Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye was one of my favorite artists to blossom out of the 2010s and he’s making sure he’ll make that list again in the 2020s.
The Weeknd has undoubtedly been dominating the mainstream music scene for the last decade or so, with his album After Hours cementing him in the 2020s popstar zeitgeist. With multi-platinum hits, a worldwide tour and even headlining the Super Bowl halftime show, this guy definitely isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
And what’s even crazier is that the music is actually pretty good. After Hours might just be my favorite album of the ‘20s decade thus far and its follow-up Dawn FM is just as inventive, engaging and full of bops.
Now in 2024, The Weeknd has officially announced the end to this new album trilogy and what could even be his last studio record under his stage name. Hurry Up Tomorrow, while not having an official release date yet, has already become one of the most highly anticipated albums in recent memory. Tesfaye kicked off the rollout with a concert in São Paulo, where he previewed a handful of new tracks suspected to be from this upcoming album along with a variety of guests and tracks from the first two records of the trilogy.
We recently got our first taste of the record as well with lead single “Dancing in the Flames.” From the moment he previewed it in São Paulo, fans have been praising the song and even calling it the new “Blinding Lights,” this of course being a reference to The Weeknd’s biggest song ever. And they weren’t kidding.
“Dancing in the Flames” is an instant classic The Weeknd song. Produced flawlessly by pop legend Max Martin, this track sees Tesfaye once again in his ‘80s synthpop bag but with even more lively dancehall beats, earwormy vocal runs and lyrical food for thought.
Taking inspiration from groups like INXS, Erasure and even Duran Duran, “Dancing in the Flames” is a fantastic indication of where this final installment of The Weeknd will end up. I can’t recommend it enough.
Listen to the song: https://youtu.be/MLlSSJ0z7xM?si=WOmHq4VyERifIQF6
Support the artist: https://www.theweeknd.com/
