The Weeknd announces new album, ‘Dawn FM’ drops on Friday
Quincy Jones, Lil Wayne, and Tyler, the Creator are listed as collaborators on The Weeknd's forthcoming album.
The Weeknd’s return is imminent. The Grammy-winning singer has teased his latest project on social media, posting “The Dawn is looking bright.” Today, he posted that the new album will finally arrive on Jan. 7, with the official title, Dawn FM.
Dawn FM appropriately follows his 2019 album, After Hours. The Weeknd broke the news with an accompanying teaser trailer. The visual referred to the album as “A New Sonic Universe from the Mind of The Weeknd.”
In the trailer, The Weeknd is seen dressed in all leather, as well as make-up portraying an old man. The Weeknd is seen being carried against his will amongst people draped in all Black robes. You can also see the singer in make-up portraying an old man in a nightclub, watching a shadowy figure adorned in a red robe.
Much like his previous two albums, Dawn FM looks to be accompanied by a long-form video narrative that will serve as a thematic and aesthetic companion with the music.
It was also revealed that the album will have guest features, including Quincy Jones, Tyler, The Creator, Lil Wayne, Oneohtrix Poindexter, and even actor Jim Carrey. The revelation may come as a surprise for fans, as previous Weeknd albums were light on features.
After Hours‘ official album had no guest appearances, although Ariana Grande appeared on the remix of the hit single, “Save Your Tears.” His 2016 album, Starboy, featured Kendrick Lamar, Future, and Daft Punk. For 2015’s Beauty Behind the Madness, the most prominent feature was Ed Sheeran on “Dark Times.” Pop singer Lana Del Rey, however, was a guest on both Beauty Behind the Madness and Starboy.
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Dawn FM will have a tough act to follow. After Hours yielded three top-five Billboard 100 singles, including “Blinding Lights,” the longest-charting singles in Billboard history. After Hours was certified double platinum by the RIAA, marking The Weeknd’s third consecutive album to go multi-platinum.
The Weeknd released Dawn FM’s lead single, “Take Your Breath,” back in August. The song veers from the 1980’s inspired synth-pop of After Hours and is decidedly more up-tempo, dripping with psychedelic disco. The song was co-written by Max Martin, the hit-making Swedish songwriter behind many hits for NSYNC, The Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and Adele.
Since 2015, Martin has contributed to many of The Weeknd’s songs, like “Can’t Feel My Face,” “In the Night,” as well as “Blinding Lights” and “Save Your Tears.”
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