The Weeknd Debuts New Song Sampling Neon Genesis Evangelion Theme

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.