The Weeknd’s fifth studio album, Dawn FM, will release this Friday, Jan. 7. The R&B-pop superstar announced the news on Monday morning.
His announcement was accompanied by a one-minute trailer, which provided more details about the highly anticipated project.
The album is described as “a new sonic universe from the mind of The Weeknd.” It will feature guest appearances from Jim Carrey, Quincy Jones, Tyler, the Creator, Lil Wayne and Oneohtrix Point Never.
Ahead of his official announcement, The Weeknd shared a series of cryptic messages on Instagram to entice fans. In one post, he shared a screenshot of a text message about the timing of the album.
“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,” he wrote.
Dawn FM is the follow-up to The Weeknd’s 2020 album, After Hours. The album featured his smash single “Blinding Lights,” as well as “Heartless,” “Save Your Tears” and “After Hours.”
In August 2021, The Weeknd released “Take My Breath” as the lead single from Dawn FM (previously titled The Dawn). He co-produced the ’80s-inspired tune with Max Martin and Oscar Holter. He followed up in October with his collaboration with Swedish House Mafia titled “Moth To A Flame.”
Later this summer, The Weeknd is expected to kick off his After Hours Til Dawn Stadium Tour. Previously dubbed as The After Hours Tour, new show dates are expected to be announced in the near future.
“Due to constraints of arenas and the demand for more shows I want to do something bigger and special for you which requires stadiums,” he shared in a statement via his website. “Current tickets will be refunded automatically and all ticket holders will be given priority to buy tickets for the stadium shows when they go on sale. New dates forthcoming.”
In other news, The Weeknd recently appeared on Aaliyah’s posthumous single “Poison” and FKA twigs’ comeback track “Tears in the Club.”