The Weeknd Previews New Song with Playboi Carti

This week, The Weeknd, who now appears to prefer going by his legal name Abel Tesfaye, premiered his new HBO series The Idol at Cannes Film Festival in France. While this was a momentous occasion for the world-renowned singer, who is giving his first performance as a lead actor in the show, he also took the opportunity to preview some new music.

As Tesfaye joined the rest of his cast members on the red carpet in Cannes, an unreleased collaborative song between him and Playboi Carti played on the speakers at the venue. Heard on the livestream, the currently untitled track sees Tesfaye and Carti sing back-and-forth harmoniously over a glitzy pop beat. Tesfaye would re-post a clip of the song on his Instagram story the day after The Idol‘s debut at Cannes.

The Tesfaye-Carti joint track would most likely land on the soundtrack for The Idol, which will release simultaneously with the series on June 4, although that has not been officially confirmed. In late April, Tesfaye put out the lead single for the soundtrack titled “Double Fantasy” featuring Future, which he had teased beforehand on social media and during a guest performance at Coachella. “Double Fantasy” debuted at No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.

While The Idol soundtrack is an exciting treat for fans of The Weeknd, who has not released a full-length project since early 2022, it could be one of the last times the Canadian icon delivers an LP under this moniker. Earlier this month, along with asserting that he wants to go by Tesfaye, he explained that he could be nearing the end of the road as The Weeknd.

“I’m going through a cathartic path right now,” he said in an interview with W Magazine. “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.”

Although he feels The Weeknd has run its course, Tesfaye did not make it clear what lies ahead after The Idol and potentially one last studio album.

“The album I’m working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd,” he added. “This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.”

Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images