The Weeknd, To me the GOAT (greatest of all time). The older generation might have other artists as their greatest, like Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince, etc. But for me it's the Weeknd. He's to me the best ever. An artists who's music touches my soul. He's an artist who I've only discovered a few years ago, by accident. But after that initial discovery, I fell in love with the music, and have streamed hours of his music. Literally, hours. And I've spent hours on YouTube watching his videos, which always made me watch them in awe. Not your standard videos, and this throwback feeling to the 80s/90s. And by an artist who's telling us a story. A story so deep and heartfelt, you cannot turn your head away from it: you feel like you need to investigate this persona he's singing about. You need to know what happened at his past, present, and future. And the future is now, with 'Dawn FM'
Dawn FM. With a very special host taking you through purgatory (if you haven't Googled it yet, it's Jim Carrey!) I've done a bit of my own research, and slowly I start to understand the message behind the Weeknd's story he's telling us. The majority of it is still wrapped in a mysterious blanket, but we will surely in the future know more about his latest album and the album before that, and the character he's portraying. But he's an interesting character, to say the least. One that has his fair share of pain and agony, and now in purgatory is turning toward the end of life, but has to look back at what was the root cause of his heartache, and accept everything before being allowed into Heaven.
I could be completely wrong, and he's just a cool producer who loves to make sexy 80s inspired songs, without any meaning. But surely there's a lot of hidden messages only the Weeknd/Abel knows.
Before I loose myself into theories that probably don't make any sense, let's talk about this livestream the Weeknd did, in collaboration with Amazon Music back in Jan-22. Somewhere in Los Angeles a party happened, and I wish I was there. But I wasn't, and I have to rely on the YouTube video. If there's one artist I would pay to see, it would be the Weeknd. Why didn't they invite me, as I'm an Amazon user? Ah well, f**k it, at least we've got the full livestream.
The concept is kind of 'simple', without being disrespectful: the Weeknd in the middle of the dancefloor, and he's playing the album 'Dawn FM'. He's not singing live, and there's no band playing his songs in the background. It's part of the journey he's created. He's there, on the stage, enjoying his own music. You can tell he poured his heart and soul into this album, and the result is a set/album full of love, dedication, acceptance, and also a lot of influences. Is it just me, or do I feel like he's the MJ of the present day? Close your eyes and hear him sing. MJ vibes, right?
Just listen to 'Here We Go ... Again'. Fucking hell, he got the MJ sound nailed!
Anyway, if you haven't seen the livestream, here's your chance. And which tunes were played? Well, it's his album, so here's the tracklist:
The Weeknd - Dawn FM
The Weeknd - Gasoline
The Weeknd - How Do I Make You Love Me?
The Weeknd - Take My Breath
The Weeknd - Sacrifice
The Weeknd - A Tale By Quincy
The Weeknd - Out Of Time
The Weeknd feat Tyler, The Creator - Here We Go ... Again
The Weeknd - Best Friends
The Weeknd - Is There Someone Else?
The Weeknd - Starry Eyes
The Weeknd - Every Angel Is Terrifying
The Weeknd - Don't Break My Heart
The Weeknd feat Lil Wayne - I Heard You're Married
The Weeknd - Less Than Zero
The Weeknd - Phantom Regret By Him
I have seriously been listening to this NON-STOP. I wouldn't say my plays have done anything to the millions of plays already, but I've certainly had some kind of impact, be it very small. But trust me when I say that I will listen to this livestream until I'm at purgatory! This set is just sublime, and magical.
The crowd at this event are loving it a lot. At first I thought 'what are they all having over their mouths', but they are see through masks. COVID is still a fucking bitch. But they are loving it a lot, and so is Abel/the Weeknd. He is like a painter looking at their masterpiece, he's just standing on this stage, hoovering over the crowd, dancing, enjoying the album he's created. You can tell everyone involved is enjoying 'Dawn FM'. It's an experience you have to understand. You have to feel the songs he's made. You need to have the words touch your soul. Basically, you need to fully surrender yourself to the Weeknd, and I'm doing that right now. My soul is touched, and my heart is filling up with emotions.
His voice is just something else. Seriously something else. Can't describe it, but his voice is smoothening. Smooth as hell. He can hit the high notes, and every word is filled with emotions. He could even sing about lettuce and toe fungus, and he would still make it sound so sensual. You can tell he's been influenced when he was a little Weeknd by other artists, but even the songs are so recognisable. Most people would say it's 80s inspired, but I do hear so much influences, not just the 80s. Also the early Daft Punk sound can be heard here. A bit of disco, new Wave.. he has tapped into our musical history, and his songs have got this distinctive sound we all know and love, but maybe we should call it '80s in a new jacket' sound?
The set starts off strong, with Jim Carrey's voice getting us ready for the adventure ahead. He also can be heard at the end. Is that the moment when purgatory is behind the character, and he's going into Heaven? Never thought I'd appreciate Jim's smooth voice.
Everyone seems to enjoy the set, and dance throughout it all. This should be the start of something special. The world needs The Weeknd to come out, and embrace the love from all the fans. We need him to perform near us, and share the love behind Dawn FM.
The tracks are solid, very solid, and the Weeknd's voice is just sublime. Another level. There are so many timeless classics on here (I call it a classic album, even thought it's only been out a month-ish). Not a fan of Tyler, The Creator or Lil Wayne's voices, bit too raw for my liking, but they still give each song they work on something special. Even the Weeknd's rough voice at the beginning of 'Gasoline' can become very intoxicating.
I choose 'Starry Eyes' as my favourite. Which one is your favourite?
If you haven't seen this set yet, make sure you go to YouTube or Amazon Music and check it out. You won't know what hit you. The Weeknd has got something to say to us all, and we should all listen to what he has to say.
What's your theory? What do you think he's saying to us all? Is he talking about himself, as Abel, the Weeknd, or someone else?
Artist: The Weeknd
Genre/Style: Dance Pop, Disco, Synthwave, R&B, Spoken Word, New Wave
Liveset Info: Broadcasted via Twitch/Amazon Music 06/01/22
Length Liveset: 00:52:12
Tracks: 16 (sixteen)
Download/Listen (via YouTube): CLICK HERE
File Size: unknown
File Type: unknown
Release Year: 2022
Audio: Stereo
Sample Rate: unknown
More Information: The Weeknd - YouTube Channel