Open Hearts

Album: Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025)
Charted: 48
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Songfacts®:

  • "Open Hearts" is The Weeknd's meditation on that peculiar human conundrum: the yearning to love and the equally persistent fear of getting hurt in the process. The Canadian crooner doesn't tie this track to any one ill-fated romance. Rather, the song is a more general reflection on his emotional journey and the vulnerability required to love after experiencing pain.
  • "Open Hearts" fits neatly into a larger catalogue of tunes where Abel Tersfaye has wrestled with the messy business of love and loss. Other examples include:

    2018 "Call Out My Name" from the EP My Dear Melancholy
    This song explores the pain of a past relationship and the struggle to move on.

    2018 "Wasted Times" from My Dear Melancholy
    This track delves into the complexities of past relationships and the difficulty of moving forward.

    2018 "Privilege" from My Dear Melancholy
    The song touches on the aftermath of a relationship and the process of coping with pain.

    2020 " Scared To Live" from After Hours
    The Weeknd encourages a former partner to find peace and love again, despite the pain he may have caused.

    2020 "Alone Again" from After Hours
    The song deals with themes of isolation and the challenges of opening up to new relationships after experiencing heartbreak.
  • The song is part of The Weeknd's Hurry Up Tomorrow album. It encapsulates the album's themes of love, loss, and self-reflection.
  • The Weeknd teamed up with his long-standing Swedish collaborators, Oscar Holter and Max Martin, to write and produce the track. Their exploits include a generous helping of tracks on 2020's After Hours and a fair share of 2022's Dawn FM. They co-wrote and co-produced two other tracks on Hurry Up Tomorrow.
  • The video, directed by Eddie Alcazar, starts with The Weeknd in the back of an ambulance traveling a desert road, symbolizing the turbulence of love and heartbreak. As the visual progresses, the journey shifts to Los Angeles and The Weeknd delivers the final part in front of an audience with glowing eyes. The video incorporates high-tech cinematic elements, optimized for viewing with an Apple Vision Pro headset for the most immersive experience.
  • Ahead of the release of Hurry Up Tomorrow, The Weeknd performed "Open Hearts" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on January 30, 2025. The performance featured a stop-motion world with a dark fantasy aesthetic. Dressed in a robe and glowing glasses, The Weeknd's character was pulled down to hell in a visual style reminiscent of Michael Jackson's Thriller and Captain EO short films.

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