Dawn FM is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd, released on January 7, 2022, through XO and Republic Records. It features narration by Jim Carrey, guest vocals from Tyler, the Creator and Lil Wayne, and spoken word appearances from Quincy Jones and Josh Safdie. As the album's executive producers, the Weeknd, Max Martin and Oneohtrix Point Never recruited a variety of other producers such as Oscar Holter, Calvin Harris and Swedish House Mafia.
The Weeknd described the album's concept as a state of purgatory—a journey towards the "light at the end of a tunnel", serving as a follow-up to his fourth studio album After Hours (2020). Musically, Dawn FM is an upbeat record containing dance-pop and synth-pop songs that are heavily inspired by the 1980s new wave, funk and electronic dance music styles. The album received widespread acclaim from music critics, who complimented its production and melodies.
Three singles were released from the album, of which the lead single "Take My Breath" peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100. The Weeknd promoted Dawn FM with an Amazon Music event on the album release day, in which he served as a disc jockey and played the album to an audience. He further promoted the album with a television music special on Amazon Prime Video that featured live performances, theater and performance art for a "night out at the club." Dawn FM reached number one in 10 countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart.
To further support both After Hours and Dawn FM, the Weeknd plans to embark on the After Hours til Dawn Stadium Tour, which is scheduled to visit North America, Europe, South America, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Middle East in the summer of 2022.
Background[]
On March 20, 2020, the Weeknd released his fourth studio album After Hours during the beginning of COVID-19 lockdowns. Mostly produced by the singer-songwriter, the featureless album was a commercial success and was met with generally positive reviews, with some music critics naming it his best work yet. Shortly after its release, the Weeknd began working on a new album. During an interview with Rolling Stone in September 2020, he stated that he "might have another album ready to go by the time this quarantine is over".
The Weeknd began to tease a new album in May 2021 during an interview with Variety, in which he stated "if the last record is the After Hours of the night, then The Dawn is coming". He continued to tease the album with the tentative title The Dawn during his acceptance speeches at the Billboard Music Awards and the iHeartRadio Music Awards. On August 2, the Weeknd released an initial teaser on his social media pages titled "The Dawn is Coming", with contained a snippet of a then-unreleased song. Later that day, in a partnership with NBC Sports and the 2020 Summer Olympics, he announced the album's lead single "Take My Breath", which was released on August 6.
On October 4, 2021, during an episode of his Apple Music 1 radio show, Memento Mori, the Weeknd announced that the album was complete, and that he was waiting on a "couple characters that are key to the narrative." He then described the characters as "some people that are near and dear to me, some people that inspired my life as a child and some that inspire me now."
On January 1, 2022, the Weeknd teased a possible surprise album release in an Instagram post, which featured a screenshot of a text conversation he had with his best friend and creative director La Mar Taylor. When the latter wished him a Happy New Year's and asked what he was thinking, the Weeknd replied, "Happy New Year! Everything feels chaotic again. 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… XO." The next day, the Weeknd teased the album's arrival by tweeting "wake up at dawn tomorrow". On January 3, he formally revealed the album's official title and announced that it would be released on January 7.
Concept[]
Dawn FM will have a psychedelic radio aesthetic with existential themes, similar to American experimental record producer Oneohtrix Point Never's ninth studio album Magic Oneohtrix Point Never (2020), which the Weeknd appeared on and executive produced under his formal name. In an interview with Billboard on November 23, 2021, the Weeknd elaborated on these themes, saying to "picture the album being like the listener is dead. And they're stuck in this purgatory state, which I always imagined would be like being stuck in traffic waiting to reach the light at the end of the tunnel." He continued, "And while you're stuck in traffic, they got a radio station playing in the car, with a radio host guiding you to the light and helping you transition to the other side. So it could feel celebratory, could feel bleak, however, you want to make it feel, but that's what 'The Dawn' is for me."
Artwork[]
The standard Dawn FM album cover shows an aged and bearded version of the Weeknd in a dark setting with a small ray of light shining over his shoulder, symbolizing the album's themes of life transitioning to death. The collector's editions of the album, listed on the Weeknd's online store, features two alternate Dawn FM covers designed by American artist Robert Beatty, who also designed the album cover for Oneohtrix Point Never's Magic Oneohtrix Point Never.
Track listing[]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dawn FM" | Abel Tesfaye, Daniel Lopatin | The Weeknd, OPN, Max Martin,
Oscar Holter |
1:36 |
| 2. | "Gasoline" | Tesfaye, Lopatin | The Weeknd, OPN, Max Martin,
Matt Cohn |
3:32 |
| 3. | "How Do I Make You Love Me?" | Tesfaye, Lopatin, Max Martin,
Axel Hedfors, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrrosso, Oscar Holter, Matt Cohn |
The Weeknd, OPN, Martin,
Swedish House Mafia, Holter, Cohn |
3:34 |
| 4. | "Take My Breath" | Tesfaye, Ahmad Balshe,
Martin Holter |
The Weeknd, Martin, Holter | 5:39 |
| 5. | "Sacrifice" | Tesfaye, Loptain, Martin,
Hedfors, Ingrosso, Carl Nordström, Holter, Kevin McCord |
The Weeknd, Martin, Swedish
House Mafia, Holter |
3:09 |
| 6. | "A Tale by Quincy" | Tesfaye, Quincy Jones,
Lopatin, Jeff Gitelman |
The Weeknd, OPN, Martin, Gitty | 1:36 |
| 7. | "Out of Time" | Tesfaye, Lopatin, Tomoko
Aran, Tetsurō Oda |
The Weeknd, OPN, Martin, Holter | 3:34 |
| 8. | "Here We Go... Again"
(featuring Tyler, The Creator) |
Tesfaye, Tyler Okonma,
Masamune Kudo, Bruce Johnston, Christian Love, Brian Kennedy, Benny Bock, Charlie Coffeen |
The Weeknd, Rex Kudo, Johnston,
Kennedy, Bock, Coffeen |
3:30 |
| 9. | "Best Friends" | Tesfaye, Jason Queeneville | The Weeknd, DaHaela, OPN,
Martin, Holter, Cohn |
2:44 |
| 10. | "Is There Someone Else?" | Tesfaye, Lopatin, Thomas
Brown, Peter Lee Johnson |
The Weeknd, OPN, Tommy Brown,
Johnson, Martin, Holter |
3:19 |
| 11. | "Starry Eyes" | Tesfaye, Lopatin, Brown,
Johnson |
The Weeknd, OPN, Martin, Holter | 2:28 |
| 12. | "Every Angel Is Terrifying" | Tesfaye, Lopatin, Cohn | The Weeknd, OPN, Cohn | 2:47 |
| 13. | "Don't Break My Heart" | Tesfaye, Lopatin, Martin,
Holter, Cohn |
The Weeknd, OPN, Martin, Holter,
Cohn |
3:25 |
| 14. | "I Heard You're Married"
(featuring Lil Wayne) |
Tesfaye, Dwayne Carter,
Adam Wiles, Cohn |
The Weeknd, Calvin Harris, OPN,
Martin, Holter |
4:24 |
| 15. | "Less than Zero" | Tesfaye, Martin, Holter | The Weeknd, Martin, Holter, OPN | 3:32 |
| 16. | "Phantom Regret by Jim" | Tesfaye, Jim Carrey, Lopatin,
Martin, Holter, Cohn |
The Weeknd, OPN, Martin, Holter,
Cohn |
3:00 |
Early Tracklist[]
An early tracklist was revealed.
- Dawn FM (feat. Jim Carrey)
- Gasoline
- How Can I Make You Love Me
- Take My Breath
- Sacrifice
- A Tale by Quincy
- Out Of Time
- Here We Go...Again (feat. Tyler, The Creator)
- Best Friends Interlude (feat. Ariana Grande)
- Is There Someone Else
- Starry Eyes
- Every Angle Is Terrifying
- Don't Break My Heart
- I Heard You're Married (feat. Lil Wayne)
- Less Than Zero
- May Peace Be With You (feat. Jim Carrey)
References[]
| |
|---|---|
| November 25, 2016 • 68:40 • XO/Republic Records | |
| Songs | |
| A Tale by Quincy • Best Friends • Dawn FM (song) • Don't Break My Heart • Every Angle Is Terrifying • Gasoline • Here We Go...Again • How Do I Make You Love Me? • I Heard You're Married • Is There Someone Else? • Less Than Zero • Out Of Time • Phantom Regret by Jim • Sacrifice • Starry Eyes • Take My Breath (song) | |
| Artists | |
| The Weeknd • Tyler, The Creator • Lil Wayne • Ariana Grande | |
| After Hours til' Dawn Tour | |