The Weeknd Gives Cryptic Role to Jim Carrey on New Album ‘Dawn FM’

The Weeknd is determined to present something sonically different from anything he’s done before with the upcoming album Dawn FM, out Jan. 7.

Promising a “new sonic universe,” The Weeknd teased Dawn FM with a one-minute trailer depicting the artist in a car crash and dragged away by robed cult members before the scene jumped to him aged, in a club and approached by a cult leader. The cryptic video continues with a DJ welcoming the viewer to 103.5 Dawn FM, saying “You’ve been in the dark way too long. It’s time to walk into the light, and accept your fate with open arms.”

Dawn FM features cast of special guests, including actor and comedian Jim Carrey, whose appearance on the album is unclear, though The Weeknd said they are “telescope buddies.”

“I listened to Dawn FM with my good friend Abel last night,” said Carrey in a tweet. “It was deep and elegant and it danced me around the room. I’m thrilled to play a part in his symphony.”

Also contributing are producer Quincy Jones, Lil Warney, Tyler, The Creator, and Oneohtrix Point Never.

Not much has been revealed about the album with the exception of Quincy Jones-produced lead single “Take My Breath,” featuring a sample of Stevie Nick’s Bella Donna hit “Edge of Seventeen.”

Retaining the darkened theme of Dawn FM, the video is set at an underground Matrix-style rave, where patrons are dependent on oxygen tanks for survival. 

“It’s the album I’ve always wanted to make,” said The Weeknd in a recent interview using his real name, and “other half,” Abel Tesfaye. “That statement would linger in my brain for days. As did the music. It became nearly impossible to find something else to listen to. Everything else sounded soft. Or didn’t groove enough. Or felt too happy. Or too sad. It was clear to me that this isn’t just the album The Weeknd has always wanted to make; it’s the album we’ve always wanted him to make.”

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Main Photo: Republic Records