The latest album teaser features a mystical voice-over from actor Jim Carrey.
The Weeknd released the tracklist for his upcoming Dawn FM album on Wednesday morning (Jan. 5). According to a post featuring a snippet of one of the new songs, the 16-track collection kicks off with the title track, followed by “Gasoline,” “How Do I Make You Love Me?,” the single “Take My Breath,” “Sacrifice,” “A Tale” and “Out of Time.”
The R&B singer’s fifth full-length album is due out on Friday (Jan. 7) and the one-minute teaser accompanying the song list revealed a glimpse of the narrative Abel has created to go along with his latest multi-media venture. The visual opens with juxtaposed images of the Weeknd laying on the ground, a mysterious woman in a red hooded unitard and quick looks of an aged-up Abel with gray hair; the latter is also repeated on the album’s cover.
“And you can kick me, kick me to the curb,” he croons over an ominous keyboard riff as the action unfolds in the cinematic preview. “It’s okay babe, I promise that I fell to Earth.” A superimposed title card reads “a new sonic universe from the mind of the Weeknd,” as pained, crying images of the singer — as both his current and aged-up self — fill the screen, with both men looking horrified by some unseen image off-screen.
Dawn FM is the follow-up to The Weeknd’s fourth album, After Hours, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 in March 2020. It is slated to feature collaborations with Quincy Jones, Tyler, the Creator, Lil Wayne, Oneohtrix Point Never and, improbably, actor Jim Carrey, who praised the project after the teaser dropped. “I listened to Dawn FM with my good friend Abel @theweeknd last night. It was deep and elegant and it danced me around the room. I’m thrilled to play a part in his symphony,” Carrey tweeted. At press time it was unclear what Carrey’s role is on the collection.
Though the track list revealed on Wednesday doesn’t specify who is on what track, the final song is titled “Phantom Regret by Jim.” A voice that sounds like Carrey’s shows up midway through the new teaser as a shot of ants crawling in Abel’s ear fades to static and a soothing male voice arrives to impart some mystical knowledge.
“God knows life is chaos, but he made one thing true: you gotta unwind your mind, train you soul to align and dance til you find that divine boogaloo,” the man says as the video rushes to a close with quick-cut shots of old Abel and present-day Weeknd head-butting each other on the dance floor, a woman laughing uncontrollably and more looks at the ominous red hooded figures.
Other songs slated for the album include: “Here We Go Again,” “Best Friends,” “Is There Someone Else?,” “Starry Eyes,” “Every Angel is Terrifying,” “Don’t Break My Heart,” “I Heard You’re Married,” “Less Than Zero” and “Phantom Regret by Jim.”
Check out the full track list in the promo video below.