The Weeknd clarifies music career plans and debuts new song in Japan

The Weeknd, born Abel Tesfaye, has officially walked back previous statements regarding his retirement from music. In a recent interview with GQ Hong Kong, the artist clarified that while he may take a hiatus to focus on specific projects, he has no intention of abandoning his stage persona. He described the upcoming break as a period of “hibernating” rather than stepping away permanently.

During the kickoff of the Asian leg of his ‘After Hours Til Dawn’ stadium tour at the Belluna Dome in Saitama, Japan, Tesfaye debuted a new unreleased song titled “Tokyo.” The track features Yoko Takahashi, the singer of the iconic ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ opening theme, “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” which the new song samples. The performance included multimedia visuals directed by Yoko Taro, incorporating imagery from the ‘NieR:Automata’ video game and the ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ anime series.

The tour is scheduled to continue through Asia, with upcoming stops in Jakarta, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok, and Hong Kong, before concluding in Kuala Lumpur in November.