For his new album DAWN FM, The Weeknd brought a host of big names on board, including musicians like Lil Wayne, Quincy Jones and Tyler, the Creator. More surprising, however, is the prominent role of Jim Carrey on the long player – at least if you didn’t know that the two are not just neighbors but also good friends.
The Weeknd’s new album is structured like a fictional radio show called 103.5 DAWN FM. Between death and life, it should facilitate the transition to the afterlife. Carrey acts as a radio host. With a soft, almost singing voice, which sometimes seems a bit spooky, he repeatedly speaks up between the songs. At the beginning of the album, Carrey says something like, “You’re listening to 103.5 DAWN FM. You’ve been in the dark for too long, it’s time to step into the light and embrace your destiny with open arms. Fear? Do not worry. We will be here to hold your hand and guide you through this painless transition.”
The album closes with a poem, also spoken by Carrey. “Have you ever been in tune with the song that life hums?” asks the actor. He then continues to reflect on life and death.
Between neighborhood, friendship and inspiration
The unexpected collaboration resulted from The Weeknd and Jim Carrey’s friendship. The two were introduced to each other via text message. By chance, they soon realized that they were neighbors. They quickly got to know each other better. That’s how Carrey’s contribution to DAWN FM finally came about.
But actually, The Weeknd was a big fan of Carrey long before that, actually almost always, as he once said. When the musician was four years old, he went to the cinema with his mother. “The Mask” was played, starring Carrey. The Weeknd was so impressed by his performance that he decided at that moment that he would later be in the spotlight himself.
That’s why it was a special moment when Carrey surprised the singer for his 30th birthday. The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, says: “On my birthday he called me and said look out the window and his balcony was full of giant red balloons and he picked me up to have breakfast with me went. It was surreal. Jim Carrey was the first person who inspired me to be a performer and I went to breakfast with him on day one when I was thirty.”
And Carey? The actor is also happy to be part of the album. In a tweet, he wrote: “I was listening to @theweeknd Dawn FM yesterday with my good friend Abel. It was deep and elegant and had me dancing around the room. I’m thrilled to play a part in his symphony.”
Incidentally, this isn’t Carrey’s first foray into the world of music. In his films she played a role again and again, for example in 1994 in “The Mask” when Carrey sang the song “Cuban Pete”:
For George Martin’s IN MY LIFE album, Carrey recorded a cover of the Beatles’ I Am The Walrus in 1998:
And for the satirical show Funny Or Die, Carrey co-recorded the song “Cold Dead Hand” with Eels aka Mark Oliver Everett to poke fun at the National Rifle Association: