The Weeknd sparks Justice collaboration rumours with cryptic social media posts

The Weeknd has fuelled speculation around a possible collaboration with Justice, following a series of cryptic hints on social media last week.

The Canadian musician, real name Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, posted a series of photos of the French duo performing on his Instagram story last week — including an image with an eye adorned with Justice's cross symbol, which was seen by EDM.com.

American producer Mike Dean, who has worked with both artists, also shared photos of The Weeknd alongside Justice, captioning the photo with hearts and fire emojis, fuelling speculation of a collaboration on the horizon.

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The artists were first spotted behind the decks together at the Cannes Film Festival after-party last year, following the premiere of the HBO show The Idol.

The Idol, directed by The Weeknd and Euphoria's Sam Levinson, featured music from Justice’s ‘Planisphere.'

Despite rumours of a collaboration, The Weeknd claimed he wouldn't be "doing any more features" until French duo Daft Punk reunited during a show in Poland in August.

Referring to the French Montana, Diddy and 21 Savage featuring track 'Another One' he said: “I just wanna say, this, this is gonna be the last feature I ever do, ever in my career, so I wanna perform it for you guys tonight.”

Most famously, The Weeknd released hit tracks ‘Starboy’ and ‘I Feel It Coming,' with the iconic robotic duo. “Those guys [Daft Punk] are one of the reasons I make music,” he told Variety in 2021.

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Both artists are expected to release new music in 2024. Confirmation of Justice’s fourth studio album was announced by Ed Banger founder Pedro Winter last year. The upcoming album is to be their first release since 2016’s ‘Woman.’

Similarly, The Weeknd discussed an unnamed upcoming project with magazines W and Variety last summer.

Though no further details have been finalised, Tesfaye posted a suspected hint at a new album on Instagram this month, reigniting interest.

The post featured three images in a carousel, the album covers for 2020’s ‘After Hours’ and 2022’s ‘Dawn’ FM, followed by a question mark on a blank background stamped with the iconic ‘Parental Advisory’ label.

More details on the rumoured collaboration are suspected to be revealed soon.

Belle Richardson is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter