The Weeknd has continued to build hype surrounding an upcoming collaboration with Playboi Carti.
Abel posted a screenshot from a FaceTime call with King Vamp to social media on Sunday (May 28), which featured him sporting a grin from ear-to-ear.
The Toronto megastar also posted vampire and burning heart emojis next to the screenshot, which was snagged from Carti’s Instagram Stories.
The Weeknd previously premiered a new song with Playboi Carti while on the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival last week, where his HBO series The Idol made its debut to a rapturous reception.
Both artists’ vocals can be heard on the upbeat track, which is reminiscent of The Neptunes‘ late ’90s/early ’00s sound.
According to OnThinIce, the track also features Madonna and will be officially released in June as part of The Idol‘s soundtrack.
🧛🏿♂️❤️🔥 pic.twitter.com/cpzA4NFJik
— Abel Tesfaye (@theweeknd) May 28, 2023
The song, reportedly titled “Popular,” will mark the first time that The Weeknd and Carti have worked together, and both fan bases are eager to hear what they cooked up.
“IT BETTER BE COMING FRIDAY. AHHHHHHHHHHHH DROP IT,” one excited fan wrote on Twitter, while another exclaimed: “Its rly happening oh my god!”
According to Variety, The Idol received a five-minute-plus standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival following the premiere of the first two episodes of the show, which is set to air on HBO on June 4.
The episodes reportedly “shocked” the French audience with its raunchy scenes, which included “revenge porn photos of bodily fluids on Depp’s face, masturbation with ice cubes, nightclub-owning scam artists and vile Hollywood sycophants.”
The Idol also received a major co-sign from Hollywood legend Sharon Stone over the weekend.
“I just watched the first two episodes of @theidol @lilyrose_depp & Abel (@theweeknd) r so sure footed,” Stone wrote on Instagram. “#SamLevinson addresses the root of crisis in entertainment; Which comes first, the brilliance or the heartache?”
The Weeknd reposted the story with just one comment of his own: “Wow.”
Earlier this month, the Canadian crooner-turned-actor hinted at retiring his longtime stage name and making music under a new alias.
“I’m going through a cathartic path right now,” he told W Magazine. “It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter.
“I’ll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd. And I will. Eventually. I’m definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn.”
He added: “The album I’m working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd. This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.”
