The Weeknd Is Definitely Up To Something, As He Shared More Cryptic Clues About An Apparent New Album

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Last August, The Weeknd hinted to W Magazine that he would one day “close The Weeknd chapter.” That day is not today — or seemingly any day in the foreseeable future because he appears to be at the precipice of unfurling a lengthy era.

On Wednesday, July 24, The Weeknd posted a screenshot of his own X (formerly Twitter) post from the past, reading, “some chapters are smaller than others. not this next one though…” The global sensation born Abel Tesfaye reposted that to his Instagram Story, where he also posted a cryptic screenshot of the same animated character he’s been teasing — this one captioned, “Don’t stare too long.”

The broad (and probably correct) assumption is that The Weeknd is teasing the third album in the After Hours/Dawn FM trilogy. In January 2022, The Weeknd confirmed that he was in the midst of crafting a trilogy, and last week, he reposted a fan’s post saying this trilogy is “already better” than The Weeknd’s 2011 trilogy of House Of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes Of Silence.

The cryptic teasing technically began earlier this month when The Weeknd posted a close-up of a child’s eyes. But it became undeniable when he announced a one-off concert in São Paulo, Brazil on September 7 followed by a video showing After Hours Weeknd and Dawn FM Weeknd before we’re introduced to a new character: An upset young boy, presumably young Abel, crouched and surrounded by spooky characters. “There are three chapters to this tale,” the screen reads.

On Tuesday, July 23, The Weeknd posted another teaser video with our new protagonist, captioned, “When you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you…”

See The Weeknd’s posts below.