The Weeknd releasing new single ‘Take My Breath’ this Friday

The Weeknd has announced his upcoming single, ‘Take My Breath’, which is due for release this Friday.

The reveal came earlier today (Aug 3) in the form of an NBC promo clip for the Team USA Women’s Track & Field team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Weeknd – real name Abel Tesfaye – posted the clip, which features athletes Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad, Athing Mu, and Gabby Thomas, on social media along with the caption: “8.6.21 new single.”

Yesterday (August 2), The Weeknd posted a preview of the song and its pristine synth-heavy groove. The singer then tweeted that his new era “starts tonight”.

In a interview with GQ subsequently published later that day, Tesfaye said that the upcoming as-of-yet titled record, the follow-up to his 2020 album ‘After Hours’, is “the album I’ve always wanted to make”.

Tesfaye also spoke about the importance of the album-making process in his career. “I want to do this forever,” he said. “And even if I start getting into different mediums and different types of expressions, music will be right there. I’m not going to step away from it.”

The artist made his feature film debut in 2019’s Uncut Gems and will produce and star in an upcoming HBO series.