The Weeknd has been teasing his upcoming album, The Dawn, for the better part of 2021 — and its hype has finally reached a turning point.
Initially posting a barrage of tweets this summer, there was an early inkling that The Dawn could top the massive success that After Hours was. However, Abel seems to be doubling down — planning to combine both LPs for his upcoming “After Hours ‘Til Dawn” world tour set to commence in 2022.
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) October 18, 2021
Originally booked as the “After Hours Tour,” The Weeknd has had unfortunate luck getting things going thus far. Initially set to kick off in June 2020 — and being postponed twice due to the pandemic — Abel has yet to announce the tour’s new dates, but took to social media Monday (Oct. 18) to explain the situation.
“Due to constraints of arenas and the demand for more shows I want to do something bigger and special for you which requires stadiums.”
The Weeknd via social media
Upgrading from arena seating to stadium experiences, the tour’s delay gifts The Weeknd with the extra time needed to fully prepare for what’s to come. Revealing that his album was “complete” on Episode 18 of Memento Mori earlier this month, The Weeknd is in the final leg of his rollout — adjusting, tweaking and assuring that everything is dotted and crossed.
Tour dates are moving and will commence in the summer 2022 pic.twitter.com/AgeWSy9k4d
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) October 18, 2021
Abel’s world tour was intended to kick off in January 2022 in Vancouver and featured opening acts in Sabrina Claudio, Don Toliver and Black Atlass. Amid offering his latest single “Take My Breath” in August, The Weeknd is poised to achieve even greater heights when the Dawn finally rises from dusk.
The Weeknd says upcoming album ‘The Dawn’ is complete
During Episode 18 of The Weeknd’s Apple Music radio show, Memento Mori, the Toronto-based superstar revealed an exciting update on After Hours’ follow-up, The Dawn.
Following Abel Tesafye’s wildly successful 2020 — off the back of “Blinding Lights,” After Hours and his Super Bowl halftime performance — he let fans know that upcoming LP was “finished.” Along with working with Belly and Kanye West this summer, Abel looks forward to making a few more feature appearances before The Dawn sees the light of day.
The Weeknd returns with new single, visual for ‘Take My Breath’
After dropping the album’s lead single and visual “Take My Breath” in August, Abel also plans on rolling it out in the next “couple of months.” Despite The Dawn’s impending release, The Weeknd still needs to flesh out “a few characters” that are essential for the album’s narrative.
“I hope y’all had a great summer. Some exciting features coming out in the fall before the album drops. We’ll slowly be unraveling that info in the next couple months. Some Dawn updates, album is complete, only thing missing is a couple characters that are key to the narrative. Some people that are near and dear to me, some people that inspired my life as a child, and some that inspire me now. More to come in the following months. But the only thing that matters is this very moment.”
The Weekend — Ep. 18 of Momento Mori
The Weeknd also explained his hiatus from his Apple radio show, saying he feels that he “let down” fans by not hosting weekly episodes like he originally promised.
On top of moving into a new home, finishing The Dawn and creating pre-production promotion, Abel seems to be in a better place — returning to captivate listeners once more with his ever-evolving personas and a new Dawn of his sound.
