Tesfaye is a conceptual artist. If a song does not fit the narrative or sonic texture of an era, it is cut. For example, the upbeat, dance-centric tracks recorded during the transition from My Dear Melancholy, to After Hours were heavily reworked or shelved.
, Abel recorded a series of upbeat, radio-friendly tracks with a production team called The Noise. These songs often surprise newer fans with their polished, traditional R&B feel. "Birthday Suit"
For over a decade, Abel Tesfaye—known globally as The Weeknd—has shaped the landscape of contemporary R&B and pop. From the shadowy, anonymous origins of his 2011 mixtape House of Balloons to the cinematic synth-pop stadium eras of After Hours and Dawn FM , Tesfaye has maintained one of the most prolific work ethics in modern music.
: A goldmine for "slowed + reverb" edits of unreleased tracks. The Weeknd Wiki : An extensive List of Unreleased Songs that tracks every known leak and snippet. Unreleased The Weeknd Songs
Vista (Male Bonding Remix) Era: Starboy (2016, outtake from the Daft Punk sessions) Producer: Daft Punk, Doc McKinney (uncredited remix by Kavinsky) Leak Date: January 2024 (high-quality WAV file leaked by a former Universal intern) Sound: A rare Daft Punk instrumental that Abel wrote top-line for but never finished. The remix adds Kavinsky’s signature Drive synths. It’s an instrumental 90% of the way, with Abel only whispering the word “Vista” every 16 bars. It was allegedly intended for a cancelled Starboy short film. A fan-favorite for studying or night driving.
While fans celebrate discovering "new" old music, the proliferation of unreleased tracks comes with ethical and legal complications. Leaks often happen through hacked cloud storage accounts, leaked studio drives, or insider trading within internet forums.
Before The Weeknd became a household name, he was just a young artist experimenting with his sound. In 2010, he released his debut mixtape, , which would eventually become a cult classic. However, there are a handful of early tracks that never made it to the mixtape. One such track is "The Party & the After Party" , a slow-burning, atmospheric jam that showcases The Weeknd's signature falsetto. This track has been floating around online for years, and its existence serves as a reminder of The Weeknd's early creative endeavors. Tesfaye is a conceptual artist
Dating back to the late 2010s, "Be God" is a haunting, dark track that features the signature atmospheric production of his early work mixed with a more aggressive vocal delivery. The song showcases Tesfaye experimenting with vocal layers and boundary-pushing lyrics that didn't quite fit the commercial pop direction he was transitioning into at the time. "Girls Born in the 90s"
: A track that has recently gone viral on TikTok (often associated with "Put it in a ponytail" lyrics). Where to Find Them
In a 2018 interview with Time magazine, Tesfaye revealed more concrete details, explaining he had a "whole album written, done" prior to My Dear Melancholy, . This scrapped work has been described as an upbeat, "beautiful" collection of music that was sonically similar to the Starboy era. The Weeknd has insisted that fans will "never" hear this project, stating, "I don't want to perform something that I don't feel". The confirmed songs that have been unearthed from this mysterious era include "Angel," "As You Are," "Be God," "Ebony," and the track "In the 90s". Each title is a painful reminder of the masterpiece we might have lost to the shifting tides of an artist's personal life. , Abel recorded a series of upbeat, radio-friendly
However, for every track that makes it onto a studio album, a dozen others are left on the cutting room floor. The Weeknd’s vault is legendary among fans, filled with snippets, demos, and full-length tracks that were abandoned, leaked, or scrapped during the creative process.
While unreleased music keeps fan communities highly engaged, it presents a complex challenge for artists. Leaks can disrupt meticulously planned rollout schedules, compromise creative control, and rob artists of potential revenue.
The search for unreleased Weeknd material is not just a retrospective journey. As he navigates his self-proclaimed final album under the Weeknd moniker, Hurry Up Tomorrow , the future is also ripe with anticipation. In the lead-up to the album's release, Abel has been unusually generous, unveiling new tracks in real-time.
For the dedicated XO fanbase, Abel’s official discography represents only a fraction of his creative output. Hidden across SoundCloud archives, community spreadsheets, and massive digital leaks is a sprawling parallel universe of scraps, high-profile reference demos, and abandoned concept albums. Diving into his unreleased catalog maps a raw, unfiltered history of modern pop's most enigmatic figure.