The Weeknd Debuts New Song Sampling Neon Genesis Evangelion Theme


He performed it in Tokyo with Yoko Takahashi, who sings the anime’s opening theme “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis”
The Weeknd
Photo by Sebastian Nagy

At his Asia tour opener in Tokyo, the Weeknd debuted a new song sampling the theme from one of the most beloved anime of all time: Neon Genesis Evangelion. He performed the track with Yoko Takahashi, the Japanese singer behind the series’ opening theme “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis.” A title and official release date for the track remains TBA, but you can check out footage of it below.

Abel Tesfaye paired the performance with a visual by Yoko Taro, which incorporated imagery from the writer-director’s 2007 video game NieR:Automata and Neon Genesis Evangelion. The September 19 show at Tokyo’s Belluna Dome kicked off the latest leg in Tesfaye’s years-long After Hours Til Dawn Stadium Tour, which commenced all the way back in 2022. He’s released two new albums since then: a 2023 soundtrack to the widely panned HBO series The Idol, and 2025’s Hurry Up Tomorrow, which he billed as his final release as the Weeknd. The latter was accompanied by a movie directed by Trey Edward Shults and starred Barry Keoghan, Jenna Ortega, and Tesfaye himself.

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Hattie Lindert is an associate staff writer at Pitchfork. A former editor at Resident Advisor, she has written for Rolling Stone, The FACE and The A.V. Club, among others. She’s based in New York, and born and raised in Vermont. ... Read More
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