The Weeknd to Release New Album ‘Dawn FM’ This Week
Nearly two years after releasing After Hours, The Weeknd is set to drop his fifth album Dawn FM on Friday.
We might be three days into the New Year, but The Weeknd has arrived. Teasing “the dawn of a new year” on social media for the past few days, the singer has announced that his After Hours follow-up Dawn FM will release on Friday.
new album : dawn FM // january 7th pic.twitter.com/2H8AsuLcCi
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) January 3, 2022
The announcement of came with a cryptic trailer where The Weeknd enters “a new sonic universe” with collaborations by Tyler, the Creator, Lil Wayne, Quincy Jones, Oneohtrix Point Never and randomly, Jim Carrey (who apparently loves the album.)
I listened to Dawn FM with my good friend Abel @theweeknd last night. It was deep and elegant and it danced me around the room. I’m thrilled to play a part in his symphony. ;^• https://t.co/FV2LoKLYVX
— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) January 3, 2022
Last year, The Weeknd spoke with GQ about closely bonding with Carrey over telescoping around his 30th birthday, likely where the surprise collaboration came from.
In an Instagram post last week, The Weeknd wrote that “Music can heal and that feels more important than another album rollout. Let’s just drop the whole thing and enjoy it with the people.” The post included a text conversation with with XO Records co-founder La Mar Taylor–also The Weeknd’s creative director–where the two hinted at the release of Dawn FM, saying they would “drop the whole thing”.
In August, The Weeknd released single “Take My Breath” which was accompanied a strobe-heavy music video that we pulled from IMAX Theaters over concerns that it would cause epileptic seizures.Since “Take My Breath”, The Weeknd has gotten deep into his collaborative bag in 2021, joining both FKA Twigs on “Save Your Tears” and Aaliyah on posthumous single “Poison” last month.
Aside from Dawn FM, The Weeknd is co-creator of upcoming HBO series The Idol alongside Euphoria creator Sam Levinson. According to Variety, the hourlong drama series “enters on a self-help guru and sect leader who develops a complicated relationship with a rising pop idol.”
The Weeknd will also bring Dawn FM and After Hours to arenas this summer for his long-delayed After Hours tour.