The Weeknd’s video for his new single “Tell Your Friends” has just gone live. An intoxicating song produced by the infamous Kanye West for The Weeknd’s upcoming album Beauty Behind The Madness, which will be released this Friday, August 28. This isn’t his first time working with the video’s director Grant Singer (they also collaborated on the clip for “Can’t Feel My Face”). But The Weeknd adds another well-placed piece to his ever-expanding puzzle of mystery and allure.
In the new video, Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd) places himself in an unrecognizable deadly land of some sort, fashioned in all black as he carries a shovel. He confidently walks to what seems like a very meticulously chosen location where he digs a hole big enough to fit a car and then buries none other than himself in it. Tesfaye has managed to recreate the idea of mystery over and over again in the past few years, years that he seems to merge all together seamlessly and laden in growth as he builds his character that is way more than simply dark (in fact, calling The Weeknd dark is quite basic and gives no justice to the genius of his ever prolific brand).
At the crux of the video, an eerie yet familiar character (the same person that can be found waiting in the house The Weeknd enters at the end of “The Hills” video) enters the story as they pass through the deadened land towards Tesfaye with only the most certain of steps, steps that are in fact ended very abruptly when Tesfaye delivers two purposefully aimed shots from a previously concealed gun. The music then morphs from the track “Tell Your Friends” to “Real Life,” which is an intro track for The Weeknd’s upcoming album. The song is as epic as Tesfaye’s real life seems to be, laced with a grandiose oh-so-very cinematic production.
The Weeknd has yet to fail in giving us more than just vice-filled lyrics and hair with a life of its own. He manages to only give us a living breathing world filled with artistically executed storylines and unadulterated carnage as he continues to riddle our minds with curiosity and windows. Each new video we watch is a look into a world Tesfaye creates for us where music and sight are used to immerse us. Simply put — we can’t wait to see more.
Check out The Weeknd’s new video:
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