It is 2026, and the music industry is still reeling from the tectonic shift that was Hurry Up Tomorrow. For over a decade, Abel Tesfaye and Jacques Webster have been operating like two planets sharing a gravitational pull. You've seen the clips from last year's After Hours Til Dawn stadium run. One minute the stage is a desolate, operatic wasteland, and the next, Travis Scott is emerging from the floor during "Reflections Laughing" while 70,000 people in Chicago lose their minds.
It’s a specific kind of magic.
Honestly, we don’t talk enough about how deep this goes. Most people look at The Weeknd and Travis Scott as just another high-profile collaboration pairing, like Drake and Future or Kanye and Jay-Z. But it’s different. This isn't just about "K-POP" or "Pray 4 Love." It’s about a relationship that basically saved Travis’s early career and a creative synergy that has defined the "dark-pop-trap" aesthetic for an entire generation.
The Bromance Nobody Expected
Back in 2015, Travis Scott wasn't the global brand he is today. He was the chaotic kid from Houston with a lot of energy and a polarizing sound. Abel saw something. He brought Travis on his first-ever arena tour, the Madness Fall Tour, as an opener. Imagine that. A relatively unknown Travis Scott performing before "The Hills" was the biggest song on earth.
Travis hasn't forgotten it. During his Sydney stop for the Utopia: Circus Maximus Tour in late 2024, he brought Abel out and told the crowd, "If it wasn’t for this guy right now, I probably wouldn’t be on this stage."
It’s rare to see that kind of genuine gratitude in an industry built on egos. They aren't just peers; they are "XO brothers," a phrase Travis uses constantly. When they collaborate, it’s not just a business transaction. It’s two friends who share a very specific, dark, and expensive-sounding vision of what modern music should be.
Every Collaboration Ranked by Impact
If you’re looking for a tracklist of their joint history, it’s a gold mine. You have the classics, the hidden gems, and the new experimental stuff that just dropped on Hurry Up Tomorrow.
- Pray 4 Love (2015): The genesis. This is the "Hurricane" of their catalog. It’s soulful, desperate, and gritty.
- Wonderful (2016): A transition into the more melodic, upbeat trap they’d eventually master.
- SKELETONS (2018): Kevin Parker from Tame Impala was on the production, but Abel’s vocals tucked into the background are what make this Astroworld cut haunting.
- WAKE UP (2018): This is arguably their most popular joint effort. It’s the ultimate late-night driving song.
- CIRCUS MAXIMUS (2023): Heavy drums. Intense vocals. This showed they could still innovate nearly a decade into their friendship.
- Reflections Laughing (2025): The standout from Abel’s final album under The Weeknd moniker. It features Florence + The Machine, but the chemistry between Travis and Abel is the real anchor here.
There’s a reason these two never miss. They balance each other. Travis brings the "rage"—the raw, distorted production and rhythmic energy. Abel brings the "angelic"—the high octaves, the melody, and the cinematic polish.
Why Hurry Up Tomorrow Changed Everything
When Hurry Up Tomorrow dropped on January 31, 2025, it was marketed as the end of an era. The final chapter of the trilogy. While everyone was talking about the David Lynch credits or the Giorgio Moroder features, the inclusion of Travis Scott on "Reflections Laughing" felt like a full-circle moment.
The song is massive. It’s nearly five minutes of shifting tempos. It doesn't sound like a radio hit, yet it dominated the charts for months. That’s the "Weeknd and Travis Scott" effect. They don’t follow trends; they just make stuff that sounds so expensive and well-crafted that the world has no choice but to follow them.
The Secret Ingredient: Mike Dean
You can't talk about these two without mentioning the man behind the curtain: Mike Dean. He is the glue.
The legendary producer has worked on almost every major project for both artists. He’s the one adding those synth solos during their live shows that make you feel like your head is going to explode. When you hear that distorted, "dirty" sound on a Travis track that somehow transitions into a beautiful, clean Weeknd chorus, that’s Mike. He understands their individual languages and translates them into a single, cohesive world.
Last year at the Soldier Field show, seeing all three of them on stage together—Abel, Travis, and Mike Dean—was a reminder that we are witnessing a legendary era. It felt like watching the modern-day version of the great rock bands of the 70s, just with more 808s and autotune.
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What's Next for the Duo?
Now that Abel is officially retiring "The Weeknd" name, everyone is asking: what happens to the music?
Will we get a full collaboration album? Fans have been begging for a "Cactus Jack x XO" project for years. Honestly, it’s the only thing left for them to do. They’ve done the tours. They’ve done the features. They’ve dominated the festivals.
Rumors are swirling about a joint project titled The Abyss, though nothing is confirmed. Given Abel’s desire to move into film—remember the Hurry Up Tomorrow movie that hit theaters last May?—it’s possible they might collaborate on a soundtrack next. Travis has already dipped his toes into cinema with Circus Maximus, so a joint visual album would be the logical next step.
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Actionable Insights for Fans
If you're trying to keep up with the ever-evolving world of The Weeknd and Travis Scott, here is what you need to do to stay ahead of the curve:
- Watch the Live Feeds: Their best moments happen during unannounced guest appearances. If one is touring, keep an eye on the "special guest" rumors for cities like LA, Toronto, and Houston.
- Dig Into the Credits: Don't just listen to the main tracks. Look for background vocals. Abel is notorious for hiding his voice in the harmonies of Travis’s deeper cuts (like "SKELETONS").
- Follow Mike Dean: He is often the first to tease new material or "versions" of songs that didn't make the final cut. His Instagram lives are a goldmine for unreleased snippets.
- Revisit the Trilogy: To truly appreciate the growth, listen to After Hours, Dawn FM, and Hurry Up Tomorrow back-to-back. You’ll hear the sonic threads that Travis eventually picked up and wove into his own work on Utopia.
The era of The Weeknd might be ending, but the partnership between Abel Tesfaye and Travis Scott is far from over. It’s a brotherhood built on a decade of mutual respect and a shared obsession with pushing the boundaries of what "popular" music is allowed to sound like. Whether it's under a new name or on a movie screen, these two aren't done making history.
To fully grasp the evolution, start by comparing the raw energy of "Pray 4 Love" with the polished complexity of "Reflections Laughing." The growth isn't just in the production—it's in the way they've learned to give each other space to breathe on a track. That is the mark of true masters.