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Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Weeknd has become one of the biggest artists over the past several years. Since making his debut in 2011, Abel Tesfaye has transcended into a hit-making superstar.

What separates The Weeknd from every other artist is his ability to evolve and experiment with his music. Looking over his discography, every album is different than the last. Almost a year after taking over radio with “Can’t Feel My Face” and “The Hills,” The Weeknd seemingly came out of nowhere and kicked off his “Starboy” takeover with the release of his lead single of the same name and, more importantly, a new hair style.

The album starts off with the lead-single “Starboy,” which features Daft Punk. The Weeknd linking up with the legendary duo was bound to be a hit, and within a couple days of dropping, it was the most-added song on radio stations across the country. The song alone doesn’t set the tone for the album because “Starboy” has a lot of different sounds. It does, however, prepare us to expect the unexpected.

On “Party Monster,” Tesfaye fuses his “Trilogy” roots with his new sound. The Weeknd reconnects with his wild lifestyle full of drugs and women — but this time, over a heavy-bass and futuristic sounding beat, instead of the desolate low-tempo style we were so familiar with early in his career.

You’ll need to mentally prepare yourself before pressing play on the next song, “False Alarm.” The vocals are great as usual, but the song has too much going on in the beat. A general complaint I have on this album is that it’s too long, and cutting “False Alarm” might have been a good idea.

The mixing on “Starboy” is amazing, as showcased by the transition into “Reminder,” which is a standout on this album. Tesfaye reminds us that he’s still the same by singing about winning a Nickelodeon Teen Choice Award for “Can’t Feel My Face,” which is actually song about his love for cocaine.

The first four songs are all different from each other, and “Rockin’” continues that trend because it’s more of a pop/funk record. It’s hard to focus on this song when it’s followed by “Secrets,” which is one of the best songs not only on “Starboy” but in The Weeknd’s entire collection of music. It’s incredibly catchy.

“True Colors” is slower and relaxing, serving as a prelude to “Stargirl Interlude.” Lana Del Rey has vocals on a few songs but makes a full-on featured appearance on “Stargirl Interlude.” Together, these two songs feel like that unsettling, all-too-quiet moment on a roller coaster as you slowly rise to the peak of the ride before the huge drop, which in this case would be “Sidewalks.”

“Sidewalks” is my personal favorite song on “Starboy” for a number of reasons. The song starts with an electric feel to it as The Weeknd comes in and spits a verse that goes harder than most rappers in the game today, along with a feature from Kendrick Lamar. The song is simply perfect from start to finish.Tesfaye links up with Future on “Six Feet Under” as they go back and forth on the hook over a trap beat.

“Love to Lay” and “A Lonely Night” follow suit, and “Starboy” once again turns electric-funk. At this point in the album, my focus began to drift, which is ironic considering the next song is called “Attention.” Again, I think that “Starboy” is too long in length; with a runtime of nearly 69 minutes, it’s about 10 or 15 minutes longer than it should be.

Take a glance at the credits and you’ll see that Diplo has production credit on “Nothing Without You,” which makes sense when you listen. Future makes another appearance on “All I Know,” and then “Starboy” closes out with another collab with Daft Punk on “I Feel It Coming.” “Starboy” ends on a strong note with “I Feel It Coming” — a smooth, groovy record that’ll have you wanting to restart the album as soon as you finish it.

The Weeknd decided to go in a new direction with this album, and he once again proved he can’t be caged. After transitioning to more of a pop sound on his last album, he perfected his style even further by combining elements from his pop records, hip-hop beats, funk and electronic sounds all under one album. Not many artists can pull this off, in fact, and attempting to fuse all these styles on a single project would be career suicide for most. Saying “Starboy” is a must-listen doesn’t do it justice.

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