Semaj McLeod
At the start of 2010, The Weeknd was homeless, singing on the street and performing in small clubs in his hometown of Toronto. A decade later he’s considered one of the biggest artists in the world, a Super Bowl halftime performer, the winner of multiple awards across the music industry, and will soon be adding stadium tours to his list of accolades with the announcement of his ‘After Hours Til Dawn’ tour with the only female on Hip-Hop’s Top Earner’s List, Doja Cat.
Last year, The Weeknd postponed his tour for the third time due to the pandemic, to the dismay of fans around the world. When explaining his reasons for doing so, The Weeknd promised the new version of the tour would be “something bigger and special for you which requires stadiums.”
That something special turned out to be the release of his most recent album After Dawn, the first part of a trilogy, while also being a follow up to his 2019 album After Hours, which received high praise throughout the music world (but was notoriously snubbed by the Grammys with no nominations). This tour will see him combine elements of both aforementioned albums creating a tour and experience that his fans and music lovers worldwide will truly enjoy.
The Weeknd’s presence will not be the only source of excitement on this tour as the eccentric Doja Cat will be joining him as an opener. The pair has linked up on songs before, with “You Right” off Doja’s album Planet Her and a remix of The Weeknd’s song “In Your Eyes.” Besides dominating charts, Doja Cat is getting bags in every direction and she’s definitely taking it to the next level with her appearances on this tour.
Along with this tour, The Weeknd has created the XO Humanitarian Fund. Also released on Thursday, Abel partnered with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and has vowed to put $1 from each purchased ticket sold in North America towards the fund.
“The goal with this fund is to provide immediate life-saving support to people who are on the brink of starvation,” The Weeknd said. “I’m so thankful to have WFP as a partner and to further expand our reach to those who need it most.” Additionally, The Weeknd is making a $500,000 donation.Ticket sales for the North American dates launch worldwide on March 10 at 10 a.m. local time via the official Weeknd site. As for fans who previously had tickets to the prior After Hours arena tour, they’ll be given access to a special presale launching this Friday.
