The Weeknd & Playboi Carti Collab Debuts At "The Idol" Red Carpet Premiere

BYAron A.Published on May 23, 20233.2K Views

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 23: The Weeknd attends the Music in Action Awards Ceremony hosted by The Black Music Action Coalition at 1 Hotel West Hollywood on September 23, 2021 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for ABA) LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02: (Editorial Use Only) Playboi Carti performs on the main stage during Day 2 of Wireless Festival 2022 at Crystal Palace Park on July 02, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Joseph Okpako/WireImage)

The Weeknd and Playboi Carti connected for a banger.

The Weeknd sought the finest talent in Atlanta to create The Idol Vol. 1, the soundtrack to his upcoming HBO series. The Toronto singer appeared on the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival where the controversial television show’s pilot premiered. As The Weeknd, Lily Depp-Rose, and Sam Levinson appeared in front of the press and fans, the singer debuted a brand new song alongside Playboi Carti. Although an unexpected pairing, the early 2000s-inspired production serves as a perfect backdrop for their combined efforts.

At this point, there’s no additional information surrounding their collaboration. However, HBO confirmed The Idol will debut on June 4th, which signals that the soundtrack could arrive around the same time. Prior to the debut of the Playboi Carti collaboration, The Weeknd shared “Double Fantasy” ft. Future and previewed a cover of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy.” Between Future and Playboi Carti, it’ll be interesting to see the other artists The Weeknd collaborated with for the soundtrack of his upcoming series.

The Weeknd Debuts Playboi Carti Collab

As fans anticipate new music from Playboi Carti, his upcoming collaboration with The Weeknd seems like it could be the first taste of his next project. Throughout the past few months, there have been a number of updates from his inner circle, including DJ Swamp Izzo, who stated that the project was complete. Carti himself hasn’t confirmed a release date but Izzo stated that it would see a summer release. Meanwhile, he debuted a single titled “Rockstar” at Rolling Loud earlier this year.

The upcoming series on HBO, The Idol, has already spurred divisiveness on the Internet. The provocative nature of the show led to criticism online due to allegations of sexism and “torture porn.” Many of the television critics who attended the premiere seemingly reaffirmed these claims. Still, the debut at Cannes Film Festival proved to be a success for the most part. There have been reports claiming that the show received a five-minute standing ovation after the pilot premiered. We’ll keep you posted on anymore updates surrounding the show. For now, check out The Weeknd and Playboi Carti’s snippet above.

About The Author

Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.