The Weeknd reveals that the next album will be inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and the pandemic COVID-19

It may have the fourth best-selling album of the year.

But The Weeknd is already thinking about the next big project.

The 30-year-old After Hours hitmaker recently revealed to the special edition zine TMRW that both the Black Lives Matter movement and COVID-19 will inspire their next album.

As his planned After Hours trip was postponed until the summer of 2021, he said: ‘I have been more inspired and creative during the pandemic than I normally would be during a trip.

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“The pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement and the tensions of the election have mainly created a sense of gratitude for what I have and closeness with people close to me.”

Talking about his unmistakable vocal skills, he said he was inspired by Ethiopian music as he grew up, before changing with his albums to portray different sides of himself.

‘The older I got, the more music I was exposed to, and my voice became a chameleon going to different characters with each album. Following my own path and breaking industry norms, it seems to be influencing other people, ‘he said.

Talking about his career, the Starboy singer said: ‘I was focused on the laser back then and I’m focused on the laser now’, as he called it ‘the history’ of his twenties.

“I feel like I’ve spent the past 10 years creating a sound and for most of my career, I either ran away from it or duplicated it,” he shared.

It was an interesting few weeks for the star, as the Toronto star last month called the Grammys ‘corrupt’ after he was rejected in the nominations.

Taking it to social media, he wrote to the organizers: ‘You owe me, my fans and the transparency of the industry …’

Insiders said the artist’s team Can’t Feel My Face suspected that the lack of nominations was a response to the nasty comings and goings on whether he was going to perform at the Super Bowl.

The artist, whose full name is Abel Tesfaye, released the album After Hours in March with strong sales and reviews, and won the favorite album – Soul / R & B honors at the American Music Awards last Sunday.

Harvey Mason, acting head of the Recording Academy, jr. responded to the singer’s public complaints in a statement to Rolling Stone.

“We understand that Weeknd is disappointed that he was not nominated,” he said. ‘I was surprised and I can empathize with what he is feeling. His music this year was excellent, and his contributions to the music community and the world at large are worthy of everyone’s admiration. ‘

Mason continued, ‘We would love to have you on the Grammy stage too the weekend before the Super Bowl.]Unfortunately, each year, there are fewer nominations than the number of deserving artists.’

‘To be clear, voting in all categories ended well before The Weeknd’s Super Bowl performance was announced, so in no way could it have affected the nomination process. All Grammy nominees are recognized by the voting body for their excellence, and we congratulate them. ‘

Asked by Variety about The Weeknd being excluded, Mason said at the time, ‘It really depends on the voting body that decides.

‘We have eight appointment slots to fill [the Big Four categories: Best Album, Song, Record and New Artist], five in others, and voters vote for their favorites. It is very interesting, however. ‘

Mason opened up about the process that Grammy officials use to find out which artists are nominated and in which categories.

“We analyze every year and make adjustments and revisions in the process; we did this year, last year, we will do it next year. And I don’t think that calls it into question, honestly, ‘said Mason. ‘The process exists so that we can continue to monitor excellence.’

The Weeknd had already taken home the Best Contemporary Urban Album for Starboy in 2018.