The Weeknd has felt “inspired” and is working on new music
The Weeknd has revealed that he’s been back in the studio making new music less than a year after dropping his latest album, ‘Dawn FM’.
The Canadian singer-songwriter suggested in a new interview that he’s in a creative purple patch, having hardly slowed down since the release of his fifth album in January last year.
“I’ve definitely been inspired,” The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) told The Hollywood Reporter when he was asked if he was working on new material. “I’ve been in the studio.”
Tesfaye recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of ‘Dawn FM’ with a new music video for album track ‘Is There Someone Else?’
He didn’t share any further details about his next project and instead spent most of the interview talking about ‘Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)’, the Oscar-shortlisted theme song that he wrote for James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water.
Tesfaye spoke about how the Avatar franchise served as an inspiration for him ever since he saw the first film in 2009 when he was “homeless”, a period that he referred to as “the darkest time of my life”.
“The best part about writing the song was getting notes from James and making sure that all the lyrics and the tones fit the themes of the film,” he told the publication. “I think I rewrote the song maybe six times to make sure it was perfect.”
He also addressed the song’s potential Academy Award nomination, saying that he feels “honoured” by the recognition. That’s despite him boycotting other high profile awards ceremonies including as the Grammys after his album 2020 ‘After Hours’ was snubbed.
The Oscars, he said, “definitely feel different” from the Grammys. “I’m just grateful,” he said after the interviewer highlighted the fact that he did win a Grammy for his assistance on Kanye West’s ‘Hurricane‘ in 2022, after the boycott.
“Any kind of recognition, I’m grateful for it. I’m just happy to be in the conversation,” he said.
Meanwhile, it was revealed earlier this month that The Weeknd’s 2019 single ‘Blinding Lights’ had overtaken Ed Sheeran to become Spotify’s most-streamed song of all time.
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Charlotte Krol
NME
