The Weeknd Reveals Next Album Will Be Inspired By The Black Lives Matter Movement And The COVID-19 Pandemic

He has arguably the fourth best-selling album of the year.

But The Weeknd is already thinking about the next big project.

The 30-year-old After Hours hitmaker recently revealed to the TMRW special edition zine that both the Black Lives Matter movement and COVID-19 will inspire his next album.

As his planned After Hours tour has been postponed to the summer of 2021, he said, ‘I have been more inspired and creative during the pandemic than would normally be on the road.

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“The pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement and the tensions during the elections have mainly created a sense of gratitude for what I have and the closeness to the people around me.”

Speaking of his undeniable vocal skills, he said he was inspired by Ethiopian music throughout his childhood, before switching with his albums to show different sides of himself.

The older I got, I was exposed to more music and my voice became a chameleon, going into different characters with each album. By following my own path and breaking industry standards, it appears to be affecting others, ”he said.

Speaking of his career, the Starboy singer said, “I was laser-focused then and now laser-focused,” as he called it “the story” of his twenties.

“I feel like I’ve been making a noise for the past 10 years and for most of my career I’ve either walked away from it or copied it,” he said.

It has been an interesting few weeks for the star, as last month the Toronto star called the Grammys ‘corrupt’ after being rejected in the nominations.

On social media he wrote to the organizers: ‘You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency …’

Insiders said the artists’ camp Can’t Feel My Face suspected the lack of nominations was a response to the unpleasant back and forth about whether he would be performing in the Super Bowl.

The artist, whose full name is Abel Tesfaye, released After Hours in March with strong sales and reviews, winning Favorite Album – Soul / R & B at the American Music Awards last Sunday.

Recording Academy interim chief Harvey Mason, Jr. responded to the singer’s public complaints in a statement to Rolling Stone.

“We understand the Weeknd is disappointed that he was not nominated,” he said. ‘I was surprised and can empathize with what he feels. His music this year has been excellent, and his contributions to the music community and the wider world deserve everyone’s admiration. ‘

Mason continued, “We would have loved to have him on the Grammy stages the weekend before ‘the Super Bowl.’ Unfortunately, there are fewer nominations each year than the number of deserving performers.”

To be clear, voting in all categories ended well before The Weeknd’s appearance in the Super Bowl was announced, so it couldn’t have affected the nomination process in any way. All Grammy nominees are recognized by the voting body for their excellence, and we congratulate them all. ‘

Asked by Variety about The Weeknd being shut out, Mason said at the time, “ It really just comes down to the voting body that decides.

‘We have eight nomination slots to fill in [the Big Four categories: Best Album, Song, Record and New Artist], five in others, and voters vote for their favorites. But it is really interesting. ‘

Mason opened up about the process Grammy officials are following to find out which artists are being nominated and in which categories.

‘We look at it every year and make adjustments and revisions to the process; we did it this year, last year, we will do it next year. And I don’t think this calls it into question, frankly, ‘said Mason. ‘The process is in place so that we can continue to safeguard excellence.’

The Weeknd took home the Best Urban Contemporary Album for Starboy earlier in 2018.