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.
NEWS
Charli xcx has added the Music, Fashion, Film B sides “I Keep On Thinking Bout You Every Single Day and Night,” “Playboy Bunny” and “If You Take the Music Then What Has She Got?” to iTunes through a new digital deluxe release titled Music, Fashion, Film (B-Sides Edition).
The three tracks had already been introduced to listeners through Charli’s @b.sides alternative Instagram account. They also appeared as physical B sides on limited edition 7 inch singles for “Rock Music,” “SS26” and “Camera,” as well as in an extensive Music, Fashion, Film box set. However, fans were unable to officially buy them as digital downloads until Sunday, July 26.
Charli previously told her audience that the songs were “never gonna go on streaming … I don’t think,” although she admitted at the time that her decision might eventually change.
“you can call me a hypocrite, i don’t mind,” Charli wrote alongside a winking emoji while announcing Music, Fashion, Film (B-Sides Edition) on Sunday.
Priced at $4.99 on iTunes, the digital collection features all 11 songs from the original Music, Fashion, Film album, along with the three additional B sides and their accompanying music videos.
Explaining her choice further on Instagram, Charli wrote: “i made b sides for each of the songs released ahead of Music, Fashion, Film because it felt natural to pair each songs with a fitting counterpart – something that’s adjacent to the album but not entirely part of it. traditionally, b sides often become fan favorites… and i guess in the case of some of the b sides for this album, that has proven to be true. i felt adamant i wouldn’t put them on streaming because it sort of felt counter intuitive to the whole ethos of those songs, but i know you all really wanted them so i’ve begrudgingly put them on itunes lol.”
Music, Fashion, Film was released on Friday, accompanied by the online premiere of the theatrical short film Charli developed to complement the project.
She will begin a short North American tour supporting Music, Fashion, Film in Philadelphia on Sept. 11. The run will then visit Brooklyn, Toronto, Boston, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, San Diego, Los Angeles, Glendale and Las Vegas.
