After four years of taking After Hours Til Dawn around the world, The Weeknd has begun its final chapter in Asia.
The Canadian artist kicked off the tour's first-ever Asian leg with back-to-back shows at Tokyo's Belluna Dome on 19 and 20 September, marking his first return to Japan in seven years. The dates opened a 17-show run that will travel through Jakarta, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur.
And for the opening night, The Weeknd had a surprise made especially for Japan.
Yoko Takahashi joined him onstage for a special rendition of 'A Cruel Angel’s Thesis', the iconic opening theme from Neon Genesis Evangelion. The pair also debuted a new song together, accompanied by visuals from Yoko Taro that incorporated imagery from NieR:Automata and Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Across the two-hour set, The Weeknd revisited different corners of his catalogue with 'Popular', 'One of the Girls', 'Less Than Zero', 'Kiss Land', and 'Blinding Lights'. 'Out of Time' also featured Tomoko Aran, while Japanese hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts and DJ ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U joined the opening shows as special guests.
The Japanese influence extended far beyond the music. Towering over the stage was a roughly 12-metre-tall gold sculpture by Hajime Sorayama, hand-carved by craftsmen in Toyama and fitted with lasers in its eyes and smoke effects in its palms. The massive centrepiece is also the largest commissioned fine artwork incorporated into a live concert production.
Japanese contemporary artist Tetsuya Nakamura created masks worn by The Weeknd onstage, while Yohji Yamamoto POUR HOMME designed special looks for the tour. The production's combination of music, fashion, visual art, and Japanese pop culture gave the opening dates an identity specific to the tour's long-awaited arrival in Asia.
After Belluna Dome, The Weeknd heads across Asia before bringing After Hours Til Dawn to its final dates at Kuala Lumpur's TM Stadium Nasional on 4 and 5 November.
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