The Weeknd‘s new track has already been circulating the net for a few weeks. Finally, it’s now been officially debuted, with a premiere on iHeartRadio.
Can’t Feel My Face is the latest track from The Weeknd, one of his only new releases since his sensual Fifty Shades of Grey offering Earned It. Although it marks a slight departure in sound, it’s no less palatable.The record starts as a standard Weeknd track, replete with head over heels melodrama and glitzy falsetto as he laments “the death of me” at the hands of some fantasy lover. But the song quickly soars (at the 40-second mark) into an almost disco beat reminiscent of equal parts Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars a la Uptown Funk.
“I can’t feel my face when I’m with you,” he half-sings, half-groans, with a voice simply oozing with lust in the way that he does best. Repeated refrain “I love it” is executed with the Weeknd’s characteristic ad libs and lyrical precision over a bass-driven groove, hinting at a possibly more pop-driven direction for his new music and probably the influence of powerhouse producer Max Martin – the pop mastermind responsible for some of the most infectiously catchy Billboard No. 1’s, including hits from Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Taylor Swift, Jessie J, Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding and, well, you get the picture. To be precise, he’s had 54 songs in the Billboard top ten, which is more than both Madonna and Elvis. But I digress.
Having closed out Apple’s WWDC 2015, at which the shiny new streaming service Apple Music was unveiled (check out our coverage of that here,) The Weeknd wooed crowds with a stellar rendition of the fresh new single. It’s clear that The Weeknd has yet another hit on his hands, and we’re positive you’ll be funking to it all day long… It’s been a while since we had a full release from the sultry Canadian, so here’s hoping that a full release is in the works.