Starboy (album)


Starboy is the third studio album by Canadian singer The Weeknd. It was released on November 25, 2016, through XO and distributed by Republic Records. The album features guest appearances from Daft Punk, Lana Del Rey, Kendrick Lamar, and Future. It was supported by seven singles: "Starboy", "I Feel It Coming", "Party Monster", "Reminder", "Rockin', "Die for You", and "Secrets".
Starboy received generally positive reviews from critics and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, with 348,000 album-equivalent units, 209,000 of which were pure sales. It also debuted at number one on Billboards Canadian Albums Chart. In January 2019, the album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards.

Background

After the commercial success of his previous album Beauty Behind the Madness in 2015, The Weeknd hinted at the release of his third studio album on March 12, 2016, with his Instagram calling it the next "chapter" to his music. On August 24, 2016, The Weeknd was confirmed by the Republic Records executive vice president Wendy Goldstein to be collaborating with the French electronic dance duo Daft Punk, during an interview with Billboard. On September 7, 2016, the album was confirmed to be in production from an interview with VMan, with influence taken from Prince, the Smiths, Talking Heads and Bad Brains. In an interview with Billboard, The Weeknd revealed that heavy influences on the album were 50 Cent and the Wu-Tang Clan. The Weeknd said in the interview:
On September 21, 2016, the album overall and its title was officially announced, with its release slated for November 25, 2016.

Artwork

The album's sleeve is photographed and designed by Nabil Elderkin. The CD booklet featured 22 pages of 11 portraits and no album credits.

Promotion

Singles

On September 21, 2016, the album's lead single, "Starboy", was released digitally on music stores and streaming services. The song features guest appearances from French electronic duo Daft Punk. The music video for the song premiered on September 28. The song peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"I Feel It Coming" was serviced to British contemporary hit radio on November 24, 2016, and later to rhythmic contemporary radio on December 6, 2016, as the album's second single. The song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Party Monster" was released to urban contemporary radio on December 6, 2016, as the album's third single. The song peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Reminder" was released to rhythmic contemporary radio on May 9, 2017, as the album's fourth single in the United States. The song peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Rockin' was released to contemporary hit radio in France on May 9, 2017, as the album's fourth international single. The song peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Die for You" was released to rhythmic contemporary radio on September 19, 2017, as the album's fifth and final single in the United States. The song peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Secrets" was released to radio in Italy on November 10, 2017, as the album's final international single. The song peaked at number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Performances

The Weeknd was a musical guest on the season 42 season premiere of Saturday Night Live. He promoted the album by performing both "Starboy" and "False Alarm" and starred in a brief cameo on the "Weeknd Update" sketch, where he acknowledged his new haircut. On November 20, 2016, The Weeknd sang "Starboy" at the 2016 American Music Awards. Four days later, The Weeknd appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to perform both "I Feel It Coming" and "Starboy". On December 6, he performed at the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on CBS. On February 12, 2017, The Weeknd and Daft Punk performed at the 2017 Grammy Awards.
On November 25, 2016, all of the album's tracks played throughout The Weeknd's interview with Zane Lowe for Beats 1.

Short film

On November 23, 2016, The Weeknd released a 12-minute-long short film in promotion of the album, directed by Grant Singer, who also directed the "Starboy" music video. Named Mania, it features the songs such as "All I Know" featuring Future, "Sidewalks" featuring Kendrick Lamar, "Secrets", "Die for You", "Party Monster" and "I Feel It Coming" featuring Daft Punk. It stars French model Anais Mali as the female protagonist.

Critical reception

Starboy was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 67, based on 25 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. Album of the Year assessed the critical consensus as 67 out of 100, based on 31 reviews.
Annie Zaleski of The A.V. Club praised the album saying, "The record is a few songs too long, and it loses steam as it progresses. But such imperfections are par for the course: He'd rather express everything he's feeling than put forth an airbrushed or idealized version of himself. In that sense, Starboy is one of the most confident releases of the year, one bold enough to reveal the cracks in The Weeknd's façade for the sake of resonant art." Michael Madden of Consequence of Sound said, "It would help if more of the album were idiosyncratic that way, but as is, Starboy is still the sound of Tesfaye knowing he has what it takes to be a major figure in pop music for a very long time." Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph gave the album a positive review stating, "What is surprising is how seamless and integrated the sound is—a really luxurious, supple groove of sparkling electronica and sinuous, melodic vocals." Nolan Feeney of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "While musicians writing about coping with newfound celebrity is one of pop's oldest tropes, the Weeknd avoids the usual clichés with observations and anecdotes that feel specific and genuine." Ryan B. Patrick of Exclaim! saying "Those wishing for a return to the Trilogy days will have to bit a tad longer; across 18 tracks, the Weeknd proves he's ready for primetime here, but there's still a sense of feeling out the new parameters." Mehan Jayasuriya of Pitchfork said, "Starboy, by way of contrast , feels more like an opportunistic compilation of B-sides than an album. Who is the Weeknd? At this point, even the man behind the curtain might not know."
In a mixed review, AllMusic's Andy Kellman stated: "The productions—the majority of which involve Doc McKinney and/or Cirkut, low-lighted by maneater dance-punk dud "False Alarm"—are roughly as variable in style as they are in quality. When pared down to its ten best songs, Starboy sounds like Tesfaye's most accomplished work." Alexis Petridis of The Guardian said, "There are things worth hearing on Starboy. It seems to capture an artist in a slightly awkward state of flux, unsure whether to cravenly embrace the kind of pop stardom that gets you on the shortlist for the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice awards or throw caution to the wind and do something more interesting artistically. Starboy hedges its bets and tries to do both. You can see why, but it makes for a curiously uneven album." In another mixed review, Rolling Stones Mosi Reeves stated: "Despite an overlong hour-plus runtime and surplus of filler, Starboy does have highlights.... But for longtime fans that believe the Weeknd is one of the major R&B artists of the decade, Starboy will ultimately seem like a disappointment."

Accolades

YearCeremonyCategoryResult
2017American Music AwardsFavorite Pop/Rock Album
2017American Music AwardsFavorite Soul/R&B Album
2017Billboard Music AwardsTop Billboard 200 Album
2017Billboard Music AwardsTop R&B Album
2017Juno AwardsAlbum of the Year
2017Juno AwardsR&B/Soul Recording of the Year
2017Polaris Music PrizePolaris Music Prize
2017Soul Train Music AwardsAlbum/Mixtape of the Year
2018Grammy AwardsBest Urban Contemporary Album

Commercial performance

Starboy debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 348,000 album-equivalent units, of which 209,000 were pure album sales. In the US, it was the third-largest debut sales week of 2016, the second-biggest week for album streams ever, and is The Weeknd's second number one album. Following the release of Starboy, all 18 songs from the album charted on the Billboard Hot 100. At the time, it marked the second-best total simultaneous Hot 100 entries, after Drake charted 20 songs at the same time in May 2016.
On January 30, 2019, Starboy was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for combined sales and streams in excess of three million units in the United States.
Starboy was ranked as the third most popular album of the year in 2017 on the Billboard 200.

Track listing

Credits adapted from The Weeknd's official website and album liner notes.
Notes
Sample credits
Adapted from the album's liner notes.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Australian Albums 27
Australian Urban Albums 4
Belgian Albums 47
Belgian Albums 128
Canadian Albums 2
Danish Albums 3
Dutch Albums 28
French Albums 40
Italian Albums 62
Mexican Albums 67
New Zealand Albums 13
Swedish Albums 5
Swiss Albums 76
UK Albums 26
US Billboard 2003
US Digital Albums 9
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 4

Chart Position
Australian Albums 91
Canadian Albums 28
Danish Albums 36
South Korean International Albums 89
Swedish Albums 58
US Billboard 20049
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 28

Chart Position
Belgian Albums 192
Danish Albums 65
US Billboard 20098

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history