Popular

Popular, the new song from The Weeknd featuring Playboi Carti and Madonna is now available on your favorite digital and streaming platform.

The single arrives ahead of The Idol Vol. 1 soundtrack for the HBO series of the same name which is set to premiere this Sunday.

In a new interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, the Weeknd revealed that the song originally started as a collaboration with Playboi Carti and called Madonna the ultimate co-sign for the song. He explained:

Billboard.com traces back all the hints and innuendos that led to the new release. In the month leading up to the release of Popular, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye posted a photo of Madonna on his Instagram account with a burning heart emoji. Then he properly teased the song while walking alongside his Idol castmates – including Lily-Rose Depp, BLACKPINK‘s Jennie, Troye Sivan, Moses Sumney and more – on the red carpet at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where the controversy-stirring series received a five-minute standing ovation. Tesfaye then confirmed fan theories that he and Carti had collaborated by posting a screenshot of their FaceTime call on Twitter.

Footage of The Idol’s cast in Cannes this year has been used to edit a visualizer YouTube video for Popular.