Erick Ceja Lopez
By the end of After Hours, The Weeknd was paralyzed by the weight of his emotions. He had failed to break out of his cycle of love and loss. He was left alone in the dark, but after the dark must come the dawn.
Dawn FM shows Abel trying to break out of this cycle once and for all. This album uncovers his past of childhood trauma, regrets, and heartbreak. Being vulnerable brings Abel one step closer to the light, but the question is where it will leave him after it’s over.
After bleeding out, we find Abel the next morning alone again, but this time by his choice. A noticeable thing in this album is that it can be seen as him in purgatory which is supposed to be a journey of self-discovery, but with it sounding like a radio broadcast.
“You are now listening to 103.5 Dawn FM. You’ve been in the dark for way too long.” -Track 1(Dawn FM)
Right off the bat, in “Gasoline,” Abel reflects on his actions of calling people, yearning for actions that please him, and drugs, because he states that he wants to feel something. This type of stuff is what causes Abel to be lonely with each album, but deep down he wants someone to be there so he doesn’t overdose. In the worst-case scenario, if he overdoses, he instructs his lover on what to do with his body.
“Just wrap my body in these sheets and pour out the gasoline.”
It’s clear that Abel has completely lost faith in the afterlife and he doesn’t understand what the point of living is, he continuously searches for a reason to live. In these thoughts, he looks back and wonders where his relationships went wrong. Abel wants to stop these toxic behaviors and he’s thinking about how he can make a relationship truly last.
Abel eventually does meet someone else and it feels like the feeling is mutual. She says everything he’s been longing to hear, that he is wanted, but Abel once again considers if he should sacrifice his freedom for this love or if he should go back to his usual antics. This happens in both tracks “Take My Breath,” and “Sacrifice.”
“I don’t wanna sacrifice for your love, I try.”
The problem is that Abel refuses to commit to an actual relationship and only wants a friends-with-benefits relationship. This is where things tend to go wrong, Abel doesn’t want to give up his freedom for someone, thankfully he realizes this and goes to Quincy Jones for advice.
“If you weren’t raised, you don’t know how to raise, you know?” -Track 6(A Tale By Quincy)
Quincy mentions the influence his mother’s absence had on not only his life but relationships. Growing up without a father is a wound that Abel is attempting to heal from himself. Abel was raised by his mother and grandmother, and when his father started a new family, he was rarely seen.
The reason for his ways has finally dawned on Abel. His coping mechanisms were covered with trauma.
“There’s so much trauma in my life. I’ve been so cold to the ones who loved me, baby.” -Track 7(Out Of Time)
The Weeknd’s abandonment issues only lead him to never commit or abandon the relationship when they start getting more serious, and when he finds out what he wants, he ends up being too late. His lover always ends up changing his mind which leaves him wanting them back. By the end of the track, the radio host, Jim Carrey, tells Abel to not lose hope.
“Soon you’ll be healed, forgiven, and refreshed free from all trauma, pain, guilt, and shame.”
Despite Jim’s thoughtful words, Abel can’t help but fall in love again.
‘I told myself that I’d never fall, but here we go again.” -Track 8(Here We Go… Again)
He warns this girl of his fear of commitment. He tells this girl that it might be better if they just stay buddies and have nothing more between them, thinking it would be the best for both of them. Abel is self-aware of his actions in this relationship and wants to keep a surface level to avoid either of them catching feelings.
While they promise not to catch feelings, Abel ends up catching feelings himself for this girl. He doesn’t want this girl to lose interest in him, but he’s also suspicious that she might be with someone else.
“Is there someone else or not? ‘Cause I wanna keep you close.” -Track 10(Is There Someone Else?)
Abel believes that he doesn’t deserve loyalty since he never returned it, but since he wants to do better, his actions end up affecting the future he’s trying to shape which is keeping him prisoner of his old ways. Abel has done nothing but cure broken hearts and leave people in heartbreak because of his decisions.
In track 11, “Starry Eyes,” Abel shows true intentions and doesn’t want to repeat his actions with this new girl. He settles down and realizes that entering a new relationship can be terrifying. Abel has entered the afterlife, a life after the party.
Abel has finally found someone who he believes will never break his heart and he believes that he’ll never break hers, but that fear of being abandoned is still there.
“I think that you would die for me. Destiny and this time, I know for sure…Just don’t break my heart. Don’t let me down, please.” -Track 13(Don’t Break My Heart)
This time his fear was right, the girl was hiding something important. That she is potentially married and this causes Abel to realize that he can’t be with her.
“I can’t be with you. No, I can’t be with you, you’re too deceiving, girl. ” -Track 14(I Heard Your Married)
Even though this was his best attempt, he was still left alone again. Abel sees her ways in himself, but she’s gone and has left Abel feeling stuck, frozen, holding his cold heart.
“I’ll always be less than zero. You tried your best with me I know.” -Track 15(Less Than Zero)
Dawn FM is The Weeknd entering purgatory which takes the form of a radio broadcast. Abel goes through a journey of self-reflection of his past regrets and faces his own emotional trauma which is only made because of the absence of a father figure, and while giving love a chance, he only gets lied to. While the cycle continues, he has been reborn and is starting to heal from the damage that he took when he was younger.
To find love, he has to first love himself, or in other words.
“You gotta be heaven, to see heaven.” -Track 16(Phantom Regret by Jim)