By Sarah Chawla, Courier Staff Writer
Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd, released a controversial album titled Starboy on November 25, 2016.
The 18 track album is a representation of Abel’s new sound. Compared to the R&B heavy Trilogy, Starboy is on the verge of being pop music. Fans have had mixed reactions to the new chapter of his music; some have deemed him a “sellout”, while others appreciate the new path Abel is taking. One fan, Andrea Buenrostro “liked his old music because it sounded different than anything [she] ever heard. This album sounds generic, but [she] still like[s] it because the songs are catchy and upbeat”.
The Trilogy mixtapes were dripping with emotion, but Starboy conforms to the mainstream sound and repetitive lyrics of pop music these days with hints of Abel’s signature R&B. Abel mentioned that his collaboration with Ariana Grande on “Love Me Harder”, which preceded his album Beauty Behind the Madness, was a segway for him into the world of pop music. The song was “kind of [his] ticket into that room” and exposed him to a new audience. Beauty Behind the Madness was released in 2015 and showed the world his new emerging sound, which he continued with on Starboy. Shortly after the release of Beauty Behind the Madness, Abel wanted to “show the world how versatile [he] can be”, because he felt that people were getting bored with the style of the Trilogy.
Abel’s collaborators on Starboy include Daft Punk, Lana Del Rey, Future, and Kendrick Lamar. The renowned French duo, Daft Punk, added electro undertones to “Starboy” and “I Feel it Coming”. In addition to the “Stargirl Interlude”, Lana Del Rey faintly echoes Abel in the end of “Party Monster”. Future joins Abel on “Six Feet Under” and has a verse on “All I Know”. Kendrick Lamar and Abel both know what it’s like to grow up on the streets, and their collaboration on “Sidewalks” explains their struggle.
The Trilogy only featured two artists, Drake and Juicy J. In contrast the Starboy’s features, both artists on the Trilogy are predominantly hip-hop artists.
He cut off his iconic hair which he has had since he surfaced as an artist. In 2015, he stated that he had no plans to cut his hair since it signified he was “focusing more on what [he’s] doing in front of [him] versus how [he] look[s]”. He claims the hair interfered with his everyday life, but maybe his new hairstyle shows that he’s now concerned with his image, hence why he went the pop route. In the “Starboy” music video, Abel suffocates his old self to represent his reinvention of himself.
Despite the controversy among the fans, all 18 songs on the album made it to the Billboard 100 simultaneously. Abel has always seen success with his music and Starboy is no exception.