Drake is aiming to “freeze the world” with the release of his new album — and he kicked things off by turning Toronto’s iconic CN Tower into an icy spectacle.
Earlier on Thursday, Drake hinted at something special on Instagram. By 9:45 p.m., the CN Tower was glowing with icy blue projections to celebrate the arrival of his latest album, Iceman.
At the same time, Drake was livestreaming the album experience on YouTube. The visual presentation combined sweeping aerial shots of downtown Toronto with music videos featuring unreleased tracks from Iceman.
The night ended with a dramatic 10-minute fireworks display along Toronto’s waterfront, lighting up the skyline and drawing attention across the city.
Throughout the livestream, Drake appeared in several locations around Toronto, including inside the CN Tower, walking through city hall, and driving through the city streets late at night.
In the opening voiceover, Drake shared that his father, Dennis Graham, had been diagnosed with cancer. He also reflected on how some fans distanced themselves from him during his highly publicized feud with Kendrick Lamar.
Speaking to Complex Magazine last November, Drake explained why he moved away from the traditional album rollout format. He said he chose theatrical livestreams because he had been “dying to act” and “dying for a challenge.”
Thursday’s event followed another unusual promotional stunt from April, when Drake placed a massive ice sculpture in a downtown Toronto parking lot. He hinted that the album’s release date was hidden somewhere inside the sculpture.
Fans quickly gathered around it, some even bringing pickaxes and blowtorches in an attempt to uncover the secret. Eventually, city officials deemed the installation a safety hazard and shut access down — but not before fans discovered the release date: May 15.
The buildup to Iceman actually began back in 2025 with a series of livestream episodes uploaded to YouTube. The fourth episode took over Toronto’s waterfront on Thursday night, featuring both the Harbourfront Centre fireworks and the CN Tower projections.
Iceman Episode 1, released on July 4, 2025, served as a 58-minute preview for the single What Did I Miss along with other unreleased songs. In that livestream, Drake appeared inside a warehouse filled with guns and drove around Toronto in a van labeled “Iceman.”
A few weeks later, Iceman Episode 2 streamed live from Manchester, England, on July 24. The episode featured British rapper Central Cee, who later appeared on Drake’s single Which One. The third livestream aired from Milan on Nov. 18.
Back in 2024, Drake and Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar were caught in a major rap feud that dominated headlines. Since then, Drake has not scored another No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
He currently shares the record with Michael Jackson for the most No. 1 songs by a solo artist. However, his releases following the clash with Lamar have fallen short of reaching the top spot that would allow him to surpass the King of Pop.
Still, Drake’s 2025 collaborative album with Partynextdoor, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, produced the successful single Nokia, which peaked at No. 2 on the charts.
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving diaspora communities across 44 languages. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, Unifor, NEPMCC, and the Canada Freelance Union. He holds CAVCO Personnel Number SINH0106. Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
