NEWS
The Weeknd
Matt Baron/ShutterstockJim Carrey is a huge fan of The Weeknd‘s upcoming album, Dawn FM.
Shortly after the R&B singer-songwriter officially announced the album’s title and release date on Monday (Jan. 3), the famed actor and comedian — who is listed as a collaborator in a cryptic video teaser for the project — praised the forthcoming release on social media.
“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 in response to The Weeknd’s announcement.
The Weeknd, born Abel Tesfaye, then thanked Carey for his mysterious involvement in Dawn FM. “It’s kismet. Full circle,” the singer replied, adding a smiling face with a tear emoji.
Billed as “A new sonic universe from the mind of The Weeknd,” Dawn FM also features collaborations in some form with Quincy Jones, Tyler, the Creator, Lil Wayne and Oneohtrix Point Never. Further details about the guest appearances were not provided.
The Weeknd opened up about his friendship with Carrey during an interview with Variety in April 2020. The mutual fans were introduced through text and the singer later invited the actor to his home to hear some music.
“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,” The Weeknd told Variety, noting that he was a huge fan of Carrey’s 1994 film The Mask. “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.”
Dawn FM is the follow-up to The Weeknd’s fourth album, After Hours, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 in March 2020. The blockbuster set featured the record-breaking single “Blinding Lights,” which recently became the top Billboard Hot 100 song of all time, surpassing Chubby Checker‘s “The Twist.”
See The Weeknd’s response to Carrey’s flattering tweet about Dawn FM below.
NEWS
Music photographer Jill Furmanovsky said she wasn’t taken aback by the overwhelming excitement surrounding the Oasis reunion tour.
The photographer has been capturing the Wonderwall hitmakers for more than thirty years and shared that the Oasis Live '25 Tour, which brought Noel and Liam Gallagher back on stage together for the first time in 16 years, worked so well because the concerts have always been “about the audience”.
Jill, who first crossed paths with Oasis at one of their early shows at the Cambridge Corn Exchange in 1994, explained to NME: “It didn’t catch us off guard, because Oasis have always been about the crowd. Always. There was never much to shoot on stage.
“Even at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, the performance itself was simple, but the people in the crowd knew every word and were completely swept up in it.
“And that hasn’t really changed over time. They just bring out that songbook and deliver it. Liam is still magnetic and captivating, even when he keeps it minimal. It remains incredibly powerful. That’s the essence of their show.”
Furmanovsky, who has photographed icons like Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin over the course of her fifty-year career, added: “What they’ve done with this new tour, the production, and the visuals… it’s something special.
“The mix of generations in the crowd is also striking. I went with my 13-year-old granddaughter, and there were plenty of kids her age singing along word for word. It’s incredible.
“‘Biblical’ is the term people throw around. It sounds almost silly, but when two brothers who’ve been at odds for years come together again, there really is something biblical about that alone. Combine it with what they’re putting on stage… it’s unlike anything else.”
Jill’s latest book Trying To Find A Way Out Of Nowhere reflects her years documenting Oasis, and she shared that no current act matches what the Supersonic band represents. She was also able to photograph them once again at one of their massive Wembley Stadium shows during the reunion tour.
She said: “There aren’t many artists today who can step into the space Oasis occupies and actually live up to it.
“We’re in a different time now, a kind of in-between phase. It feels like the closing of a rock ‘n’ roll chapter. That doesn’t mean talent or creativity is gone. It’s like with painting — we still have great impressionists, but we’re no longer living in the impressionist era.”
