The Weeknd Drops Animated Video for "Snowchild"

The Weeknd drops his second animated video from After Hours.

The COVID-19 pandemic can't stop The Weeknd. About three weeks after dropping the animated video for the "In Your Eyes" remix with Doja Cat, he's returned with another anime-inspired set for "Snowchild."

D'Art Shtajio studios directed the video. The company is the first Black-owned studio in Japan. The anime follows Abel through the different stages of his career, starting with a black-and-white flashback to the House of Balloons days.

After he moves to Los Angeles, he's accosted by multiple adversaries--vixens-turned-panthers, headless figures in suits, and more. The Weeknd fights them off with glowing crucifixes, eventually burning the money he's made and fleeing the city via a swarm of bats. Towards the end, he approaches the current iteration of himself, possibly for guidance on what to do next.

After Hours earned the year's biggest debut week upon its release. The album racked up 221 million streams and sold 275,000 physical copies. Deluxe copies of the album included merchandise bundles, including tickets to a world tour that has since been postponed. Last week, Billboard changed the qualifying parameters to exclude merchandise and ticket bundles like these from their Hot 100 and Top 200 charts.

In response to the pandemic, The Weeknd has donated $1 million to MusiCares and COVID-19 relief in his hometown of Toronto. Additionally, he donated a total of $500,000 to Black Lives Matter's Global Network, Colin Kaepernick's Know Your Rights organization, and National Bail Out. HE called on record labels and music executives to do the same.