We’ve been tracking the final The Weeknd album all year since the multi-platinum artist began ramping up its promo efforts, rolling out new material, and launching an event tour that culminated in Brazil’s financial center, providing a look into what to expect from Hurry Up Tomorrow. With his “Timeless” still making waves on the charts, The Weeknd returned to “Sao Paulo” for a surprise single, enlisting the help of Anitta along the way. Here’s everything you need to know about the singer’s latest release.
“Sao Paulo” Continues Wide-Ranging Sounds Of The Weeknd’s Final Record
An electronic anthem through and through, “Sao Paulo” sees The Weeknd further dipping into the techno well of his early career, again utilizing the talents of Mike Dean for the LP’s third single. Anitta’s performance, sizeable in overall real estate but closer to a vocal flip than a proper feature, is sultry and sweaty, perhaps masked to the broader US audience as her lines all come in Portuguese.
Compositionally, there is no genuine climax or “drop” on this song despite its electronic layout. Instead, true to the Brazilian funk genre, it prioritizes unrelenting rhythm. If you need a high point, you’ll likely have to look towards the end of the song when siren-like SFX begin blaring underneath heavily processed lines from The Weeknd, the effect-soaked vocals almost blending into the weighty Mike Dean synths as “Sao Paulo” draws to a close.
If it wasn’t abundantly clear already, almost all of the song’s aspects nod to Brazil, not least in the title. For Anitta, it’s a full-circle moment in that regard. In interviews, the Rio de Janeiro-born singer pledged that her main goal as her star increased was to bring the music she grew up with alongside her. While she certainly doesn’t need the co-sign to complete that journey, having earned plenty of certifications and records on her own accord, there’s no denying that assisting The Weeknd for “Sao Paulo” is the biggest platform she’s brought that mission to yet.
Catch “Sao Paulo” and all of the recent Weeknd releases now wherever you get your music.
Elsewhere in our coverage, Disclosure – Arachnids sees the EDM titans go nocturnal.
