Analysis

Using pathos is the ability to influence the audience’s emotions. Abel uses this through creative word construction, as seen when he begs the question, “are you hurting him or are you hurting me?” (1:10). Firstly, this fills the opposing side with tremendous amounts of guilt, since they are in fact, hurting both parties involved; secondly, this leaves his lover trapped into admitting that they are in fact cheating, by implying the deed is already done. Abel then uses other clear phrases that appeal to the pathos, such as “I don’t wanna lose my spot…If I ain’t with you, I don’t wanna be” (1:05). This plays further into the sorrow and guilt of his lover.

The ethos involves the credibility of the rhetor. The Weeknd is using definitive terminology, meaning he claims to know exactly what the situation is. He claims to know what is happening because he “used to be the one who was lying” (0:50). Because of this admittance, Abel establishes more credibility, claiming he has knowledge of the situation because he also lied. He elaborates saying, “I don’t deserve someone loyal to me…And I don’t want to be a prisoner to who I used to be” (1:27). Abel is willing to smear his own name, to establish credibility in terms of understanding the situation.

November 3rd, 2022: The Fourth Persona

Introduction

“Here We Go…Again,” featuring Tyler, The Creator, ranks third on The Weeknd’s Dawn FM album (Mamo, 2022). It stands at the midpoint of the album, previewed by Jim Carrey in the previous song, "Out of Time," stating, “Here’s 30 minutes of easy listening to some slow tracks, on 103.5 Dawn FM” (Tesfaye, 2022, 0:06). Unlike many other songs on the album, the lyrics do not play into the portrayal of a purgatorial stage in the afterlife. Rather, The Weeknd appears to reflect on accomplishments from his past year, as well as an affair with a movie star, which may go unnoticed by the average listener (someone who hears the song on a commute to work).

The Fourth Persona

The implied audience, or second persona, is the public, meaning anyone who listens to the Dawn FM album. However, there is another audience, the fourth persona, who have knowledge about The Weeknd and his history in the limelight. Overall, the fourth persona is, “a collusive audience constituted by the textual wink” (Morris, 2002, as cited in Burgchardt & Jones, 2017, p. 621). In some instances, the fourth persona holds a secret from the rhetor; they “know the truth and remain silent about it” (Morris, 2002, as cited in Burgchardt & Jones, 2017, p. 621). The Weeknd also utilizes the fourth persona in this way as well.

Analysis

The Weeknd opens “Here We Go…Again” with the lyrics, “Strike a pose with my kinfolk…Front page of that billboards…Suit and tie and cigar smokes” (Tesfaye, 2022, 0:14). Ordinarily, the average listener would not understand what Abel is referencing here, other than him living an extravagant lifestyle. However, Abel is referencing the picture of him and his counterparts whom he has known him since he was young, which made the front page of Billboard magazine. The photo includes La’mar Taylor, Wasim “Sal” Slaiby, and Amir “Cash” Esmailian, all of whom can be considered part of the fourth persona (Billboard Staff, 2021).

A more recognizable nod to the fourth persona comes later when Abel sings, “We still celebrating Superbowl” (Tesfaye, 2022, 0:26). This is a reference to The Weeknd’s Pepsi Superbowl Halftime show at Raymond James Stadium, back in 2021. However, the most obscure “wink” that Abel gives in the song is his line, “My new girl, she a movie star” (Tesfaye, 2022, 1:12). Many fans speculate that Abel is referencing a rumored relationship between him and the actor, Angelina Jolie (Grebenyuk, 2022). While their relationship has never been confirmed, someone in the audience knows the secret.

Method

One could argue from the lyrics that The Weeknd is trying to encourage his audience to consider what is truly important in life. In a culture that is so absorbed in image and superficial belongings, the lyrics awaken the audience to understand that those obsessions are fleeting. To further analyze the impact the album has on the audience, it is appropriate to use a critical rhetorical analysis. This analysis uses “scholarship as a means to bring about social change and promote equality” (Burgchardt & Jones, 2017, p. 517). In this situation, the focus is more on promoting social change regarding understanding what society should deem important. This method also “addresses how power is assigned and exercised in society” (Burgchardt & Jones, 2017, p. 517). This specific artifact uses an evaluation of the power that mundane possessions and image hold over humanity.

Analysis

Jim Carrey’s role as the omniscient spiritual figure throughout the album addresses the hedonism that many people fall into. In “Phantom Regret by Jim,” he says, “Now that all future plans have been postponed, and it's time to look back on the things you thought you owned, do you remember them well? Were you high or just stoned?” (Tesfaye, 2022, 0:30). Carrey is poking fun at the things that people owned and put all their hope in, which no longer hold any value when they are “out of time,” a phrase seen frequently throughout the album. He even taunts the ability to remember those earthly belongings, due the fact that people avoid their reality using drugs.

The Weeknd provides an alternative to a hedonistic lifestyle, through Jim Carrey’s monologue. Carrey states, “consider the flowers, they don’t try to look right…they just open their pedals and turn to the light” (Tesfaye, 2022, 1:54). He adds that “You don’t reach for bliss…You gotta unwind your mind, train your soul to align” (Tesfaye, 2022, 2:09). It is evident that Abel is promoting the idea of reaching for eternal finish lines. If one aligns their soul with the light, that is something which cannot be taken away. Carrey concludes by stating, “You gotta be Heaven, to see Heaven” (Tesfaye, 2022, 2:38). Meaning unless someone aligns their soul, pursuing an eternal purpose, only then they can enter Heaven.

Close Text Analysis

To understand the lyrics from Abel's song, as well as Jim Carrey’s post-song monologue, it is appropriate to use a close text analysis. A close text analysis “aims to reveal and explicate the precise, often hidden, mechanisms that animate a text artistically and rhetorically” (Burgchardt & Jones, 2017, p. 148). To do the analysis, it requires a very technical analyzation of the exact words and lyrics used by the author. The analysis must examine the voice and intended audience, as well as the structure and patterns, metaphors, and imagery of the text. (Simpson)

Dawn FM, considered to be under the genre of dance/electronic, is just another example of The Weeknd failing to fit into a specific category. The U.S. Sun states, “The Weeknd isn’t pigeonholed into a specific musical genre, though he is sometimes lumped into hip-hop and R&B. However, his music deifies categorization” (Castro, 2022). From rap-like songs such as “Reminder,” to synthwave (80’s like), electronic songs like his hit “Blinding Lights,” The Weeknd’s music is unpredictable and cannot be covered by a specific genre. Perhaps, someday it will be a genre of its own.

Coherence

The storyline of Dawn FM focuses on the purgatorial state of The Weeknd's character throughout the album (see October 2nd, 2022 entry). The track being analyzed, "A Tale by Quincy," while transitioning smoothly between songs, disrupts the overall plot-line, leaving the listener somewhat confused. It strays away from the radio broadcast being portrayed in the album, only giving the audience insight into Jones' troubled childhood and relationships. Even the storytelling itself is not very coherent, as the speaker commences without any introduction and discusses several issues of which he does not conclude before moving onto the next. These factors do not help the overall structure of the album's narrative. However, Jones does conclude by saying, "Looking back is a bitch, isn't it?" (Tesfaye, 2022). This statement does connect to the overall purgatorial narrative of the album, by emphasizing the act of looking back. In "Phantom Regret by Jim," the omniscient radio broadcaster inquires "Now that all future plans have been postponed, and it's time to look back on the things you thought you owned, do you remember them well?" (Tesfaye, 2022). This is a significant resemblance between the track being analyzed and the rest of the album.

Fidelity

With the coherence of the story accounted for, one must then look at the fidelity. In the case of this specific artifact, the reliability of the facts and the story itself are not as important as the credibility of the story and the author. The fact that Quincy Jones is a renowned music producer, working with the likes of Michael Jackson, as well as being The Weeknd's inspiration for performing, is enough credibility for being featured on the album. To the intended audience that understands The Weeknd's inspiration, this track holds much more value because the audience understands the significance of the author, Quincy Jones. Therefore, the story holds meaning based off the credibility of the rhetor.

While "A Tale by Quincy" may hold significant weight due to the impact Quincy Jones has on The Weeknd, the track provides little support in regards to the rest of the album narrative. The track does have a correlations which can be drawn between it and the radio broadcast, but does not help the audience make sense of the overall album. In fact, it confuses rather than clarifies.

Introduction

Phantom Regret by Jim, the final track on The Weeknd's Dawn FM, is one of two tracks on the album that contains a monologue as opposed to a typical "song". The track is narrated in an ominous but comforting tone by actor Jim Carrey, which is backed by The Weeknd's haunting vocals. The purpose of this track is to give the audience a hint of what The Weeknd is trying to portray in his unique album experience. It is noticeable that from this specific monologue, the album is trying to portray something deeper than enjoyable music. This can be assumed, because people do not tend to listen to album monologues for enjoyment. So the question remains: what is The Weeknd trying to portray to his audience in Jim Carrey's monologue?

Analysis

The overall album, Dawn FM appears to be a metaphor for something more significant. Obviously, it is formatted as an 80's radio station but that station represents something more, as seen in the lyrics of the track being analyzed. The track opens with Jim Carrey on the radio broadcast stating "You're tuned to Dawn FM, the middle of nowhere on your dial. So sit back and unpack, you may be here awhile" (Tesfaye, 2022). As stated in Rolling Stone, Jim Carrey serves as a "benign, between-worlds radio announcer" (Dukes, 2022). It is clear that the two worlds being referenced are the world of the living and the world of the dead or the afterlife. This can be seen when Jim Carrey explains "If the pain's living on when your bodies long gone, and your phantom regret hasn't let it go yet, you may not have died in the way that you must" (Tesfaye, 2022). This means whoever is the audience in this situation is "dead". It is evident that the radio station serves as a metaphor for the afterlife, but what phase of the afterlife and why does it matter?

It appears that Dawn FM represents Purgatory, based off the lyrics "Heaven's for those who let go of regret, and you have to wait here when you're not all there yet" (Tesfaye, 2022). This makes sense because, as taught in Catholicism purgatory is "a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who...are not entirely free from venial faults" (Hannah, 1911). It is a stage some people are supposedly taken before reaching heaven. While the Weeknd was supposedly raised Ethiopian Orthodox, he has not claimed to be practicing in any religion, but described himself as "spiritual" (Dorwart, 2021).

It is evident that The Weeknd uses Dawn FM as a metaphor for a phase of the afterlife similar to Purgatory (without specifically mentioning Purgatory), and that Jim Carrey plays the role of an omniscient spiritual being. The meaning that the track conveys is that the audience should mind their thoughts and actions in the world of the living. Carrey asks questions such as "How many grudges did you take to your grave?" and "Was it often a dissonant chord you were strumming? Were you ever in tune with the song life was humming?" (Tesfaye, 2022). The track promotes the idea that the audience should not be concerned with worldly possession because "When you're all out of time, there's nothing but space. No hunting. No gathering. No nation. No race" (Tesfaye, 2022). Using a hidden metaphor throughout the whole album is a creative and effective way to add meaning and intrigue to the album itself.

Abel Tesfaye, known by his stage name, the Weeknd released his latest album on January 7th, 2022. The title of the album was very unconventional: Dawn FM. The idea was for the album to imitate a radio station, which entails interrupting the flow of songs with advertisements and announcements. It was a throwback to the 1980's era of radio stations. The album is unlike anything that has been put forth by any recent artists, and is intended to be listened to all the way through. As a writer for the Observer states, the album creates "a pop experience unmatched by any other major artist" (Shah, 2022).

The Weeknd's previous album, After Hours, made Billboard history with songs like Blinding Lights, which spent ninety consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, breaking the previous record set by the Twist (Lock, 2021). The After Hours album was said to portray the "death" of Abel's relationship, following a very thematic movielike theme throughout the music videos and storyline (Shah, 2022). With the release of Dawn FM, Tesfaye tweeted to his fans that they are "experiencing a new trilogy," and Dawn FM was the second part. This article will explore the ways in which the album is a fitting sequel to the overall trilogy and why it is a fitting response to the music industries lack of albums.

This album will be analyzed using the rhetorical situation method. According to Burgchardt and Jones (2017), "This 'rhetorical situation' provides the basis for persuasive interaction. Instead of concentrating on the personality, motives and background of the speaker,...the critic should assess whether a speaker's response to a rhetorical situation is fitting" (Burgchardt & Jones, p.1-2). A rhetorical situation requires three unique points: exigence (need for utterance), audience, and constraints. In this specific instance, the exigence is in the music industry, in which there is a lack of high-quality albums, as well as in the need to produce a sequel for Abel’s “trilogy”. Abel’s intended audience is undoubtedly fans but also the entire music industry. Finally his main goal is to produce a unique experience for listeners across the world by revitalizing the music album.

Rhetorical discourse in the case of The Weeknd, was called into existence by both the need to produce a second product for his "trilogy," but to more importantly revitalize the album. The response appears to be fitting, as the album hit number one on the Billboard's Top Album sales chart (Caulfield, 2022). With its unique storytelling, the album also continues the cinematic theme seen in the past album, After Hours.

In regards to the audience, Abel hosted a listening party which also streamed across several social media platforms on night the album dropped. On YouTube the stream has nearly 10-million views, which is a very high number given the fact that the video/album is 52 minutes long. The album clearly has an effect on both the immediate audience and the mediated audience, as seen through the album's success.

Compared to his record-setting album After Hours, The Weeknd's Dawn FM has not achieved the same Billboard success, but it did make a statement. Two of the "songs" on the album are just monologues performed by the Quincy Adams and Jim Carrey. While there is no song that completely stands out in the album, it all flows together in a very artistic and well-thought out process. It appears evident that Abel was willing to sacrifice rapid Billboard success in order to be creative and influence the music industry.