The Weeknd and ‘Squid Game’ star HoYeon Jung sing karaoke in the new video for ‘Out of Time’

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This article was published 05/04/2022 (1372 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On Tuesday, The Weeknd released a new music video for “Out of Time,” the third single from the singer’s critically acclaimed album “Dawn FM.”

The video, which racked up over a million views in a matter of hours, co-stars “Squid Game” star HoYeon Jung and features a cameo from actor Jim Carrey.

Written and produced by the Weeknd — real name Abel Tesfaye — and Oneohtrix Point Never, “Out of Time” is built around a sample of 1983 track “Midnight Pretenders” by the Japanese artist Tomoko Aran. Critics note that the song is influenced by “city pop” — a Japanesegenre of music that emerged in the 1970s and incorporates elements of R&B, soft rock, funk and boogie.

In the cinematic visual directed by Cliqua — a Mexican-American duo of Pasqual Guttierez and Raul “RJ” Sanchez — Tesafye and HoYeon meet cute at a mostly empty hotel, and proceed straight to the karaoke room.

HoYeon rose to fame in North America last year as the breakout star of “Squid Game,” the Netflix series in which she played the North Korean defector Kang Sae-byeok.

Some fans noticed parallels to “Lost in Translation,” a 2003 romantic comedy starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.

As the song comes to a close, the video takes a surreal turn, as Tesfaye transforms into the elderly version of himself that he debuted on the cover art for “Dawn FM.” He awakes in the hospital, and Carrey — like Tesfaye, a product of Toronto — who plays a surgeon, prepares to operates as he muses about death.

Some fans pointed out that the clip also references Carrey’s movies, including “The Mask” (1994) and “The Truman Show” (1998).

Here’s how fans are reacting to the video on Twitter:

The Weeknd will kick off a world tour in his hometown of Toronto this summer with a portion of ticket sales going toward a United Nations humanitarian fund he’s created to fight the global hunger crisis.

Richie Assaly is a Toronto-based digital producer for the Star. Reach him via email: rassaly@thestar.ca