The Weeknd Drops Sci-Fi Sampled Track in Japan: New Music Alert!

The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, recently unveiled a new, unreleased song during the opening of the Asian leg of his After Hours Til Dawn tour. The track, provisionally dubbed “Tokyo,” premiered live on Friday, September 19, at the Belluna Dome in Saitama, near Tokyo, marking a significant and unexpected moment for his global fanbase.

The newly debuted song prominently samples “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” the iconic 1995 J-pop track that served as the opening theme to the seminal anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. For this special performance, Tesfaye collaborated directly with Japanese singer Yoko Takahashi, the original vocalist of “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis.” Takahashi joined him on stage for the live debut, and during a distinct segment, she also performed the entirety of “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” while Tesfaye stepped back, observing her performance from the rear of the stage.

This grand musical unveiling was conceived as a comprehensive multimedia collaboration. The striking visual accompaniments were directed by Yoko Taro, the acclaimed creative director best known for the NieR video game series. These visuals drew intricate imagery from both Neon Genesis Evangelion and the highly popular 2017 game NieR: Automata, enhancing the thematic depth of the performance. Tesfaye himself publicly credited this artistic fusion on social media, stating it was “Presented by YOKO TARO ft. YOKO TAKAHASHI.”

The “Tokyo” debut follows a pattern established earlier in the current tour, where Tesfaye has introduced new songs tied to specific performance locations. In April, he premiered another unreleased track, widely known as “Rio,” in collaboration with Brazilian star Anitta during a concert stop in Rio de Janeiro. These unexpected song releases are particularly noteworthy given Tesfaye’s recent public statements hinting at the potential retirement of The Weeknd moniker, with his 2025 album, “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” having been billed as his final release under that artistic identity.

The After Hours Til Dawn tour, which began in 2022, continues to support his critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums, “After Hours” (2020) and its 2022 follow-up, “Dawn FM.” As one of the most commercially dominant artists in the contemporary music landscape, The Weeknd has achieved remarkable success, securing five No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart: “Beauty Behind the Madness” (2015), “Starboy” (2016), “My Dear Melancholy EP” (2018), “After Hours” (2020), and “Hurry Up Tomorrow” (released this year). His extensive list of No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 includes “Can’t Feel My Face,” “Starboy,” “Heartless,” “Save Your Tears,” and the monumental “Blinding Lights,” which Billboard honored as the No. 1 song on its all-time Hot 100 chart.