“Every time I hit the road, it takes a little piece of me; kills me slowly,” exclaims Abel Tesfaye, known as The Weeknd, on “Cry For Me,” the third single of what might be his final studio album as The Weeknd, “Hurry Up Tomorrow.” As the Canadian R&B artist-cum-pop star concludes his career, he ventures into a new sound that is the culmination of all his artistic eras. When “Hurry Up Tomorrow” was announced last year and followed up by singles “Timeless” and “Saõ Paulo,” many were confused about the sonic direction this album would be taking. It serves as a follow-up to his albums “After Hours” and “Dawn FM” in what seems to be a musical trilogy, ending his career exactly how it started. “Cry For Me” is our introduction to The Weeknd’s character on “Hurry Up Tomorrow”: tired and desperate for the end.
The song begins with a bass-heavy Brazilian funk-inspired instrumental courtesy of Metro Boomin and Mike Dean. He lays his first verse over roaring synths, which, lyrically, is nothing but the usual Weeknd verse. He then follows this up with the chorus, pleading, “I hope you cry for me like I cry for you.” While this may seem like he’s talking about a romantic interest, it becomes clear through the second verse that he is talking to us, the audience. This song can be interpreted as a reflection of all that he sacrificed for his music and how he hopes that he has left a mark on his listeners’ lives, as it sounds like he is justifying his decision to call it quits as The Weeknd. The sound then morphs into a trap beat before the second chorus, sampling “I Wanna Be the One” by The S.O.S. Band. This chorus is followed by a bridge, which is, by far, the most beautiful part of the song. He once again addresses the audience, saying that they always give him sympathy, but realizes that they are now better on their own. This bridge is followed by a final chorus, where his vocals are pitched down in modern R&B fashion.
Even though this song has achieved the most success out of any “Hurry Up Tomorrow” song besides the previous singles, it has yet to take off as previous Weeknd songs such as “Timeless” and “Blinding Lights.” However, it certainly does not lack substance, as it is a stellar introduction to the landscape of the album. The song combines elements of experimentalism as well as mainstream appeal.
While The Weeknd seems poised to drop his famous moniker, the era from “Hurry Up Tomorrow” is far from over, with a feature film of the same title set to premiere in May starring Jenna Ortega, Barry Keoghan and himself. Since The Weeknd said, “I’ve been burning up my home,” in the song and the music trailer shows Jenna Ortega’s character burning up his home, it is clear that the film will correlate to the song, which may make an already sublime track even more enjoyable.
