The Weeknd reveals that the next album will be inspired by Black Lives Matter movement and COVID-19 pandemic

He has perhaps 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 hit recently revealed to the TMRW special edition that both the Black Lives Matter movement and COVID-19 will inspire his next album.

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

Download for video

“The pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement and the tension in the election have mostly created a sense of gratitude for what I have and closeness to the people around me.”

He said of his unmistakable vocal abilities that he was inspired by Ethiopian music that grew up, before moving on with his albums to portray different sides for himself.

‘As I got older, I was exposed to more music, and my voice became a chameleon who had different characters with each album. ‘By following my own path and violating industry norms, it seems to be affecting others,’ ‘he said.

The Starboy singer said of his career: ‘I was laser-focused at the time and am now laser-focused’, as he calls it ‘the story’ of his twenties.

“I feel like I’ve been devoting a sound to creating a sound for the last ten years, and I’ve spent most of my career running away from it or duplicating it,” he says.

It’s been a few weeks for the star, as the Toronto-based star called the Grammys ‘corrupt’ last month after being beaten in the nominations.

On social media, he wrote to the organizers: “You are me, my fans and the industry transparent …”

Insiders said artist camp Can’t Feel My Face suspects the lack of nominations responds to the unpleasant back and forth about whether he would perform in the Super Bowl.

The artist, with the full name Abel Tesfaye, released the album After Hours in March for strong sales and reviews, and it won the favorite album – Soul / R & B honors at the American Music Awards this past Sunday.

Interim Head of the Recording Academy Harvey Mason, jr. responded to the singer’s public complaints in a statement to Rolling Stone.

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

Mason continues: “We would like him to perform on the Grammy stage the weekend before ‘the Super Bowl’.]Unfortunately, there are fewer nominations each year than the number of deserving artists.”

‘To be clear, the voting in all categories ended long before The Weeknd’s performance in the Super Bowl was announced, and it could not have affected the nomination process in any way. All Grammy nominees are recognized by the voting council for their excellence, and we congratulate them all. ‘

Asked by Variety about the exclusion of The Weeknd, Mason said at the time: ‘It really just comes down to the voting body deciding.

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

Mason began on the process that Grammy officials follow to find out which artists are nominated and in which categories.

‘We look at it every year and make the process adjustments; we did it this year, last year, we will do it next year. “And I do not think it questions that honestly,” Mason said. “The process is there so we continue to monitor excellence.”

The Weeknd previously took home the best urban contemporary album for Starboy in 2018.