After Hours (The Weeknd album)

After Hours
File:The Weeknd - After Hours.png Standard cover art for the album, deluxe features the same cover with a red overlay
Studio album by The Weeknd
Released	March 20, 2020
Recorded	2018–2020
Studio	Conway, Elysian Park, Henson, and Republic (Los Angeles) House Mouse (Stockholm) Jungle City (New York City) Malibu Blue Studio (Malibu) MXM (Los Angeles and Stockholm) Noble Street (Toronto) XO (Hidden Hills)
Genre	R&B new wave dream pop
Length	56:19
Label	XO Republic
Producer	DaHeala Illangelo Kevin Parker Max Martin Metro Boomin Notinbed OPN Oscar Holter Prince 85 Ricky Reed The Weeknd
The Weeknd chronology
The Weeknd in Japan (2018) After Hours (2020)
Singles from After Hours (The Weeknd album)

After Hours is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer The Weeknd. The album was released on March 20, 2020, by XO and Republic Records. The album was produced primarily by The Weeknd, along with a variety of high-profile producers such as DaHeala, Illangelo, Max Martin and Metro Boomin, all of whom The Weeknd had worked with previously. The standard edition has no features, although the remixes edition contains guest appearances from Chromatics and Lil Uzi Vert.

Prior to the album's release, The Weeknd confirmed After Hours would face stylistic differences to his previous album Starboy (2016). Music journalists have noted the album as an artistic reinvention for The Weeknd, with the introduction of new wave and dream pop influences, while thematically, After Hours explores promiscuity, overindulgence, and self-loathing. The album was also subject of widespread media anticipation leading up to its release.

The artwork and aesthetic for the album's promotional material has been described as psychedelic and being inspired by various films, such as: Casino (1995), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), and Joker and Uncut Gems (both 2019). The album was supported by three singles: "Heartless", "Blinding Lights", and "In Your Eyes", with "Heartless" and "Blinding Lights" peaking at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and receiving platinum certification. Its title track was released as a promotional single. In March 2020, After Hours broke the record for the most global pre-adds in Apple Music history, with over 1.02 million users.

After Hours received widely positive reviews from critics, with some praising the album as The Weeknd's best piece of work. It debuted atop the US Billboard 200, earning 444,000 album-equivalent units of which 275,000 were in pure sales, marking the biggest first week sales of 2020 for an album. The album was The Weeknd's fourth number-one album and stayed atop the Billboard 200 for four consecutive weeks. It also reached number one in 20 other countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom. After Hours will be promoted with the After Hours Tour, which is set to span North America and Europe.

Background and release

The Weeknd first teased that he was working on a new album in November 2018, via a performance in which he told the crowd that "Chapter VI was coming soon." On January 12, 2019, Tesfaye then proceeded to further tease the project and its sound by tweeting "no more daytime music" to fans, making media outlets believe that he was set to continue the darker music found in My Dear Melancholy. Following a trio of collaborative singles throughout 2019, on August 6, he further reassured fans that he was working on his fourth studio album. Then after a five-month period of silence, on November 24, the single "Blinding Lights" was revealed through a Mercedes-Benz television commercial, with reports of "Heartless" surfacing a day later. The latter song then premiered on the seventh episode of The Weeknd's Memento Mori Beats 1 radio show on November 27, 2019. Which in the hours leading into the release of the radio show episode, The Weeknd announced on social media his return to music with the captions "the fall starts tomorrow night" and "Tonight we start a new brain melting psychotic chapter! Let's go!". On February 13, 2020, The Weeknd revealed the title of the project "After Hours" through a 48-second teaser. A couple days after the announcement of the album's name, its release date of March 20, 2020, was shared through social media to accompany the title track's release as a promotional single. In the last week leading up to the album's release, After Hours' tracklist was revealed on March 17, 2020. On March 19, 2020, The Weeknd announced that the album is dedicated to long time fan and host of the popular XO Podcast, Lance, who died the night before. The album debuted alongside the eighth episode of Memento Mori on March 20, 2020, with The Weeknd also hosting a Spotify listening session upon its release. A deluxe edition of the album containing five remixes was released without any prior notice on March 23, 2020. On March 30, 2020, on the two-year anniversary of My Dear Melancholy, an updated version of the deluxe edition containing three new bonus tracks was released. A remix EP titled After Hours (Remixes) featuring the deluxe edition's remixes and an additional remix, was released on April 3, 2020.

Artwork and aesthetic

The artwork and aesthetic for the album's promotional material has been described as psychedelic and being inspired by various films, such as: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Joker, Casino, and Uncut Gems, with the last film having a cameo appearance by The Weeknd himself. Tesfaye's physical appearance in the era has been described by journalists as being red-pigmented, with him consistently maintaining a red suit and specific hairstyle throughout all of the album's promotional material, such as its artwork, music videos, teasers, and live performances. The album's overall art direction was primarily handled by the Tammi brothers, with its design being handled by Aleksi Tammi, and its photography and visual direction being handled by Anton Tammi, who directed the music videos for the album's singles, and the project's same-titled short film. The album's creative direction was handled by La Mar C. Taylor. Nabil Elderkin handled the photography and video direction for the promotional material of the deluxe version of the project, in this material, Tesfaye continues the era's "Sin City" theme, with him residing within a casino and donning a black suit in the two teasers for the bonus tracks. Notably, the black suit used in the teasers for the deluxe edition of the album and cover art for the bonus tracks and remix EP was the first time The Weeknd worn a non-red suit in the promotional material for the project since his first live performance of "Blinding Lights" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (dated December 6, 2019), in which he donned a blue suit.

Promotion

Tour

Main article: The After Hours Tour

On February 20, 2020, The After Hours Tour was announced by The Weeknd through social media. It was set to span North America and Europe. The tour was later postponed until 2021 due to COVID-19 concerns. The tour would have lasted throughout the latter half of 2020, with it beginning on June 11 and ending on November 12. Sabrina Claudio, Don Toliver and Black Atlass were set to open the tour.

Performances

On December 5, 2019, The Weeknd performed "Heartless" for the first time on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert with "Blinding Lights" receiving its debut performance the following day on the same show. Both performances received positive reactions from critics and audiences, and were compared to those done by Michael Jackson and Prince in the past. On January 22, 2020, "Blinding Lights" was performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Tesfaye's appearance during the performance on the show was inspired by the events that occurred within the aforementioned single's music video, which was released shortly before his live performance. The Weeknd was announced as a performer for the March 7, 2020 episode of the 45th season of Saturday Night Live. During his appearance, he performed a comedic track alongside Kenan Thompson and Chris Redd, made specifically for the show, titled "On the Couch", and the songs: "Blinding Lights" and the previously unreleased "Scared to Live", the latter of which featured electronic musician Oneohtrix Point Never and interpolates "Your Song" by Elton John.

Singles

On November 27, 2019, the album's lead single, "Heartless", was released digitally on music stores and streaming services. The song was noticeably produced by American record producer Metro Boomin. At the time of its release, it was The Weeknd's first solo single since 2018's "Call Out My Name" from the EP My Dear Melancholy (2018). The single peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became The Weeknd's fourth song to top the chart, with it also becoming Metro Boomin's second chart topper that he produced. Its music video was released on December 3, 2019.

"Blinding Lights" was released digitally on music stores and streaming services on November 29, 2019, as the album's second single. The song peaked at number one in 22 countries, including the United States and Canada, where it became The Weeknd's fifth number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian Hot 100 for four and seven weeks respectively. It also became his first number-one single in Germany for ten weeks, United Kingdom for eight weeks, and Australia for eleven weeks, thus making it his biggest hit single to date. Its music video is set in the aftermath of "Heartless"' visual and was released on January 21, 2020.

"In Your Eyes" was released to rhythmic contemporary radio on March 24, 2020, as the album's third single. The song peaked at number 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Its music video follows the storyline of the previously released visuals and was released on March 23, 2020.

Promotional singles and other songs

On February 18, 2020, Tesfaye announced the release of the album's title track with the reveal of the album's cover art. The promotional single reached the top 20 of various countries worldwide, including the United States, where it peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

On April 7, 2020, a music video for the album's closing track "Until I Bleed Out" was released. The visuals for the song continue the themes found present throughout the promotional material for the album.

Teaser and short film

On February 13, 2020, The Weeknd released a 48-second teaser that announced the album's title. Journalists noted its resemblance to the digital work done in the 2019 film Uncut Gems, which Tesfaye had a cameo in. Its visual were also compared to those found in the music videos for the album's first two singles.

A self titled short film for the album was first teased on March 3, 2020, with its release occurring on March 4, 2020. It was directed by Anton Tammi and continued the storyline and aesthetics found in the visuals for "Heartless" and "Blinding Lights". The film is set shortly after The Weeknd's performance of "Blinding Lights" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (dated January 22, 2020) and features various snippets of the tracks from the album as Tesfaye navigates a subway. It concludes with The Weeknd seemingly murdering a couple in a secluded elevator. The visual was noted by journalists as being inspired by the films Joker and The Shining.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	80/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Consequence of Sound	A–
Evening Standard
Exclaim!	8/10
The Guardian
The Independent
NME
Pitchfork	7.9/10
PopMatters	8/10
Rolling Stone

After Hours was met with widely positive reviews. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 80, based on 20 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.7 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. Album of the Year assessed the critical consensus as 80 out of 100, based on 18 reviews.

Writing for Consequence of Sound, Candace McDuffie acclaimed the album, stating that "As he evolves, he continues to reinvent himself, and he knows exactly how to leave fans hooked on havoc. And After Hours is proof that he's not done with us yet; in fact, he's just getting started." Exclaim!'s reviewer Jacob Carey stated in his review that "After Hours does feel like the Weeknd's very own version of Vegas – a place where overindulgence, self-loathing and promiscuity are not only welcomed, but encouraged." The Guardian's critic Michael Cragg gave After Hours a positive review, praising the "sense of narrative cohesion" on the album, saying that "songs bleed into each other, with sonic references dotted throughout to neaten up threads that previously he [The Weeknd] would have left to unravel. By balancing the two sides of his musical personality – not to mention add some levity to that boring, bad-taste id – After Hours feels like the first Weeknd album in a while to offer up a clear, singular vision rather than something frustratingly abstract." Writing for The Independent, Roisin O'Connor stated that "After Hours abandons the danceability of its predecessor in favour of moody introspection. This is the music you listen to when the party's over." O'Connor further compared the album to The Weeknd's previous releases, saying that he on After Hours "still delves into a sadboy persona but there's a tinge of remorse that runs through, in comparison to the cold and often cruel tone of earlier cuts." Luke Morgan Britton of NME called After Hours "The Weeknd's strongest record in some time" and that "It's a record free of features and full of probing self-reflection."

Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone gave the album a positive review, stating that "After Hours certainly has its share of pity-partying. But there's also a vulnerability that goes beyond the usual too-beautiful-for-the-world sulking." Dolan also said that the album "hits the best balance yet of the gloomy melodrama of the Weeknd's early EPs or his 2018 release My Dear Melancholy and the pop slickness of his 2016 LP Starboy." Writing for Variety, Jem Aswad praised the album, stating that "The Weeknd is launching the next era with his most fully realized album yet, 'After Hours.' Sonically, the hallmarks are ultra-cinematic keyboards, pulsating sub-bass, hard beats (which are seldom danceable), '80s synthesizer flourishes and caverns of echo, all of which contrast with his high, angelic voice." Aswad ended his review by saying that "After Hours is one of the most successful musicians of the past decade testing the balance between innovation and commerciality as much as anyone today." David Smyth of Evening Standard particularly praised the song "Blinding Lights", while stating that The Weeknd's "in a bit of a fug" on the rest of the album.

Accolades

Accolades for After Hours

Publication	List	Rank	Ref.
Billboard	The 50 Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)	N/A
Variety	Best Albums of 2020 So Far	N/A

Commercial performance

On March 19, 2020, After Hours broke the record for the most global pre-adds for an album in Apple Music history, with over 1.02 million users pre-adding the album to their libraries.

After Hours debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with 444,000 album-equivalent units, including 275,000 pure album sales. It is The Weeknd's fourth number-one album, and marks the biggest first week sales of 2020 for an album. Additionally, after the album's first week of availability, all 14 songs charted on the Billboard Hot 100, with ten of them in the top 40, led by "Blinding Lights" at number one, and "In Your Eyes" debuting the highest, at number 16. The album remained at number one on the Billboard 200 in its second week with 138,000 album-equivalent units, of which 47,000 were pure album sales. It is The Weeknd's third consecutive album to spend multiple weeks. In its third week, the album remained at number one on the Billboard 200 with 90,000 album-equivalent units (including 23,000 pure album sales). Becoming the first album to lead for three consecutive weeks since Post Malone's Hollywood's Bleeding (2019). In its fourth week, After Hours earned 75,000 album-equivalent units (including 20,000 pure album sales), remaining at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Its the first album to notch four consecutive weeks since Drake's Scorpion (2018).

The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with over 26,000 units sold, making it The Weeknd's second number one on the chart, five years after Beauty Behind the Madness. It also topped the chart in The Weeknd's native Canada, with 54,000 album-equivalent units.

Track listing

Credits adapted from liner notes.

After Hours track listing
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Alone Again"	Illangelo The Weeknd DaHeala Frank Dukes	4:10
2.	"Too Late"	Illangelo Ricky Reed The Weeknd DaHeala Nate Mercereau	3:59
3.	"Hardest to Love"	Max Martin Holter The Weeknd	3:31
4.	"Scared to Live"	Martin Holter The Weeknd	3:11
5.	"Snowchild"	Illangelo The Weeknd DaHeala	4:07
6.	"Escape from LA"	Metro Boomin The Weeknd Illangelo	5:55
7.	"Heartless"	Metro Boomin The Weeknd Illangelo Dre Moon	3:21
8.	"Faith"	Metro Boomin The Weeknd Illangelo	4:43
9.	"Blinding Lights"	Martin Holter The Weeknd	3:21
10.	"In Your Eyes"	Martin Holter The Weeknd	3:57
11.	"Save Your Tears"	Martin Holter The Weeknd	3:35
12.	"Repeat After Me" (Interlude)	Parker OPN	3:15
13.	"After Hours"	Illangelo The Weeknd DaHeala Winans	6:01
14.	"Until I Bleed Out"	Metro Boomin OPN Prince 85 The Weeknd Notinbed	3:12
Total length:			56:19

Deluxe bonus tracks
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"Nothing Compares"	DaHeala Ricky Reed The Weeknd	3:42
16.	"Missed You"	DaHeala The Weeknd	2:24
17.	"Final Lullaby"	DaHeala The Weeknd	3:05
Total length:			65:30

Remixes EP
No.	Title	Remixer	Length
1.	"Heartless" (Remix) (featuring Lil Uzi Vert)		3:20
2.	"Blinding Lights" (Chromatics Remix) (featuring Chromatics)	Johnny Jewel	4:21
3.	"Save Your Tears" (OPN Remix)	OPN	3:40
4.	"Heartless" (Vaporwave Remix) (featuring Lil Uzi Vert)	DaHeala	2:45
5.	"After Hours" (The Blaze Remix)	The Blaze	3:58
6.	"Scared to Live" (SNL Live)		3:37
Total length:			21:43

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies an additional producer
• The deluxe edition of the album was initially released on March 23, featuring tracks 2–6 of the Remixes EP as bonus tracks. On March 30, the release was updated to include three new bonus tracks before the remixes. On April 3, the remixes were released as a separate EP, with track 1 added, while the deluxe edition of the album was amended to end at "Final Lullaby".

Sample credits

• "Scared to Live" contains interpolations from "Your Song", written by Elton John and Bernard Taupin.

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

Musicians

• The Weeknd – vocals (all tracks), background vocalist (tracks 3–4, 9–11), keyboards, programming (tracks 1–11, 13–14), bass, guitar, drums (track 3–4, 9–11)
• Max Martin – bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, programming (tracks 3–4, 9–11)
• Oscar Holter – bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, programming (tracks 3–4, 9–11)
• Illangelo – keyboards, programming (tracks 1–2, 5–8, 13)
• Metro Boomin – keyboards, programming (track 6–8, 14)
• DaHeala – keyboards, programming (tracks 1–2, 5, 13)
• Frank Dukes – keyboards, programming (track 1)
• Ricky Reed – keyboards, programming (track 2)
• OPN – keyboards, programming (track 14)
• Prince 85 – keyboards, programming (track 14)
• Notinbed – keyboards, programming (track 14)
• Nate Mercereau – keyboards, programming (track 2)
• Mike McTaggart – guitar (track 6)
• Patrick Greenaway – guitar (track 8)
• Rickard Goransson – guitar (track 10)
• Michael Engström – bass (track 10)
• Wojtek Goral – alto saxophone (track 10)
• Tomas Jonsson – tenor saxophone (track 10)
• Mattias Bylund – horn arrangement, synthesizer (track 10)
• Nils-Petter Ankarblom – horn arrangement, synthesizer (track 10)
• Magnus Sjolander – percussion (track 10)
• Miko Rezler – percussion (track 10)
• Peter Noos Johansson – trombone (track 10)
• Janne Bjerger – trumpet (track 10)
• Magnus Johansson – trumpet (track 10)

Technical

• Illangelo – engineering, mixing (tracks 1–2, 5–8, 13)
• Shin Kamiyama – engineering (all tracks)
• Michael Ilbert – engineering (track 4, 10–11)
• Sam Holland – engineering (tracks 3–4, 10–11)
• Jason "DaHeala" Quenneville – engineering (track 13)
• Ethan Shumaker – engineering (track 2)
• Matt Cohn – engineering, mixing (tracks 12, 14)
• Serban Ghenea – mixing (tracks 3–4, 9–11)
• John Hanes – engineering for mixing (tracks 3–4, 9–11)
• Cory Bice – engineering assistant (tracks 3–4, 9–11)
• Jeremy Lertola – engineering assistant (tracks 3–4, 9–11)
• Sean Klein – engineering assistant (track 9)
• Dave Kutch – mastering (all tracks)
• Kevin Peterson – mastering (all tracks)

Charts

Chart performance for After Hours

Chart (2020)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)	1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)	1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)	1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)	2
Canadian Albums (Billboard)	1
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)	1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)	1
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)	1
Estonian Albums (Eesti Tipp-40)	1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)	1
French Albums (SNEP)	2
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)	5
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)	11
Icelandic Albums (Plötutíðindi)	1
1
Italian Albums (FIMI)	1
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)	76
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)	1
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)	1
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)	1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)	1
Polish Albums (ZPAV)	8
Portuguese Albums (AFP)	2
Scottish Albums (OCC)	2
Slovak Albums (ČNS IFPI)	1
South Korean Albums (Gaon)	73
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)	3
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)	1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)	1
UK Albums (OCC)	1
US Billboard 200	1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	1

Certifications

Certifications for After Hours

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)	Platinum	80,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)	Gold	0
Mexico (AMPROFON)	Gold	30,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	Gold	7,500
Norway (IFPI Norway)	Platinum	30,000
Poland (ZPAV)	Gold	10,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	Silver	60,000
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone sales/streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

Release formats for After Hours

Region	Date	Format	Version	Label	Ref.
Various	March 20, 2020	CD digital download streaming	Standard	XO Republic
	March 23, 2020	Digital download streaming	Original deluxe
	March 30, 2020		Updated deluxe
	April 3, 2020		Remix EP
	June 5, 2020	LP	Standard
	June 12, 2020	Cassette	Standard

External links

• Album Title (Teaser) on YouTube
• After Hours (Short film) on YouTube