On January 7th, 2022, pop superstar The Weeknd, born Abel Tesfaye, released his fifth studio album Dawn FM. The radio station-themed album is the second installment of a new trilogy of albums, confirmed by Tesfaye via his Twitter. Featuring Jim Carrey as Dawn FM’s radio host, the album takes an ‘80s pop-inspired trip through love, lust, and heartbreak.
Tesfaye’s journey to Dawn FM has been one for the books. He officially began his reign as pop music’s prince in 2015 with chart-topping hits like “Earned It,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” and “The Hills” from his second album Beauty Behind The Madness. In 2016, Starboy followed with more hits like “Starboy” and “I Feel It Coming” featuring production from Daft Punk, and “Sidewalks” featuring rap legend Kendrick Lamar. Tesfaye’s magnum opus After Hours would arrive in 2020, and the landscape of pop music may have been changed forever in that moment.
After Hours immediately topped the charts back in March of 2020, and no song on the album would be bigger than “Blinding Lights.” The infectious pop jam eventually became the longest-charting single in Billboard history at 90 weeks, and the second most streamed song in Spotify history. Billboard themselves even named the smash hit as the #1 Greatest Hot 100 Hit of All-Time, let that title sink in for just a moment. The After Hours experience was finally topped off by Tesfaye’s massive halftime performance at Super Bowl LV in February of last year, an honor that only music’s most celebrated artists attain.
Fans have theorized that this new trilogy of albums may be inspired by Dante Alighieri’s famed three-part narrative poem the Divine Comedy from 1320. The theory is that After Hours represents, like Dante, Tesfaye’s journey through Hell, as many of the album’s themes center around death, sin, and pain. This can be portrayed especially in all of the music videos for the album, but also Tesfaye’s performances and other press appearances for the album. He even appeared in a striking bright red suit in all of these mediums, essentially personifying Hell for the entirety of the album’s rollout.
Dawn FM hypothetically represents Purgatory, especially considering the themes of love and sin which are present in Alighieri’s Purgatorio poem as well. Songs such as “Gasoline,” “How Do I Make You Love Me?,” “Take My Breath,” “Out Of Time,” “Here We Go Again” featuring Tyler The Creator, and “Is There Someone Else?” really bring that ‘80s synth-pop sound that Tesfaye has begun mastering over his last few albums. His ability to mix a retro sound with modern production makes the music so enjoyable to listen to, despite the lyrics being filled with lustful attractions, heartbreaking love, and often a drugged-up euphoria.
This idea of a purgatorial experience is also present in the radio-advertisement interlude “Every Angel Is Terrifying.” In which an experience known as “After Life” is being sold to listeners in a “Best Of Your Current Life” collection series. Jim Carrey’s poetic monologue on the final track of the album, “Phantom Regret by Jim,” also suggests a spiritual ascension to a heavenly paradise. He emits a soothing aura in the delivery of his poem, putting a peaceful end to the hour-long foot-tapping experience.
The legendary actor declares, “Consider the flowers, they don’t try to look right. They just open their petals and turn to the light. Are you listening real close? Heaven’s not that, it’s this. It’s the depth of this moment, you don’t reach for bliss. God knows life is chaos, but He made one thing true. You gotta unwind your mind, train your soul to align, and dance ’til you find that divine boogaloo. In other words, you gotta be Heaven to see Heaven. May peace be with you.”
Perhaps for the final album of this trilogy, Tesfaye will present listeners with some kind of heavenly aesthetic in the music and the visuals. This trilogy of albums has arguably been his best work to date, and no doubt the final installment will be phenomenally produced and well thought out. It has certainly been a long reign atop the pop zeitgeist for Abel Tesfaye, and he has only just begun.
turntable ruminations 
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