The Weeknd has set the tone for music this year with the release of his new album Dawn FM.
Real name Abel Tesfaye, The Weeknd hinted at the release of a new album on New Year Day, posting a screenshot of his chat with his creative director.
“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 chat reads.
The Canadian-singer partnered with Amazon Music to release his new album in an event which kicked off today at 5am UK time on the Amazon Music channel on Twitch and in the Amazon Music app.
Dawn FM features contributions from other artistes, including Tyler, the Creator, Lil Wayne, Quincy Jones, Oneohtrix Point Never, Swedish House Mafia, Max Martin, Calvin Harris, actor Jim Carrey and Uncut Gems co-director Josh Safdie.
In a now-deleted tweet, a fan wrote, “No physical copies (vinyls, CDs, cassettes) for @theweeknd’s ‘Dawn FM’ will be available in-store during release week. Furthermore, no physical copies will be shipped the first week. This will obviously impact first week figures.”
The singer responding said he didn’t care that physical copies of the album would not be available within the first week.
He wrote, “this doesn’t matter to me,” the singer replied. “what matters is getting to experience the album together with the fans during these times.”
Sharing his thoughts on the album, he narrated, Jim Carrey tweeted “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.”
Describing the album, Rolling Stone wrote, “Thankfully, on his fifth album, Dawn FM, the Weeknd focuses those interstellar ambitions to anoint us with the most enchanting music to the portal through purgatory.”
Dawn FM comes a year after he released his April 2020 album After Hours. The Weeknd collaborated with several artists in the past year, including FKA twigs and Post Malone.
Listen to the full album HERE:
