The Weeknd and Playboi Carti debuted their collaboration Timeless earlier than it was even completed.
The Weeknd and Playboi Carti’s Timeless gamble
The duo determined to carry out the monitor at The Weeknd’s One Evening Solely live performance in São Paulo in September 2024, simply hours after they’d been engaged on it collectively.
XO co-founder Amir “Money” Esmailian instructed Selection that The Weeknd stunned all of them when he mentioned: “Let’s carry out the tune we labored on right now.”
Republic’s Marleny Reyes mentioned: “We knew we needed to capitalise. For us, it’s all the time about following Abel’s lead and augmenting his imaginative and prescient,” she says. “No one is healthier at organically constructing buzz than he’s.”
Whereas the monitor was unfinished, they’d been engaged on it for months.
Producer Mike Dean defined: “I obtained the tough monitor early on, earlier than Abel even laid down vocals. Backstage in São Paulo, the vibe was proper.”
So, Dean he added “piano chords, lead traces and a few layers” to piece all of it collectively.
He went on: “You’ll be able to see me within the video asking Carti who began it. That’s after I discovered it was Pharrell [Williams].
“We don’t actually have to speak a lot anymore. It’s pure movement.”
Reyes added: “The tune has continued to thrive for nicely over a 12 months. We’re all the time wanting past the primary day, week and month.”
In the meantime, final month it was revealed that The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Daybreak tour has grossed greater than $1 billion throughout 153 reveals, making it the highest-earning tour by a male solo artist thus far.
Following the announcement of latest 2026 dates in Mexico, Brazil, Europe, and the UK, the tour has offered greater than 7.5 million tickets globally. Since launching in 2022, it has lined North America (twice), Europe, the UK, Latin America, and Australia.
The tour has additionally generated over $8.5 million in donations to the XO Humanitarian Fund and International Citizen. Proceeds from the 2026 leg will proceed to assist the World Meals Program.
The 2025 North American stadium run – which included greater than 40 sold-out reveals – broke a number of venue information, together with highest-grossing Black male artist in venue historical past in New York, Denver, Santa Clara, Seattle, Edmonton, Montreal, Orlando, Arlington, and Houston.
