The Weeknd released “Hong Kong” across East and Southeast Asia, pairing Faye Wong’s 1993 vocals with the city’s film history.
“Hong Kong” reached streaming services on October 31 after he introduced it at Kai Tak Stadium on October 24th. That performance opened his four-night run in the city. The recording draws from Wong’s 1993 Cantopop song “Monsoon,” also known as “Seasonal Wind.” The cover uses a Hong Kong photograph from cinematographer Christopher Doyle’s own collection. Doyle shot Wong Kar-wai’s “Chungking Express,” which starred Wong and Tony Leung. The artwork links the release to the city’s screen history alongside the voice borrowed from its pop catalog.
That focus also shaped the visual shown during the live debut. Scenes of Victoria Harbour and a red-sailed junk, with the city’s red taxis and Mong Kok’s neon signs, share the screen, and the footage also took in dim sum spots and roasted chestnut sellers. The locations stretched from the circular footbridge in Causeway Bay to the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront and The Peninsula. Those details placed everyday food, street traffic and familiar gathering spots beside the harbour views, making the tribute specific to the city the crowd knew.
Director Evan Larsen told the South China Morning Post in an exclusive interview that the team made the video in about a week before its concert premiere. He pointed to nostalgia for the late 1980s and early 1990s as the key to its appeal. His account puts a clear period behind the images and the choice of Wong’s 1993 recording.