When I was in high school, I had heard here and there the mention of an artist named The Weeknd. It wasn’t until early 2015, when the single “Earned It” hit the charts, that Abel Tesfaye, professionally known as The Weeknd, became a chart-topping pop/r&b artist. The single for the Fifty Shades of Grey Soundtrack became his top single. That is of course until he released “The Hills” in May of 2015, and a few months later, “Can’t Feel My Face,” after which millions of people knew who The Weeknd was.

His second studio album, “Beauty Behind the Madness,” became his first number one album on the US Billboard 200, with features from Labrinth, Ed Sheeran, and Lana Del Ray. As soon as it was released, I listened to the album and thoroughly enjoyed the r&b and pop fusion that only The Weeknd brings to his music. Now in 2016, The Weeknd has cut off his recognizable hair, and has welcomed a new chapter to his music. A new version of The Weeknd arrives with his album “Starboy” with features from Daft Punk, Lana Del Ray, Future and Kendrick Lamar.

Here is my review of The Weeknd’s third studio album, “Starboy.”

1. Starboy

The lead single from the album fully introduces fans to the new version of The Weeknd. He reflects on the commercial success of his previous album, and his reinvention as a pop/r&B artist. With an ‘80s-inspired melody, and a catchy chorus, the single gives listeners pop music with The Weeknd’s signature edge. The Weeknd also pays homage to the late David Bowie with this song, while using the “Starboy” character for his own musical reinvention as an artist.

2. Party Monster

Though there are plenty of critics bad-mouthing this song, it’s personally one of my favorites. It’s modern r&b music with a catchy drum beat and yes you can tell there’s clearly autotune in this song. Although I will agree it’s not the best song on the album, I was pleasantly surprised by the ending of the song. With Lana Del Ray’s smooth vocals repeating “You’re Paranoid,” The Weeknd creates a new dynamic within his music in which he has a separate conversation with Lana, his female Stargirl. (But we’ll get more into that later).

3. False Alarm

Out of all the songs on the album, this is the only song I cannot stand. I skip it every time it comes on. When it first started playing, I thought it could be good although I immediately disliked the use of the alarm sound. Then, when the chorus starts there’s the abrupt screams of “False Alarm!” followed by the repetitive “Hey!” chants. It just doesn’t work for me.

4. Reminder

With smooth vocals and a slower melody, it feels like a more calming track. It can serve as a comforting track or simply a reminder to fans that he hasn’t completely lost himself. He sings, “you know me,” expressing that he still holds onto the person he was before he became a mainstream artist, which most of the lyrics in the song reference to.

5. Rockin’

The song starts off like a popular dance track and with famous Swedish record producer Max Martin producing the track, the song can definitely get you dancing and rockin’ your body. Though it can be considered disappointing for many listeners, who are missing The Weeknd’s r&b sound, I think it works well as a dance track and it will surely hit the charts. Will it be memorable for listeners? Maybe not.

6. Secrets

Immediately with an ‘80s-influenced melody, it brings me back to the ‘80s music that I love. It’s not as upbeat, but it’s still a catchy song to jam out to. Though I love The Weeknd’s smooth vocals, the only thing I can argue about this song is that I feel the lyrics are not memorable. Except for the repetitive lyric: “I keep the secrets that you keep, when you’re talking in your sleep.” For most of the song, I lose myself in the melody.

7. True Colors

This song is definitely reminiscent of ‘90s r&b slow songs, which I’m sure many fans will love. It also puts more focus on The Weeknd’s smooth trance-like vocals. Unfortunately, I think I still prefer Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick’s tender, acoustic cover of Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors."

8. Stargirl Interlude

I think this track surprised me the most because the track almost entirely focuses on Lana Del Ray’s soft vocals. She also hits some serious high notes in this song. The Weeknd enters the song in the second half, and his voice suddenly begins to fade out. This song definitely could’ve been longer.

What I find very interesting about this interlude is how it introduces Lana as Stargirl. The Weeknd collaborated with Lana on his previous album, “Beauty Behind the Madness,” and I was pleasantly surprised that he brought her back for his new album. The Weeknd actually claimed in an interview last year: “I feel like we’ve always been talking to each other through our music. She is the girl in my music, and I am the guy in her music.”Thus, Lana is the Stargirl to The Weeknd’s Starboy. I wish they made more music together.

9. Sidewalks feat. Kendrick Lamar

With a great guitar riff and a drum beat, I think this song starts off good, but it’s not that memorable. The heavy autotune doesn’t add anything, and Kendrick Lamar’s verse does not settle into a smooth flow, rather he keeps switching it up. By the time the song is over, I think to myself what did I just listen to?

10. Six Feet Under

Reminiscent of the music on The Weeknd’s previous album, the song features Future sparingly. It is a decent catchy song, but there are evidently better and more memorable songs on the album.

11. Love To Lay

This song also reminds me of a dance/pop track, though it’s not as upbeat as “Rockin’.” With smooth synths in the melody, I think it’s catchy enough for it to chart. Many, however, might argue that it lacks originality. For that, I would have to agree.

12. A Lonely Night

This is truly one of my favorites. It gives off the ‘80s influence and gives fans a taste of electro-funk. It considerably also feels like The Weeknd infused the music of one of his great influences, the late Prince, onto this track.

13. Attention

This is definitely one of the slow jams. It’s arguably simple, but very smooth and relaxing.

14. Ordinary Life

One of my favorites, it’s a great slow r&b song. It has a simple melody and drum beat in the background, along with trance-like vocals. It’s similar to the previous song, in the way that you should listen to it when you want to relax.

15. Nothing Without You

Perhaps I’m not the only one who thinks this song sounds similar to the previous two, with the slow, smooth vocals and the calming melody. Nonetheless, like the other two, it’s quite relaxing.

16. All I Know feat. Future

With confessional lyrics and a heavy bass sound in the background, this song is rather different from the last few. In the middle of the song, there’s a calming, meditative lyricless interlude of sorts before Future appears for his feature. Unlike Kendrick Lamar’s useless verse in “Sidewalks” I think Future adds a little extra something to this song, though it’s still arguably not very memorable.

17. Die For You

As the album approaches its end, it seems like the songs were slowing down. This song maintains a great groove in the melody, which also has that trance-like quality. The track can also be described as a poetic slow jam. It’s definitely one of my favorites from the album.

18. I Feel It Coming

The closing song is produced by Daft Punk, who also produced the opener, “Starboy.” It’s reminiscent of Michael Jackson, and brings the electro-funk sound back for the end of the album.

My Favorites: Party Monster, Rockin’, Secrets, Stargirl Interlude, A Lonely Night, Ordinary Life, Die For You

Overall Rating: B+