Sacrifice

Throughout his career, The Weeknd has consistently portrayed himself as a free bird unable to tie himself down to one girl. Here, despite his lover's attempts to fix him, he can't stop himself from spending time with other women. For The Weeknd, it's too big a sacrifice to commit to one partner.

The Weeknd wrote the song with: Swedish writer-producers Max Martin and Oscar Holter. They contributed to five of the After Hours tracks and several of the Dawn FM songs, including its lead single, "Take My Breath." Axwell, Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso of The Swedish House Mafia. It serves as the second collaboration between the Weeknd and the Swedish trio following the release of the 2021 single "Moth To A Flame." They also contributed to another Dawn FM track, "How Do I Make You Love Me?" Swedish producer Carl Nordström. He has been a frequent collaborator with Swedish House Mafia since the group's return from their hiatus in 2018. The Weeknd, Max Martin, Oscar Holter and The Swedish House Mafia also produced the dance funk track.

This samples a guitar loop from Alicia Myers' 1981 gospel number "I Want to Thank You." The Weeknd revealed in a Zoom press call it was Swedish House Mafia who showed him the funky guitar loop that ended up anchoring "Sacrifice." Kevin McCord, the writer of "I Want to Thank You," accordingly gets a credit on "Sacrifice."