The Weeknd Dawn Fm Album
Vita Wanberg
Dawn FM is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on January 7, 2022, through XO and Republic Records. The album 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.
On March 20, 2020, the Weeknd released his fourth studio album After Hours during the beginning of COVID-19 restrictions.[1] It was a commercial success and received mostly positive reviews from music critics, some of whom named it his best work yet.[2][3] Shortly after, the Weeknd began working on his next studio album; in 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."[4] The Weeknd later explained that he was originally working on an album inspired by the depressive state he was in during the COVID-19 pandemic, but scrapped the project because it was "emotionally detrimental" and began working on Dawn FM.[5]
The Weeknd began to tease a new album in May 2021 in an interview with Variety, when he stated "if the last record is the After Hours of the night, then The Dawn is coming".[6] He continued to tease the album with the tentative title, The Dawn, during his acceptance speeches at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards and the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards.[7] On August 2, the Weeknd released a teaser on his social media accounts titled "The Dawn Is Coming", which 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.[8] 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."[9][10]
On January 1, 2022, the Weeknd teased a possible surprise release of the album in an Instagram post, which featured a screenshot of a text conversation he had with his best friend and creative director La Mar Taylor. After exchanging New Year's greetings, the Weeknd messaged that "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."[11] The next day, the Weeknd hinted at the album's arrival, tweeting "wake up at dawn tomorrow".[12] On January 3, he announced the album's official title through a trailer video and announced that it would be released on January 7, 2022.[13] He subsequently revealed the track listing through a second trailer on January 5.[14] On January 11, the Weeknd announced an expanded edition of the album subtitled Alternate World including two remixes and previously released single "Moth to a Flame" with Swedish House Mafia.[15]
Primarily a pop record,[17] Dawn FM is rooted in dance-pop[17] and synth-pop genres.[18] Recalling 1980s electronic bands such as Depeche Mode and Duran Duran,[19][20][21] the album significantly incorporates new wave,[22] funk,[23] and EDM,[16] alongside elements of disco,[24] electropop,[22] hip hop,[22][16] city pop,[20] soft rock,[25] psychedelia,[26] R&B,[22] blues,[27] boogie, electro,[17] dubstep, drum and bass,[28] and techno.[18]
Dawn FM was noted for incorporating a "psychedelic radio" aesthetic with existential themes,[30] similar to American experimental record producer Oneohtrix Point Never's album Magic Oneohtrix Point Never (2020), which the Weeknd appeared on and executive produced under his formal name.[31] The "103.5" station tag that the album frequently uses is a nod to the Toronto radio station Z103.5, known for their dance-heavy playlists.[32] In an interview with Billboard on November 23, 2021, the Weeknd elaborated on these themes, saying:
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. 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.[16]
The standard and Alternate World editions' album cover of Dawn FM was shot by Matilda Finn.[34] It features a "dramatically aged version" of the Weeknd as an elderly bearded man in a dark background setting with a small ray of light shining behind the back of his shoulder.[35] The collector's and limited editions of the album, as well as the limited edition boxset CDs of the album, listed on the Weeknd's online store, feature five alternate Dawn FM covers designed by American artist Robert Beatty.[36]
On August 6, 2021, the album's lead single, "Take My Breath", was released digitally on music stores and streaming services.[8] The song peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top ten in 21 other territories.[37] Its music video was premiered alongside its release and was directed by Cliqua.[38] An official remix by Italian house music group Agents of Time was released with the original version of the Alternate World edition of the album on January 11, 2022.[39]
"Sacrifice" was released as the second official single in tandem with Dawn FM on January 7, 2022.[40] Its music video was released on the same day, and was directed by Cliqua.[41] The song was sent to contemporary hit radio in the United States on January 11, 2022.[42]
"Out of Time" was released to American urban adult contemporary radio on January 25, 2022, as the third official single from the album.[43] Its music video was released on April 5, 2022, and was directed by Cliqua.[44] An official remix of the song by Haitian-Canadian music producer Kaytranada was released on April 22, 2022, and later included on the streaming reissue of the Alternate World edition of the album.[45]
On July 1, 2022, an official remix of the album's eleventh track "Starry Eyes" by Mike Dean was released as the first promotional single from the streaming re-issue of the Alternate World edition of Dawn FM.[47][48][49]
An official remix of the album's title track by Oneohtrix Point Never was released as the second promotional single from the streaming re-issue of the Alternate World edition of the album on July 8, 2022.[50][51]
On July 22, 2022, a remix of the album's third track "How Do I Make You Love Me?" by Swedish House Mafia members Sebastian Ingrosso and Salvatore Ganacci was released as the third promotional single from the streaming re-issue of the Alternate World edition of the album.[52][53][54] Simultaneously, an animated music video for the original version of the song was released that same day. It was directed by Jocelyn Charles with some creative direction from Cliqua.[55]
An official remix of the album's ninth track "Best Friends" with American R&B singer Summer Walker was released as the fourth and final promotional single of the streaming re-issue of the Alternate World edition of the album on August 5, 2022.[56][57][58]
A music video for the album's second track "Gasoline" was released on January 11, 2022.[59] It was directed by Matilda Finn.[34] On January 7, 2023, a music video for the album's tenth track "Is There Someone Else?" was released, as part of the one-year anniversary of the album's release. It was directed by Cliqua.[60][61]
On January 7, 2022, alongside the release of Dawn FM, the Weeknd hosted a live event with Amazon Music, in which he served as a disc jockey and played the entire album in front of a small crowd.[62] The event was live-streamed on Twitch and was directed by Micah Bickham.[63] Various different shots of the livestream were turned into lyric videos for the album.[64] The whole livestream was uploaded to YouTube on January 12, 2022.
On February 21, 2022, the Weeknd announced The Dawn FM Experience, a television music special with Amazon Prime Video that premiered on February 26. The special was directed by Micah Bickham and features live performances, theater and performance art for a "night out at the club."[65] A ten-track live EP composed of the songs the Weeknd performed during the special was made available to stream exclusively on Amazon Music.[66][67] The Dawn FM Experience entered the UK Albums Chart in March 2022, peaking at number 92.[68]
Originally set to only support After Hours, the Weeknd announced on October 18, 2021, that his upcoming seventh concert tour would be renamed as the After Hours til Dawn Tour to incorporate elements from Dawn FM.[69]
Dawn FM was met with widespread acclaim from music critics.[78] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 88, based on 24 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[71] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[70]
Describing Dawn FM as a new peak for the Weeknd, Will Dukes of Rolling Stone praised the album for its "interstellar ambitions" and "enchanting music".[76] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times called it "the year's first great album", praising its production, melodies and vocals, while noting that Dawn FM is more positive and upbeat than his previous works.[79] Andy Kellman of AllMusic praised the album, stating, "In the main, this is a space for Tesfaye to fully indulge his frantic romantic side as his co-conspirators whip up fluorescent throwback Euro-pop with muscle and nuance".[72] Rhian Daly of NME said Dawn FM "feels like the first steps on a journey for the Weeknd to find peace with himself; perhaps next time we hear from him, he'll be fully embracing the light of day."[21] Dani Blum from Pitchfork enjoyed and said the album conceptualizes "listening to a retro-pop radio station in purgatory", delivering the Weeknd's most "thoughtful, melodic, and revealing project" of his career.[75] David Smyth of Evening Standard wrote the Weeknd reaches his "pop prime" on the album.[73] Matt Mitchell of Paste opined that Dawn FM transcends "dynamic pop grandeur and flaunts accountability in the face of death".[18]
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