NEWS
The Weeknd
Courtesy of Republic RecordsThe Weeknd has announced that his new album, Dawn FM, will be released on Friday (Jan. 7).
The once-underground R&B singer-songwriter, born Abel Tesfaye, took to social media on Monday to share the news of his forthcoming release. “New album : dawn FM // january 7th,” he captioned a cryptic video teaser with snippets of new music.
Billed as “A new sonic universe from the mind of The Weeknd,” Dawn FM will feature collaborations in some form with Quincy Jones, Tyler, the Creator, Lil Wayne, Oneohtrix Point Never and actor Jim Carrey. Further details about the guests were not provided.
The moody minute-long trailer begins with what appears to be The Weeknd crashing an automobile and being carried away by mysterious hooded figures. From there, viewers see a much older version of the singer looking around in confusion, followed by a stunning image of a blue light shooting out from his head. The clip closes with a radio DJ announcing, “You are now listening to 103.5: Dawn FM. You’ve been in the dark for way too long, it’s time to walk into the light and accept your fate with open arms.”
Dawn FM is the follow-up to The Weeknd’s fourth album, After Hours, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 in March 2020. The set featured the record-breaking single “Blinding Lights,” which recently became the top Billboard Hot 100 song of all time, surpassing Chubby Checker‘s “The Twist.”
The Weeknd — who was named Billboard‘s No. 5 Greatest Pop Star of 2021 — has been keeping busy with his musical endeavors as of late. In August, he gave a first taste of his next album with the disco-infused “Take My Breath.” Since then, he’s shared team-ups with Rosalía (“La Fama”), Post Malone (“One Right Now”), FKA Twigs (“Tears in the Club”) and Aaliyah (“Poison”).
During an October episode of his Apple Music 1 radio show Memento Mori, The Weeknd revealed that his forthcoming album was finished. “Only thing that’s missing is a couple of characters who are key to the narrative — some people that are near and dear to me, some people that inspired my life as a child and some that inspire me now,” the artist teased.
Watch the trailer for The Weeknd’s Dawn FM below.
Samsung has officially answered the $15million lawsuit filed against them by Dua Lipa, denying the claims made by the singer.
The artist filed the lawsuit against the electronics giant earlier this month, accusing the company of using her image without approval to help market televisions.
The complaint focuses on cardboard TV packaging released by the brand in 2025, which allegedly featured a photo of the singer without compensation or permission being granted beforehand.
According to the lawsuit, her legal representatives attempted to stop Samsung from continuing to use the image, but claimed the company responded in a “dismissive and callous” manner. The filing also referenced reactions posted by fans on X/Twitter, where some users admitted the packaging influenced their interest in buying the TV.
“I’d get that TV just because Dua Lipa is on it,” one fan wrote, while another posted: “I wasn’t even planning on buying a tv but I saw the box so I decided to get it.”
The lawsuit includes allegations of copyright infringement, violations tied to California publicity rights laws, federal Lanham Act claims, and trademark related accusations.
Samsung has now issued a public response to the case and pushed back against the allegations made by the ‘Dance The Night’ hitmaker.
In a statement, Samsung explained: “The image of Dua Lipa was used in 2025 to display content from third-party partners available on Samsung TVs.
“Originally, the image was provided by a content partner for the free streaming service Samsung TV Plus. It was only used after the content partner had given explicit assurances that all necessary rights had been obtained – including use on sales packaging.”
The company also stated that it has “great respect for Dua Lipa” along with the intellectual property rights of artists, adding that it remains “open to a constructive solution” with the singer.
At this point, Dua Lipa’s representatives have not publicly addressed Samsung’s latest response.
Elsewhere, the singer recently curated the London Literature Festival 2026 at the Southbank Centre, surprised fans with an unexpected appearance during Tame Impala’s headline performance at The O2, and was also announced as part of the cast for a new A24 comedy titled Peaked.
