The two mutual fans were introduced in a text last year, and Weeknd invited Carrey to hear some of his new music. “‘The Mask’ was the first film I ever went to see in a theater - my mom took me when I was 4, and it blew me away,” he enthuses. The persona shows off his budding acting chops even more than his recent big-screen debut in the Safdie brothers’ “Uncut Gems” (where he portrays himself), and the videos are loaded with Tarantino-size film-geek references to classics like “Chinatown,” “Dressed to Kill,” “Possession” and, not least, “The Mask,” the 1994 film starring fellow Scarborough, Ontario, native Jim Carrey, which played a pivotal role in The Weeknd’s life. Like much art of this nature, it also hints at a look into the heart of its creator, leading to fan and media speculation about high-profile exes - in The Weeknd’s case, Bella Hadid and Selena Gomez - and of past debauchery and bad behavior toward oneself and others. He starts off partying and gambling, then gets beaten up in a fight, and as the loose, still-evolving plot unfolds across multiple clips, things get really weird, as he (possibly) becomes possessed by an evil spirit and commits a murder.
The weeknd die for you genre tv#
On the album’s cover, in its videos and in his late-night TV appearances (including “SNL”), The Weeknd portrays a red-jacketed, busted-nose character undergoing an extremely dark night of the soul in Las Vegas. To that end, he’s made “After Hours” as much a visual narrative as a musical one. The commercial success is a blessing, especially because the odds were against me: streaming is down 10%, stores are closed, people can’t go to concerts, but I didn’t care. “Fans had been waiting for the album, and I felt like I had to deliver it.
The Weeknd’s team - including longtime managers Wassim “Sal” Slaiby and Amir “Cash” Esmailian and top executives at Republic Records - considered the possibility of delaying the album, which was to have been supported by a world tour scheduled to launch June 11 in Vancouver and stretch across North America and Europe through November, with another leg to follow in 2021.īut “I cut that discussion off right away,” The Weeknd says. Albums by Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, Sam Smith, Willie Nelson and many others have been pushed several months, due to practical matters of marketing and touring as well as the bigger concern of appearing tone-deaf or insensitive to the fast unfolding tragedy. While the album ultimately was released to rapturous response from critics and fans as planned on March 20 - at the end of a horrifying week when the grim reality of the pandemic’s magnitude finally struck the United States - that date was by no means a foregone conclusion. It’s one of many pivots not just in the rollout of “After Hours,” The Weeknd’s first full-length album in three and a half years, but in an entertainment industry and world that is flailing to come to grips with a new reality. “Due to coronavirus, we’ll be broadcasting remotely,” Strong says, then gestures at The Weeknd and adds, “Actually, we’ll be remote, but you’ll be here in the studio.” Weeknd looks at the camera with a nervous smile that is intended to display comic timing but instead reflects a nagging collective twinge that maybe this isn’t such a good thing to kid around about. “I just totally geeked out on Daniel Craig,” he is heard confessing to a team member afterward. Dozens of people move around the small space, and there are hugs, handshakes and close contact all around, including when Weeknd (real name: Abel Tesfaye) and Craig meet for the first time and exchange several minutes of friendly chat. The iconic Studio 8H at 30 Rock bustles with activity as he prepares to run through his two performances and tape promos for the show with cast member Cecily Strong and host Daniel Craig, whose next James Bond film, “No Time to Die,” has just been postponed from an April release date to November due to the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic.Īpart from a couple of stagehands wearing gloves or surgical masks, there’s little indication of the panic that’s just days away.
On the afternoon of March 5, the artist known as The Weeknd is at a rehearsal for his appearance on what will be the last live episode of “Saturday Night Live” for the foreseeable future - although no one realizes it at the time.