The track, featuring Yoko Takahashi, samples Neon Genesis Evangelion’s opening theme as Tesfaye hints towards a new era.

The Weeknd had a surprise waiting for Japan.

Kicking off the Asian leg of his After Hours Til Dawn tour at Belluna Dome on September 19, the superstar used opening night to unveil a brand-new, unreleased song.

Currently dubbed “Tokyo”, the track features Japanese singer Yoko Takahashi and samples her iconic 1995 song “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis”, the opening theme from the famous anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion.

It was a distinctly Japanese unveiling for the new material, bringing together music, anime and gaming in one performance. Takahashi first delivered “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” before Tesfaye joined her for the unreleased track, while visuals from NieR creator Yoko Taro played across the stage. Tesfaye later shared the performance online with the credit: “Presented by YOKO TARO. Featuring “YOKO TAKAHASHI”

The song has yet to receive an official release date, but its debut arrives at a particularly pivotal point in Tesfaye’s career.

“Tokyo” also marks the second unreleased track Tesfaye has unveiled on the After Hours Til Dawn tour, following “Rio,” his collaboration with Anitta, which debuted during his April 26 show in Rio de Janeiro.

Despite spending much of the Hurry Up Tomorrow era teasing the end of The Weeknd persona, Tesfaye now appears to be looking firmly towards what comes next.

In GQ Hong Kong’s new cover feature, Tesfaye elaborated on his current period as a kind of creative reset rather than retirement. “If I create under my own name one day,” he told GQ, “it won’t be about leaving anything behind. It’ll just be another evolution.”

That revolution is already beginning to take shape. Tesfaye further revealed that he has been revisiting Kiss Land, his 2013 debut studio album, and is currently working on a remaster. He said about his record, "it's the one project I never felt I executed exactly the way I envisioned” and that he’s now returning to it with the intention of bringing that original vision closer to life.

Kiss Land marked a significant shift from the unfiltered intimacy of his early mixtapes into a darker, more cinematic world. One that would eventually foreshadow the conceptual universes he built throughout the following decade.

Now, that past is colliding with whatever comes next, the Asian leg of the tour continues through Jakarta, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok and Hong Kong before wrapping up in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 4. The tour has already become the highest-grossing solo male tour in history, while Tesfaye continues to hint at what comes after.

Taylor Swift watches the game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

Taylor Swift made sure everyone saw her wedding ring on Sunday during the Kansas City Chiefs match-up against the Indianapolis Colts. As her Travis Kelce scored his first touchdown of the season during the opening quarter, Swift jumped up, held up her left hand, pointed to her ring finger, and declared, “That’s my husband.”

Swift, who married Kelce on July 3 at Madison Square Garden, has been spotted at all of the Chiefs game so far this season. Last week, she was joined by Tom Cruise for team’s 31-10 win against the Denver Broncos.

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Cruise, who appeared on Kelce’s podcast New Heights to promote his movie Digger, told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show that Swift spent the game “schooling” him on football. “She was bringing the football,” Cruise said. “First of all, she’s a genius. I’ve been following her since she was a kid. Everybody there, all their friends — they’re a beautiful couple and magical in their own right.”

He added, “I hadn’t been to a football game since pre-Covid, where I was working and everything. So to get to hang out there and have that moment, it was a lot. But she knows her stuff.”

Swift and Kelce took over Madison Square Garden for their wedding earlier this summer. The guest list packed nearly 1,000 attendees including Paul McCartney, Brad Pitt, Conan O’Brien, Gigi Hadid, Lena Dunham, and Zoë Kravitz. McCartney and Stevie Nicks attended and performed at the wedding while Adam Sandler officiated the ceremony.

“It’s a night we’ll never forget. Me and Taylor are so thankful for everybody that showed up,” said Kelce during a September episode of New Heights. “From the vows to seeing everyone to how much fun we had throughout the entire evening, and hearing that kind of be relayed through everybody’s stories of the night, and it was just so magical, man.”

Troye Sivan is throwing a 'Party,' and we're all invited

Welcome to our weekly rundown of the best new music — featuring big singles, key tracks from our favorite albums, and more. This week, Troye Sivan flips a Madonna sample into a hypnotic house banger, Miley teams up with Brooklyn noise-rock act Model/Actriz, and Beabadoobee pens a note to a lover on a shoegaze-influenced track. Plus, new tunes from Carly Rae Jepsen, Soccer Mommy, Orville Peck, Skepta, and Chaka Khan.

Miley feat. Model/Actriz, “Different Religion” (YouTube)

Troye Sivan, “Party” (YouTube)

Beabadoobee, “Write Me a Letter” (YouTube)

Carly Rae Jepsen, “Super Sage” (YouTube)

Chaka Khan, “Heart of Gold” (YouTube)

Soccer Mommy, “Rings of Saturn” (YouTube)

Skepta feat. Suggs and Chase & Status, “Innocent Smile” (YouTube)

Offset, “Something I Need” (YouTube)

Wednesday, “Elderberry Wine (DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ Remix)” (YouTube)

Orville Peck, “Rehab Blues” (YouTube)

Maluma, Shakira, “Agua” (YouTube)

Beck, “Disappearing Act” (YouTube)

Lizzy McAlpine, “A Car Wash and a New Pair of Pants” (YouTube)

Beach House, “April Suzanne (Robert Lester Folsom Cover)” (YouTube)

Empress Of, “I Pray 4 U” (YouTube)

Raveena, “Blissed Out” (YouTube)

Dexter in the Newsagent, “Fantasy” (YouTube)

Lambrini Girls, “Bang Bang Bang” (YouTube)

@, “Bird” (YouTube)

Susanna Hoffs, “Where Do We Go” (YouTube)

Porter Robinson, “Perfect Pinterest Garden (Ninajirachi & Underscores Remix)” (YouTube)

Boy Harsher, “Faulty” (YouTube)

Kate Nash, “Spilt Milk” (YouTube)

AZ Chike, “Mercy” (YouTube)

2charm, “Making Out” (YouTube)

Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul, “Googoo Gaga” (YouTube)

1tbsp feat. Kid on Air, “Wish You Luck” (YouTube)

Alewya, “Cairo FM (Extended Mix)” (YouTube)

Radie Peat, “The Moon and Stars” (YouTube)

Beck

Beck marked the release of his new album Ride Lonesome on Friday with the video for standout track “Run Away.”

After enlisting famed French actor Denis Lavant for Ride Lonesome’s “In the Night” visual, Beck recruits another arthouse favorite for “Run Away,” casting Ichi the Killer and Shogun star Tadanobu Asano to lead the lonely journey through Tokyo.

“At the end of a long hot summer we went to Japan. I looked up my friend [Kunichi Nomura] with the idea to make a video in Tokyo. Through him, we met some amazing Japanese artists who came together to make a little film for my new song ‘Run Away,'” Beck wrote on social media on Friday. “And a huge thank you to the star of our video, the great actor, Tadanobu Asano. This was all shot on location in Japan with the help of many talented new friends.”

“Run Away” was directed by Mikai Karl, who also helmed the previous Ride Lonesome visuals. Beck will embark on a tour in support of Ride Lonesome — his first studio album in seven years and third LP in a spiritual trilogy that includes Sea Change and Morning Phase — starting Sept. 22.

“Ride Lonesome is amorphous, hazy, dappled, and almost impossibly pretty,” Rolling Stone wrote in its review of the LP, which arrived today. “Listening can feel like you’re floating in amniotic fluid. But the album never gets vague or sleepy. Every song stands out on its own.”

The NFL season is finally on and the Buffalo Bills, and their fans, hope this year will be theirs.

Given the proximity of the city of Buffalo with Canada, a 20 minute drive across the Niagara, the Bills have long been deemed ''Canada's team'', as fans regularly cross the border to celebrate the blue and white. Amid a trade war and increasing tension between Canada and the United States, the team decided to lean into their fanbase and celebrate the friendship between the two countries by playing both national anthems at their opening home game against the Detroit Lions.

To perform 'O Canada', they enlisted Scarborough's own Barenaked Ladies. Their acapella rendition of the anthem, however, drew mixed reactions from the crowd and people watching at home.

Wayward, quavering voices and discordant harmonies make it an awkward listen for anyone familiar with the anthem or the band.

Almost immediately, users across the internet started to post comments and ask questions. Americans, mainly, were wondering exactly who the Barenaked Ladies are, and Canadian users were quick to explain and apologize. ''Yeah that was pretty bad. Sorry, love those guys and love they got that moment, but damn…'', said one Reddit user. ''The absolute worst rendition of the Canadian anthem I have ever heard. It was like they didn’t practice at all. One of them couldn’t decide which pitch they were going to sing in'' wrote another.

On X, the reactions were also mixed. ''shoutout to the bills for playing o canada but please god take the microphones away from the barenaked ladies'' said one person, while another added ''That was painful to listen to.''

Despite the performance of the anthem, the Bills had an overall good game, their first in their brand new stadium, taking a 41-31 win over the Lions.

Spotify has launched Fresh Finds Forward for emerging independent artists.

Spotify has launched a new program that will give about 10,000 emerging independent artists each year extra support to make the most of early momentum on their streaming service and beyond.

Named Fresh Finds Forward, the program builds on more than a decade of Fresh Finds, which a press release touts has helped more than 80,000 artists across 127 countries find new listeners. In 2021, the streaming service launched Fresh Finds to spotlight indie musicians in marketing campaigns and equip them with a variety of educational tools. The program was a spin-off of the Fresh Finds playlist.

Alumni include Laufey, Clairo, Doechii, Ice Spice, Megan Moroney, and Omar Apollo, per the release, which adds that for five consecutive years, alumni of the program have earned Best New Artist nominations.

The project will kick off with eligible artists added to Fresh Finds from Jan. 1, 2026 and onward. Spotify announced that participating artists will receive 12 months of free studio time, early access to select Spotify tools and features, exclusive programming and community, prioritized access to tour or music video partnerships with the company, premium access to digital tools like LANDR and Splice, and mental health and wellness resources.

Joe Hadley, Spotify’s Global Head of Music Content and Partnerships, said in a statement: “Fresh Finds Forward takes everything we’ve learned from a decade of discovery and builds a support system around it, so participating artists aren’t just getting a playlist placement, they’re getting the benefits, resources, and the community to make the most of that moment.”

Those interested in learning more about Fresh Finds Forward can hear directly from alumni including Role Model, Megan Moroney, sombr, Laufey, and Remi Wolf here.Spotify has launched a new program that will give about 10,000 emerging independent artists each year extra support to make the most of early momentum on their streaming service and beyond.

Named Fresh Finds Forward, the program builds on more than a decade of Fresh Finds, which a press release touts has helped more than 80,000 artists across 127 countries find new listeners. In 2021, the streaming service launched Fresh Finds to spotlight indie musicians in marketing campaigns and equip them with a variety of educational tools. The program was a spin-off of the Fresh Finds playlist.

Alumni include Laufey, Clairo, Doechii, Ice Spice, Megan Moroney, and Omar Apollo, per the release, which adds that for five consecutive years, alumni of the program have earned Best New Artist nominations.

The project will kick off with eligible artists added to Fresh Finds from Jan. 1, 2026 and onward. Spotify announced that participating artists will receive 12 months of free studio time, early access to select Spotify tools and features, exclusive programming and community, prioritized access to tour or music video partnerships with the company, premium access to digital tools like LANDR and Splice, and mental health and wellness resources.

Joe Hadley, Spotify’s Global Head of Music Content and Partnerships, said in a statement: “Fresh Finds Forward takes everything we’ve learned from a decade of discovery and builds a support system around it, so participating artists aren’t just getting a playlist placement, they’re getting the benefits, resources, and the community to make the most of that moment.”

Those interested in learning more about Fresh Finds Forward can hear directly from alumni including Role Model, Megan Moroney, sombr, Laufey, and Remi Wolf here.