Nine months ago, the Weeknd used a professional high point to herald what may end up the low-water mark of his career.
Performing the first of two sold-out concerts in September at Inglewood's SoFi Stadium — part of a world tour behind 2020's blockbuster "After Hours" LP and its 2022 follow-up, "Dawn FM" — the pop-soul auteur brought Lily-Rose Depp to the stage to film a climactic scene for "The Idol," the then-mysterious HBO series he had teamed with "Euphoria's" Sam Levinson to create.
"The Idol" at that time had all the makings of a cultural sensation, and its buzz grew only louder over the next few months, even as Rolling Stone reported on the series' beleaguered production and its descent into "sexual torture porn."
