Earlier this week, The Weeknd shared a screenshot of a conversation with his creative designer that read, “Should we drop Friday? I’m indifferent to be honest.” Of course, this sparked speculation that he’d be dropping the first single off of his project or an album. The rumors of a new album were sparked further after a billboard in London’s Shoreditch popped up that read, “My Dear Melancholy, New Album from The Weeknd.” Shortly after this circulated, The Weeknd confirmed the project was dropping tonight on Instagram.
He hasn’t shared much information about the project, but there’s been some tidbits that have given us some sort of idea of what to expect. According to Travis Scott, the album is “scary” and reminds him of the first time he listened to The Weeknd. The album art and title of the project seemingly confirm what Scott says. However, we’ll ultimately find out what The Weeknd’s been working on for the past little while tonight when his fourth studio album, My Dear Melancholy, drops.
The details around the project might be vague but the details that have surfaced helps decipher what The Weeknd’s been working on. We’ve compiled a list of five things we’re hoping to see on his new album, My Dear Melancholy based on what we know.
Drake and The Weeknd Reunion
The tension between Drake and The Weeknd was silent but it was there. Much of it had to do with the fact that The Weeknd essentially decided not to join OVO but instead, build up XO brand. Despite this, the two of them seemed to have put that in the past and Drake even told The Weeknd in an Instagram comment that they need to make music together. Hopefully we get a collab from them and if they do, we hope it’s like "Crew Love" or "The Zone."
Return To Dark Roots
Each album that The Weeknd has released found him dabbling with new sounds. However, with My Dear Melancholy, it feels like he’ll be returning to his House Of Balloons roots. There’s several things that indicate this as well. For one, the album art is dark and mysterious, which carries similarities to his earlier work. The dismal album title also reveals a lot. What really confirms this theory is a tweet Travis Scott sent out in the beginning of this month. The rapper said that his upcoming album is “scary” and that it was reminiscent of the first time he listened to The Weeknd’s music. In addition, with Doc McKinney executive producing and producing his last project, hopefully he helps The Weeknd return to House Of Balloons-esque sound on My Dear Melancholy.
Short Tracklist
As great as The Weeknd’s discography is, one of his flaws with his last two albums is that they ran on for too long. His first three mixtapes were consistent, with nine incredible songs on each. His debut album was only 10. However, Starboy was a lengthy project with nearly 20 songs on it and in all honesty, not all of them were the most memorable. Hopefully with My Dear Melancholy we could get a short and dense project from him.
Features/Production Wishlist
Between the XO signees, other newcomers in R&B and his past collaborators, there’s a heap of artists we’d like to see on this forthcoming project. For newcomers, it would be interesting to hear him work with artists that he’s inevitably influenced. 6lack would be a great artist to feature for a darker tone and this project in particular would be a great time to highlight his latest signee, Black Atlass. In terms of some of his past collaborators, Travis Scott would be a great fit. The Weeknd’s worked with Scott on both his debut and sophomore albums but Travis Scott’s grungy, dark tone would be fire for the Weeknd’s darker work. Aside from that, we’d also like to see appearances from Young Thug, Future and hopefully even an XO posse cut with Belly and Nav.
A Personal Album
The title of the project alone says a lot about how personal this project will be. With indications that My Dear Melancholy will return to his roots, it should be a project that’s filled dark tales of heartbreak and drug addled evenings that's more suited for the after-party than the party itself. As good as Starboy was, it was clear that it was made to inevitably do numbers on the charts with the poppy singles. We want to hear him deliver a personal project that touches on his demons on this project, much like he did on his earlier work.
He’s also had a lot of his own personal life put out in the public. His relationships with Selena Gomez and Bella Hadid were complicated, especially if you consider the connections with Drake and Justin Bieber, as well. Hopefully, we hear him address these issues on his forthcoming project.