The Weeknd is once again embracing his affection for animation.
The Weeknd’s fourth studio album, After Hours, continues to sit high on the US Billboard 200 chart and has already released a host of chart-topping singles. Many of the singles have been accompanied by fascinating music videos, with the latest, “Snowchild,” being no exception. It follows “In Your Eyes”, whose remix with Doja Cat received an animated clip, and Abel Tesfaye has once again let drawings speak. The music for “Snowchild” is done in the anime style made popular in Japan and was created by D’Art Shtajio studio, the first black-owned animation studio in the Asian country.
The 4 minute clip chronicles the “Blinding Lights” singer’s journey from his early days in Toronto to the mass fame he received with his 2016 album, Starboy. The video also examines the new, somewhat darker, persona he has become associated with on After Hours.
The Weeknd is no stranger to animation. Earlier this year, he appeared as a distorted version of himself in an episode of American Dad that he co-wrote, and he has also shared aspirations to appear on The Simpsons. In the meantime, he will lend his voice to the season finale of the animated series, Robot Chicken, which airs on Sunday. The voiceovers are serving as distractions as The Weeknd was originally supposed to be on tour at present. The Grammy Award winner was scheduled to embark on his After Hours tour between June and November but decided to postpone it until the same period in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.