Karaoke, neon and a red sports car: The Weeknd just dropped his most cinematic video in a while.

Video: "The Weeknd – Hong Kong (feat. 王菲季候風) (Official Music Video)," via the official The Weeknd YouTube channel.

The official video for “Hong Kong,” The Weeknd’s one-off single featuring Cantopop legend Faye Wong, landed on YouTube’s U.S. trending chart within a day, debuting at No. 11 with about 2.3 million views on November 13, according to TrendReport’s daily chart.

Why it’s blowing up

It’s a love letter to a city. Billboard describes the Evan Larsen-directed clip as a lush travelogue shot in Mong Kok and on Hong Kong Island, moving from dawn over the harbor to bustling markets to the city lit up at night. Chinese supermodel Ming Xi co-stars, speeding through a tunnel in a red sports car, while The Weeknd broods his way through the city and ends up singing in a karaoke bar.

The song already had momentum before the video. According to Billboard, “Hong Kong” is The Weeknd’s first new music of the year, and it broke records on China’s major streaming platforms, including the biggest first-day debut for a non-Mandarin song in five years on NetEase Cloud Music and the biggest debut ever for a Western male artist on QQ Music.

The backstory

The track got its live debut on October 24 at Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong, during the first night of his four-show run there. The Weeknd wrapped his After Hours Til Dawn tour on November 5 in Kuala Lumpur after 176 shows, a run Billboard says sold more than nine million tickets.

The reaction

Music outlets were quick to cover the release. Pitchfork zeroed in on the brooding karaoke scene, and Rolling Stone and Complex also covered the drop. Pairing The Weeknd with Faye Wong, one of the biggest voices in Chinese pop, puts the song in front of two massive fan bases at once, and its fast climb on YouTube shows it is working.

Is “Hong Kong” a top-tier Weeknd song for you, or are you waiting for the next album? Tell us in the comments and share it with the friend who needs a new late-night playlist pick.

Image: Evening over Hong Kong. by Bernard Spragg via Flickr, CC0 1.0