COLUMBIA, Maryland -- There are few artists whose music demands live performances in a dimly lit setting more than The Weeknd and his sensual, hyper-sexualized anthems.

It's good, then, that he didn't hit the stage at at Sunday's Sweetlife Festival until 9 p.m., after the seemingly everlasting sun of the day finally disappeared and gave the thousands in attendance some much needed relief.

Headlining The Treehouse stage at the sixth annual music festival, Abel ran through his string of hits, illuminated onstage as the shadows of the night partially cloaked the more-than-a-handful of make outs that surrounded me. But that's what his music does. And from "The Morning," off of his 2011 debut, House of Balloons, to recent features like Ariana Grande's "Love Me Harder" and Ty Dolla $ign's "Or Nah," to non-album hits like "Often" and "Earned It," he gave fans all the musical lovin' they could ask for.

As his set was coming to a close, the Toronto native, sang a live rendition of "The Hills," his latest single, which he officially released just last Wednesday. He's performed it in concert before -- he debuted it in April at Coachella -- but this weekend was the first time he played to a crowd that knew the song and was itching for it. And that was certainly the the case for the Sweetlife crowd.

They knew basically every word.

And now, from the crowd.

And again.

Shaky cam, but that's OK. These things happen when you're freaking out.

Here's a pretty good summary.

And that fact had some people feeling left out.

And sad.

And even shed tears.

But don't worry if you missed it. The Weeknd announced the "beginning of a new chapter" earlier in the day on Sunday, so there's definitely more on the way soon. Expect an album this year, he said onstage.

Plus, you can always just watch the video. And do it over and over, if you need to.