UPDATED 7/23, 5:20 p.m. ET: Along with a visual teasing the next installment of his 'trilogy,' The Weeknd has released a song snippet and companion animated video.
The clip depicts what seems to be a younger version of the singer in frightening circumstances, such as being pulled underwater and surrounded by alternate versions of himself. Toward the end, the boy emerges from the water as the pace of the accompanying song quickens.
"when you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you…" reads the caption, which quotes German philosopher and writer Friedrich Nietzsche. Could this mean that The Weeknd's next single is titled "The Abyss?" We'll have to wait and see.
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The Weeknd could be introducing a new era according to a newly-released promo visual.
On Thursday (July 18), the pop star shared a teaser of his one-night-only concert in São Paulo, scheduled to take place on Sept. 7 at Estádio MorumBIS.
"There Are Three Chapters in this Tale," The Weeknd captioned his Instagram post. "See you in SÃO PAULO…"
The trippy two-minute video trekked through his previous musical phases, specifically After Hours and Dawn FM, before ending with what appeared to be a childhood version of The Weeknd. Since the singer, born Abel Tesfaye, interviewed a 10-year-old OpenAI-assisted version of himself for SSENSE this year, the clip's latter scene could point to the subject of his sixth album.
Regarding The Weeknd's name change, it could happen after the third act of his latest trilogy drops.
"I’m going through a cathartic path right now," he told W Magazine last year. "It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter. I’ll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd. And I will. Eventually. I’m definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn."
Tickets for The Weeknd's São Paulo show begins with an artist presale on Monday, July 22 at 10 a.m. BRT, lasting one week ahead of general onsale, which starts Thursday, July 25 at 10 a.m. BRT.