2022 has gotten off to a great and strange start. Two years after The Weeknd helped many endure the strain of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the singer (b. Abel Tesfaye) has returned with the highly-anticipated follow-up, Dawn FM. Helping him usher in this new era was a handful of collaborators, which included Jim Carrey. Yes, the man behind The Mask, Man on the Moon, and Bruce Almighty was a part of The Weeknd’s new album in a way that none expected. The actor basically plays a soft-rock radio host in the form of a DJ, and he helps lead listeners through the entire album. It’s pretty amazing and fans are loving it.
Jim Carrey is “so clutch”, one Twitter user wrote, while another said, “God bless Jim Carrey”.
The Weeknd really got Jim Carrey to narrate on his album 😭
— Zuzu (@Zuko__28) January 7, 2022
This appearance by the former In Living Color funnyman wasn’t a complete surprise. “I listened to Dawn FM with my good friend Abel last night,” Jim tweeted on Jan. 3, shortly after The Weeknd announced his new album, along with the list of contributors. Jim said that the new project was “deep and elegant and it danced me around the room. I’m thrilled to play a part in his symphony.” The Weeknd saw Jim’s comment and responded to the kindness with love of his own. “Thank you for being a part of this,” wrote Abel. “It’s kismet. Full circle.”
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. ;^• https://t.co/FV2LoKLYVX
— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) January 3, 2022
The Weeknd spoke about his friendship with Jim Carrey in an August 2021 feature in GQ. As Abel was celebrating his 30th birthday, he and Jim met for the first time. “We’d been texting prior to that. And then, on my 30th birthday, he surprised me. He just pulled up to my crib and took me to breakfast,” the singer told GQ. “He lived literally like two buildings down from me. He had a telescope, and I had a telescope. He was like, ‘Where do you live? What floor do you live on?’ I was like, Blah, blah, blah. And we looked out the windows on our telescopes and we could see each other. That was like the beginning of my 30s. It was just like, What is going on?”
The Weeknd also touched upon this telescopic friendship in an April 2020 interview with Variety. “I texted him the address of my condo in L.A., and he said, ‘I can literally see your place from my balcony,’ and we got out telescopes and were waving to each other,” he said. “Jim Carrey was my first inspiration to be any kind of performer, and I went to breakfast with him on my first day of being 30.”
While the other collaborators on Dawn FM seem more conventional – Quincy Jones, Omeohtrix Point Never, Lil Wayne, and Tyler, The Creator are all on the album – Jim stands out at first glance. However, those familiar with his career know that Jim is capable of carrying a tune. He famously covered “Cuban Pete” for 1994’s The Mask, and Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody To Love” for 1996’s The Cable Guy. But, before then, Jim’s musical talents shone during his time on In Living Color (1990-1994).
Jim also covered The Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus” for In My Life, an album compiled and produced by The Beatles’ longtime producer, George Martin. In My Life also had Goldie Hawn perform “A Hard Day’s Night,” Robin Williams sing “Come Together” with Bobby McFerrin, and Sean Connery deliver a version of “In My Life.”