My Dear Melancholy, is the first official EP in Abel’s discography. The EP seems to follow the history of his relationships with Bella Hadid and Selena Gomez respectively. In both “Call Out My Name” and “Try Me” he focuses on his relationship with Selena and his attempts to “let go” after the breakup. In “Wasted Times” he compares the former relationship to the relationship he had with Hadid, and then later blames his depression on Selena in “I Was Never There.” He then goes on to distance himself from Selena in “Hurt You” and then ends it by saying goodbye to Selena, declaring that he will be back to his old ways of drugs, alcohol and sex in “Privilege.” On March 2, 2018, frequent collaborator Travis Scott commented on the project, tweeting: On March 28th, 2018, The Weeknd teased a possible surprise release in an iMessage exchange with his creative director, La Mar Taylor. Anticipation heightened the next day, after fans noticed the following billboard in London’s Shoreditch district that accidentally put up one day earlier: The Weeknd later confirmed the suspicions by unveiling the project’s artwork on his socials. On April 9, 2018, The Weeknd released “He Was Never There,” a video about the making of the project featuring studio footage.