On Jan. 7, 2022, The Weeknd released a new album called “Dawn FM.” The album has 16 tracks featuring Tyler, The Creator, Lil Wayne and Jim Carry.

This album is different and unique compared to other albums being released this past year and most likely albums in 2022. It is not just rapping about girls, money, etc. It’s thematic and somewhat tells you a story. Most people will probably not like it simply because it doesn’t necessarily excite you like some of his more popular songs. But the people who listen to the album will appreciate the art of The Weeknd. The album gives me ’80s, Stranger Things vibes. This is one of his better albums, just maybe not his best.

When listening to music, I usually would just put it on shuffle and go from there, but I heard this album in track order this time. I did this solely because I had a feeling that there would be some transitions in there. For example, “Best Friends” ending to “Is There Someone Else?”. This pattern also appears with “How Do I Make You Love Me?” fades into “Take My Breath.” To me, I don’t feel as if they are telling a story but the fact that there is a common theme of him possessing this lost love for a girl.

Based on Spotify’s charts, “Sacrifice”, “Gasoline” and “Is There Someone Else?” are the most liked songs so far. Out of the whole album, I loved “Out of Time,” “Take My Breath”, “How Do I Make You Love Me?” and “Is There Someone Else?” the most. These songs stood out to me simply because of the way they were written and crafted.

In “Out of Time”, the ebb and flow of the lyrics leave you identifying with his perspective and seeing and connecting with the women’s point of view. The ending of this song greets you with a classic DJ outro, with Jim Carry guiding you to the next song. In “How Do I Make You Love Me?”, I love the somewhat voice effect he put on his voice in some parts of the song, making it sound very ’80s.

Fans’ reactions have caught my eye, though. Rumors have started on TikTok on how the album is towards Ariana Grande. With songs like “I Heard You’re Married,” featuring Jim Carry, Grande’s first celebrity crush.

I am a long-time listener to The Weeknd and love a lot of his work. Hearing that he was releasing a new album and after loving his previous album, “After Hours” so much, I had pretty high expectations and I was not disappointed at all.