A Farewell to the After Hours Era. 

New to our channel? Go check out our TRILOGY of videos discussing After Hours right here: ru-vid.com/group/PLXzM6oJxrnoxTmiXGvOM3Hhyv7Oqh0v04 TIMESTAMPS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0:00 - Intro 2:34 - "Too Late" Music Video EXPLAINED! 13:48 - "Save Your Tears" Music Video EXPLAINED! 24:30 - Do the After Hours Era music videos form a storyline? 27:08 - Our favorite moments (performances, music videos, etc.) from the After Hours era... 42:17 - we answer some of YOUR questions re: After Hours! 52:03 - Why was After Hours so successful?

I'm glad we could experience this era together, even if it was in the worst year ever we pulled through with a master piece of an album by an amazing man named The Weeknd.

After Hours saved my life….I was going through a lot of shit this past year and this album saved me….I wen’t through heartbreak and pain…. To be honest I was never a sad or depressed person more life of the party and after I thought I found love it was just gone in a blink of an eye and I didn’t know how to handle it. Some nights I was so close to suicide I would just cry listening to After Hours missing the one girl that put me through this pain. I’m blessed that I was able to get through this phase of my life and I finally moved on. I’m happy again even though I don’t have that girl no more…. Able thank you so much for making After Hours because it really did save my life…and I’m sorry for anything your going through and I hope your fans know that we got your back! X.O. for life

Proud of the After Hours Era, but it’s time for the next chapter to happen. #TheDawnIsComing

I think the order of the videos goes something like this (with explanation): 1 - Heartless (Official Video) At the end of Heartless, The Weeknd is on the Vegas street, which is where Blinding Lights starts. 2 - Blinding Lights (Official Video) This is the video where he breaks his nose, after getting punched by a guard. 3 - Until I Bleed Out (Official Video) He has bandaging on his nose, and the video ends off with him in the deserty area. 4 - Snowchild (Animated Video) Video starts off where UIBO ended; in the desert. 5 - Blinding Lights (Live on Jimmy Kimmel) This is the performance at the beginning of the short film. 6 - After Hours (Short Film) Starts at Jimmy Kimmel, ends in the elevator with the In Your Eyes lady. 7 - In Your Eyes (Official Video) Starts at the end of the short film in the elevator, and ends with his head cut off. 8 - Too Late (Official Video) This video is all about The Weeknd's head which was cut off in the previous video. 9 - Save Your Tears / In Your Eyes (Live on the 2020 AMAs) In this performance, The Weeknd now has full face bandaging. This can be from his decapitation and/or surgery. 10 - Save Your Tears (Official Video) The Weeknd now has no bandages and a full facelift. If anyone has any comments/ideas/suggestions I am open to them! XOTWOD!

I will not say goodbye to after hours album It has become a part of life now

Going to challenge y’all a little bit. I think every music video is connected. My theory is that Heartless up until the In Your Eyes video we’re watching a man lose his mind (even in the performances) He dies in the IYE video and gets transported to hell. We see the process of him getting transported in Until I bleed out. In snowchild, this is him reliving his entire life in hell. Now when too late comes into play, we are back in reality and The Weeknd is not dead inside but essentially people don’t care, they still want more of him. So they grab his head and find a body for him to be rebirth in but he comes back as a shell of himself, not actually The Weeknd. By the end of it all, he got plastic surgery and officially lost his mind yet again due to a fake attempt of resurrection.

The best story teller of all time ngl, Abel is truly is an amazing artist.

I listened to The Weeknd before in the past. But i only knew the singles like the hills, cant feel my face and starboy. I can say that because of After Hours album and your theory video i became addicted to Abel songs. Thank you 2 for the amazing videos and Abel for helped me this last two years. (Sorry if i wrote something wrong, i'm brazilian and i learned english by myself) XOTWOD

Love the Weekend! I'm 58, just discovered Abel a couple years ago.❌🖤⭕💖 Such talent!!🎼💗

Legendary run

the fact that you guys put in the time to sit down and create a whole hour podcast about this era is beautiful . I appreciate it and im glad you guys are appreciate the era and the new era coming. what an era!

It's quite a depressing comparison but the Save your tear music video is reminiscent to Michael Jackson's video for One more chance (filmed in 2003 but released after his death with the video was incomplete) in which you see arguably the greatest artist of all time as almost a shadow of his former self where he has become just the name while losing that previous sense of greatness. Both Save your tears and One more chance have the artist dancing on tables but not at a level before, again reinforcing the idea of a once great artist now at a low point. The plastic surgery in Save your tears could also reference Jackson's own problem with plastic surgery perhaps showing the insecurities people within the entertainment industry attempting to remain at the top. Overall watching the Save your tears video with the context of Jackson's One more chance video it portrays the larger story of once great artists trying to rekindle their peak and popularity with the message that the industry allows some great artists to fall off from their previous heights. Side note, I don't think this idea is completely applicable to Jackson himself and the One more chance video as I believe he was far from a spent force exemplified by his planned This is it tour, his planned endeavors into film while also beginning to work with contemporary artists.

I love after hours, from It’s story to the album’s music to the performances to it’s merch to everything else. The weeknd perfected it and to this day it is a 10/10 for me and still the best album of the 2020’s. Thank you Abel for the AMAZING journey you put us through on After Hours and let the Dawn be another big step. Thank you…. You guys know what I gotta do… WITH DJ KHALED AD-LIBS!!!

I really wish there were official instrumentals out there to listen to. The ambient sound of the album is depressing, beautiful, and slightly horrifying. The production is absolutely incredible, near perfect in every way.

Can’t wait until dawn lol..No lie tho this album has became my favorite weekend project because its so raw and the story telling is so good. Can picture every song in my head. I still think my dear melancholy project was over looked it was a good setup for this album

I think that the after hours video is just the beginning of him tripping out and the videos for In Your eyes, too late are just dreams in that trip. And until I bleed it out is just what’s happening to him during the trip and also the end of his drug trip. Also the too late video climax can also be in reference to one of the lyrics in the song lost in the fire. The part when he says you can bring a friend

Oh shoot👀👀🔥 after hours has been good to us boys 🙏🏿🙏🏿

I’m still hoping for Faith MV 🔥. The pre-chorus is amazing 🔥

After Hours era was amazing. The artistic vision from the character to the music to the performances. It definitely a mindset and a persona, but the next chapter is here.. 🌅🌅🌅

Another thing which I noticed with the Too Late music video is the resemblance to Steven Meisel’s Vogue Italia editorial on plastic surgery ‘makeover madness’ in 2005, which maybe could be some inspiration. The idea of the editorial is that in order to be perfect you need to change the way you look to fit the industry. Im pretty sure the editorial was also a bit controversial (as was the Too late MV in the eyes of some) showing the models getting surgery, stitches and bandaged to stay with what society calls ‘beautiful’. If you see the pictures of the shoot you’ll see the resemblance.

I’m glad that I was able to witness at least the end of After Hours even though I unfortunately missed a good majority of it!

Favorite artist of all time from day 1 Always loved and supported this man

He moved into a penthouse downtown LA 🤣🤣🤣🤣 It always makes me laugh, he sung all about how he wants to leave LA but then moves right to the heart of it lol

i've loved this era so much. The live performances with music video productions were excellent

I think that the scene where they sew his head on the dancer's body is a commentary on body image in Hollywood. I think because Abel never showed his body (which is totally okay, he doesn't have to), and perhaps in this video the idea is that lots of girls may think because he's a celebrity, he has to look this way, he has to have this perfect muscular body. So they forcefully create the perfect guy from their imagination.

This made me wanna go back and rewatch ur old after hours vids. Keep up the grind ❌⭕️

This era was so good 😩

Loving your analysis. One correction. Abel still lives in LA. He sold his mansion to Madonna but he lives in a $25 million dollar Penthouse in Beverly Hills now. He also uses to live in BH before he bought the mansion in 2017 so he is going back to old Abel in many ways I guess

That fact he had no features on the album & I it did so amazing, he the 🐐

I think this album is the realest the Weeknd has been since Trilogy like a peak behind the curtains of his heart

I usually can't watch a video when people are just talking for about 30 mins to an hour straight but ya'll really got me into the vibe it felt like I was actually there chatting with you guys! WATCHED THE WHOLE THING. NEW SUB :) AH was a whole masterpiece. Honestly I don't think any other artist could top that off IT JUST HIT DIFFERENT imagine being so in love with what you do that you would put all of this hard work EVEN DURING A PANDEMIC PLZZ WE LOVE A KING. XOTWOD

The connection people are making with the girl in Save Your Tears and Selena is that Selena looks very similar in a music video of her own. Bangs, earrings, dress, etc.

yet the most underrated song is until i bleed out.

I sometimes come back to this video just because I miss this era so much. The Dawn is great, but nothing will be like the After Hours experience.

Such a fantastic video guys. Thank you for your work! As a big fan of Abel, it's such a pleasure to understand every single word that comes out, feels like I'm sharing the same room

Thank you guys so much for making these podcasts. I'm a college student, been a music lover for a while now, but i think After Hours was the first time an album REALLY hit me, like touched my soul, hit me in the corazon, type beat and I couldn't stop listening to it, watch the music videos, look up Genius lyric explanations, etc. My friends didn't really care about the album the way I did so I kinda just fangirled by myself till I found this podcast. Seeing all the DEEP dives and analyses was exactly the kind of content I wanted, and the best/weird part about it was that hearing y'all talk felt like just having a convo with friends about the music. Y'all said things that were exactly in line with what I thought and brought up new ideas I hadn't even thought of which i really appreciate. This era was truly one for the books. I absolutely love concept albums like this, especially when it does feel like an ~era~. I can't wait to see what The Weeknd does next, or even just any other artists who come up with new concept albums/eras like this. And I can't wait to see what y'all talk about next! I love what y'all are doing so keep up the good work!

Fantastic job guys really enjoyed your analysis and recap of such a great album

This video was a great look back at this era! Great work guys! I’m looking forward to the content you guys will do with the new era 😎

the end of the vevo faith was the most emotional preformance ive seen in a while

What an era ... It was an experience 🔥🔥🔥🔥😎

I just cant imagine how ABEL will top AFTER HOURS !! waiting for the dawn.

He still lives in LA he bought a penthouse for like 21 millon that's where he lives since selling his house to Madonna XO until we OD

Thank you guys so much for your great videos, a french fan speaking. Just wanted to tell you that just like you I'm starting writing video and articles/essays about diffrrent albums (DAMN. already finished) and I'm currently working on the After Hours article in which I'm regrouping and explaining all the songs/music videos storytelling So once again It's great to share and speak about things we truly love and makes us coming out better

Love this guys!

this video is beautiful wow thank you for thisn

This was an amazing video man, well done guys.

I love this, talking openly about it

You guys back ohhhh thanks

I'm not ready to let go

I’m such a big fan of u guys for real🙏 , not only do I see how passionate u guys are and how much effort and work u guys put in but u guys give me and others new perspectives and theories to the lure and in a very clear concise way like honestly going through a lot of videos and the songs to digest all the details and allusions/references to things I never would’ve thought of. U guys deserve sooo much more recognition and I feel like RU-vid is like shadow banning u 😭

i can't get enough of this album

Amazing video as always

This era will forever be special, after hours being the dark thematic work it is came at a dark moment for us all, the thing which made it even more relatable. For me after hours marked a psychological escape from the chaos caused by the pandemic, I will forever cherish and celebrate the After Hours but now it's time to look forward to the dawn, hopefully with perfect timing to the amelioration of the current human condition too.

Good episode

The album hits so much harder now that the era is over

Please, I know its a hard one, but you need to do a video about Trilogy!

Loved this so much 🥰🥰🥰 XO'TWOD

I’m so happy we all got to experience this masterpiece of an era in our lifetimes, a legend like Abel comes around once every ten lifetimes.

Top top top video again guys!

alone again is also my number one on the album!!!!

My absolute favorite live performance was Heartless

music video order could be until i bleed out snowchild heartless heartless intermission in your eyes ft. doja cat (idk how it would connect but it could represent being on drugs since the music video looks like a bunch of people OD and said, "fuck it, lets make something") blinding lights blinding lights chromatics after hours trailer in your eyes too late save your tears save your tears remix

The Dawn is COMING ❤️😍

After Hours is done but I can still put the album on repeat everyday :) But I'm hype for the Dawn is Coming 🌅🌅 time to add another album on repeat.

Just found your channel and am obsessed! I would love to be a guest or talk to you 2 about possibly being a guest if you're ever open to that. I'm a huge Weeknd fanatic and discovered Abel in late 2011. I'd love to share my experiences and interpretations of Abel's work if you're open to that :) we don't even have to make it a YT video, it would just be dope to chat with fellow XO ❤ I'm a woman so perhaps I can offer my perspective in a way you 2 might not have thought about prior. Either way, love this channel and just subbed!!

I thoroughly enjoyed the After Hours Era. The album, After Hours, is such an amazing album from Mr. Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd). I know that people have their favorite song from After Hours, but for me personally, i don't have a favorite song from the After Hours album because i love each song to the point where i would listen to each song 2 to 3 times LOL. :) So yeah, the songs on After Hours are that good. Plus, i love how each song connected with each other and the transitions were so seamless, which allowed the entire storyline on the album to make sense, you know? The After Hours album was definitely worth the wait when it dropped on March 20th, 2020. The Weeknd is an amazing artist in every way, shape, and form. With that said, i'm looking forward to the new era from The Weeknd when the time comes. :)

Let's gooo 👀🖤🖤🖤🔥🔥🔥

ty

After Hours isn’t going anywhere! I will forever listen to it

I think Heath Ledger's joker scene where he sipped the champagne was referenced in save your tears music video when the weeknd did it

Btw Fav song: Faith for sure Fav live perfomance: (super bowl doesnt count to me cuz its another level shit so with that said) Faith VEVO perfomance. Fav video clip: After hours for sure. When the instrumental of after hours starts give me chills everytime.

My question really made it into this???? That’s love man

Ngl I'm going to miss red suit Abel

In save your tears music video, that girl looks exactly like how Selena looks in her dance again music vidoe. Same hairstyle same ring same face same earring. That's the link why ppl were saying it's her

I never knew an album could make me cry happy and sad tears at the same time 🤣 Now I’m crying cuz the era is over, the music is beautiful and sad, AND cuz I feel honored to have experienced this era

After hours is gold

the only "bad" thing i can say about this era is "Faith" not getting a music video like Abel promised. i guess they had to scrap it :/ other than that, After Hours was incredible, and i can't wait to see what he has in store for us in The Dawn

Never been so happy to see a notification

These are my analysis from Save Your Tears, let me know what you guys think. So basically my analysis of the music video starts by focusing on the obvious first, which is his face, it looks hella like hella different. It represents the image he puts out to the public. The people wearing masks are his “so called” fans, they look like they’re just there to watch what’s going and observing, therefore them just sitting still and not moving a muscle. The shiny suit also represents the idea of no matter how rich or lavish you look you can still be broken on the inside which is connected how his face looks. Him pouring champagne all over the place and people just watching represents the idea of like how viewers only see the “happy” moments of a celebrity or any other human. The girl is important in this music video because she’s the only one not wearing a mask which represents how Abel falling in love with the girl. They go to the stage, dance, fall in love, while everyone is watching. The gun represents his toxic traits, and that no matter what happens, his toxic traits will fire back at him in any relationship. It fades then to a red background, which I believe represents his new album “After Hours”. He’s performing for the audience and pouring his heart out after the breakup. The gun represents the toxic thoughts and everything he said on the album, he’s playing and having fun with the gun, which represents how these toxic thoughts and his ex influenced his music. He then uses the gun to shoot him self, which basically means that “the gun” was his album and his thoughts, and people were vibing to it but still felt his pain. When he shot himself, some people were worried in the beginning, which in reality people did feel his pain and were worried about how the weeknd is copping with his pain , but then applauded him later on for his remarkable album.

Damn I need a breakdown of the unreleased songs for after hours take me back to la and hold my heart😁

Ok save your tears defo has a connection . Even tho I don’t know what it is there’s a lot to see

the dawn has come😈

what a fucking era

A music video for Nothing Compares would’ve been cool

You’re right about salena and Bella..... I think they made him feel less of a man bc of who he really was..... look at how things ended with his ex Valerie and how he handled it with them that’s a good point.

I want to put an S Curl in Weeknd's hair SOOOOOOO bad!

Is that drake in the Too late video

Kinda confused Bc he’s still going to go on a After Hours tour

He pulled away from the secrete society. Yes he exposing all of them . Hope is stays safe.

WHEN R U GUYS GONNA REACT TO TAKE MY BREATH

Why wasn’t there a video for Faith it’s a missed opportunities 😞

hey, are you guy a part of the weeknd discord? i'm one of the mods, we would absolutely love to have you in our community xo

I will really miss the red suit character

Also his huge face looks like Yolanda hadid. It’s such a commentary.

If anyone has ever witnessed an exanguination, blood does not pour... It squirts at the interval of heart beats. I don't know why it's always portrayed as a pour....

This entire thing is such a commentary on art vs celebrity. I think Gaga’s fame monster wanted to touch on that too. I also think it’s a huge commentary on the fetishizing of artists and in particular black men. Honestly those two girls with bandaged faces in thr pool - only making out with his head. His image. His literal FACE value. And the house looks like the kardashian house. It’s such a commentary on thr fake and plastic nature of not only LA- but the commercialization of art.

Remember guys The Dawn Is Coming

his message isnt ALWAYS about his relationships with women. theres so much more to his music than that, thats just one aspect. i feel like you guys really miss so much of his message. look more into what hes saying about the world, LA, hollywood, good and evil, etc.

If you ain't XO then.. You gotta go.