The Weeknd empties his soul into surprise “My Dear Melancholy,” release
Late Thursday, after teasing new music for weeks, The Weeknd dropped a surprise collection of six new songs, bundled into a steamy EP that he’s called, “My Dear Melancholy,”. On first listen, it will immediately strike you that the Weeknd is working through some challenging feelings. Listeners will surely speculate about these songs, as there seems to be more than a few casual references to two of his high-profile ex-girlfriends, Bella Hadid and Selena Gomez.
The cover art for “My Dear Melancholy,”
Thoughout the EP’s 21 minutes, The Weeknd doesn’t ever mention anyone by name but conspiracy theorists will undoubtedly form their own opinions, especially since his breakups have been fairly recent and covered heavily in the media. Thematically, it seems as though this EP serves as the diary of a man who is progressing through heartbreak; one moment, he misses the one that he just lost, the next moment, he is sure that he was just wasting his time. The ride through these feelings makes for classic Abel.
“My Dear Melancholy,” opens with the slow-burning “Call Out My Name”. Many fans are speculating that this song is about Selena Gomez, due to some of its lyrics:
We found each other
I helped you out of a broken place
You gave me comfort
But falling for you was my mistakeI put you on top, I put you on top
I claimed you so proud and openly
And when times were rough, when times were rough
I made sure I held you close to me
While some of the EP’s songs find The Weeknd grieving his lost love(s), other songs see him channeling his salty side, lamenting about the girlfriend before the one that he wasted his time on. Examples of this perspective can be found throughout the stone-cold track “Wasted Times”:
Wasted times I spent with someone else
She wasn’t even half of you
Reminiscin’ how you felt
Reminiscin’ how you felt
And even though you put my life through hell
I can’t seem to forget ’bout you
“My Dear Melancholy,” is Abel’s fourth album but first EP. It drops after 2016’s wildly successful Starboy and his contributions to the recent Black Panther soundtrack. Containing production from such heavy-hitters as Skrillex, Frank Dukes and Mike-Will_Made-It, “My Dear Melancholy,” arrives just ahead of his headlining gig at Coachella, this coming April.
Listen to “My Dear Melancholy,” on Apple Music, Google Music, Spotify and other popular music services.
