On Jan. 7, Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd, released his newest album, Dawn FM, with Canadian record label XO/Republic records.  It is a concept album which attempts to emulate an hour-long radio show.  In interviews, The Weeknd has said that his album is meant to be played in the present time, as one is sitting in traffic in a tunnel.  The tunnel represents a creepy everlasting pit of suffering, and the light at the end of the tunnel is a metaphor for death.   

“After seeing the trailer posted on Instagram, it made me really excited.  It was definitely a different tone than most of his past work that was more bright and peppy,” said freshman Emma Goldberg.  

Before the album’s issue on Jan. 7, The Weeknd posted a text conversation hinting at a surprise release on Jan. 1. 

“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,” said The Weeknd.  

Excited fans began to decipher the message, and only three days later on, the trailer for Dawn FM was released.  The ominous video features  The Weeknd wearing a black leather suit, surrounded by  many cloaked figures in a foggy forest.  It also features flashes of him as an old man.  The minute-long video ends with the voice of Jim Carrey narrating, saying, “You are now listening to 103.5 Dawn FM.  You’ve been in the dark way too long.  It’s time to walk into the light and accept your fate with open arms.”

This creative announcement brought lots of attention and buildup to the release, especially because collaborators for the album were announced, too.  In addition to Carrey, other collaborators include record producer Quincy Jones and American musical composer Oneohtrix Point Never, who helped to write over half the album’s songs.  Tyler, The Creator is featured on “Here We Go…Again,” and Lil’ Wayne raps on “I Heard You’re Married.”  This large group of contributors has made the album even more successful because of its diverse musical genres. 

“Tyler, The Creator is doing a track on the album and I’m curious to see how they will tie in the two different styles of music in their songs,” said freshman Liesha Sewani.  

There are sixteen songs on the album, with the most popular being “Sacrifice” and “Gasoline.”  The Weeknd’s album has already broken records and has charted 24 of his songs on the Billboard Global 200 chart.  

The song “Blinding Lights” helped The Weeknd reach a new level of fame in 2020.  The hit was on the Hot 100 chart for 90 weeks and broke the record for the longest running single in the chart’s history.  After this smash hit, he has only grown in popularity.   

“I’m very excited for the new album and to see how the media reacts.  Blinding Lights was such a popular song and took over the radio for months.  I’m so excited to see if his new music is similar or if he’s heading in a new direction,” said freshman Sophia Callender.  

The Weeknd’s album, with consideration to the songs “Here We Go…Again” and “Starry Eyes,” has sparked rumors about him dating Angelina Jolie.  This is mostly because of the lyrics “And my new girl, she’s a movie star,” along with the fact they were seen leaving a restaurant together in Santa Monica.  

A digital copy of the album is available on the Weeknd’s website for $8.  It’s also available on Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music.