list, while his Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits “Save Your Tears” and “Blinding Lights” are at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, on the Canadian artist songs list.
Also on Tuesday, the Canadian-Ethiopian superstar’s stunning Super Bowl LV halftime show scored an Emmy nod in the outstanding variety special (live) category. After noms were revealed, he tweeted that he was in “great company” with Bruce Springsteen, Bruno Mars and Prince, whose halftime performances were also nominated for Emmys.
The 31-year-old artist says his new project is a full-length album following the release of his Billboard 200-topping project After Hours in March 2020. “Just so there’s no confusion, it’s a full body of work…,” he tweeted with an array of emojis representing dawn. As he’s constantly teased in tweets, interviews and his 2021 Billboard Music Awards acceptance speech, if his last record represents the After Hours, then that means “the dawn is coming” with this next one — though it remains unclear if “the dawn is coming” will also serve as the title of his fifth studio LP.
And with The Weeknd ushering in a new era, he still plans to say goodbye to the old one with a full-blown After Hours Tour, which was rescheduled once more to 2022. “The tour is gonna be MADNESS,” he added in a note.
Read the latest Weeknd updates below.
