Yesterday morning, the music world was abuzz after Abel “The Weeknd Tesfaye emerged again. A new interview featuring the Ontario-raised vocalist was published, and that was enough to spark talk of new music arriving soon.
Late last night, The Weeknd confirmed he is ready to drop a new single. The 31-year-old R&B/Pop megastar took to social media to announce “Take My Breath” will drop on Friday, August 6.
The 52-second teaser also served as a commercial for the current Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. In particular, the spot focused on the Women’s 800m Final, Women’s 200m Final, and Women’s 400m Hurdles Final.
American track and field competitors Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad, Athing Mu, and Gabby Thomas starred in the “Take My Breath” ad. The video ends with a voice-over saying, “Team USA Women’s. There’s something sensational.”
The Weeknd also spoke to GQ for a cover story interview. The piece, which is titled “The Weeknd vs. Abel Tesfaye,” included the Super Bowl LV headliner discussing Hip Hop artist Tyler, The Creator and the King of Pop Michael Jackson.
With “Take My Breath” scheduled to arrive on August 6, The Weeknd is likely to be part of a stacked day of new music releases. His “FML” collaborator Kanye West is expected to return with his Donda album on that same date.
Plus, rap legend Nas is dropping the sequel to his Grammy-winning King’s Disease studio LP. It appears superproducer Hit-Boy was behind the boards again for King’s Disease II.
2020’s After Hours is The Weeknd’s most recent full-length project. That album spent four weeks atop the Billboard 200 chart and earned 2x-Platinum status from the Recording Industry Association of America.