The Weeknd debuted an unreleased new song sampling “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” the 1995 opening theme to the landmark anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, at Belluna Dome in Saitama, near Tokyo, on Friday, September 19, 2026. The track, titled Tokyo, was performed live as part of the Asian leg of his After Hours Til Dawn tour alongside Japanese singer Yoko Takahashi, who originally recorded the sampled piece.
The performance was staged as a full multimedia collaboration. Visuals were directed by Yoko Taro, creative director of the NieR video game series, and drew on imagery from both Neon Genesis Evangelion and NieR: Automata (2017). Tesfaye credited the piece on social media as “Presented by YOKO TARO ft. YOKO TAKAHASHI.”
This marks the second city-specific song debut on the current tour. In April 2026, Tesfaye premiered an unreleased track with Brazilian artist Anitta during a stop in Rio de Janeiro. Both debuts follow Tesfaye’s 2025 album Hurry Up Tomorrow, which he billed as his final release under the Weeknd name.
The After Hours Til Dawn tour has been running since 2022, supporting his 2020 album After Hours and its 2022 follow-up Dawn FM.
Source: Billboard
