A coveted #3 spot on the Billboard Top 100 Songs. A projected 250-300 thousand sales within the first week. A #1 spot on iTunes Top Albums (11/27/16). And three exceptionally produced music videos each raking in over 40,000,000 views. In the last few days since its release Starboy has awed audiences with its smooth vocals and toe-tapping beats. Once again The Weeknd has executed an album that presents raw emotion and depth while engaging young, oblivious audiences with its club music appearance. Yet in spite of its critical acclaim I scoured the Internet for grim editorials, only to realize that my pursuit was done in vain. The Weeknd has stolen Hollywood's heart.
While this is in no means The Weeknd's first ingenious album, it does have defining features not found in Trilogy (2102), Kiss Land (2013), and Beauty Behind the Madness (2015). Playing with the usual dark, promiscuous tone the artist promotes his characteristic motifs: drugs, women and sex. Nevertheless in Starboy listeners find an overwhelming emphasis on fame: how it has shaped him and changed his world. Several references are made in mainstream hits: Starboy, Party Monster and False Alarm regarding his ascension to the social elite and its materialistic playground.
All red Lamb’ just to tease you, ah
None of these toys on lease too, ah
Made your whole year in a week too, yah (Starboy)
Described as a "curiously uneven album" (MetaCritic) The Weeknd masks his disgust with the industry using enticing, pop rhythm. The 'driving down the highway, radio up, hair down' vibes although deceiving present the true question that Starboy asks: What does it mean to be the Starboy?
The Weeknd lays the groundwork in both his music and promotional videos. Wealth, glamour, love; the Gatsby-esque tale reeks of underlining desperation and discontent. In his song Stargirl, featuring Lana del Ray, The Weeknd welcomes his counterpart into this life of grandeur.
My back arched like a cat, my position couldn't stop you were hitting it
And I shouldn't cry, but I love it, Starboy
Throughout the album Starboy follows a variety of pompous women, carefully describing them as gold diggers. They mirror the elusive, attractive qualities of Hollywood: appealing on the exterior, with a broken, hollow soul. And yet despite his knowledge of their dangers he seems to desperately reach for their affection. He seems more critical of his own self, the internationally renowned, Grammy holding artist, than the string of heartless people he is surrounded by.
She wanna pull up in a Bentley
She ain't got time for no lovin'
Louis Vuitton her husband
He wavers between alarming devotion/reliance on these women to meaningless sex, warning those around him that he lives "no ordinary life."
Secrets, True Colors, Die For You, Six Feet Under... What do these titles all say? The irony lies in his ability to disguise lyrics such as
Paid for the life that I chose
If I could, I'd trade it all
Trade it for a halo
And she said that she'll pray for me
I said, "It's too late for me
with soulful harmony, haunting vocals and yet a hip shaking beat. Paired with equally suggestive videos, such as Starboy's eerie murder scene, there is a sense of depression in the album that is camouflaged. The lyrics echo a need for love and stability. While it was the Weeknd that began his own journey to fame, it is now the Weeknd who cries out against a predetermined life in a plastic industry.
In the Starboy music video the Weeknd places a plastic bag over his head, killing his old self. Has the soulfully rich artist been suffocated by a demanding society? Who is the new Starboy? The religious symbolism of the cross and devil build on this limbo between the old/new Weeknd. In 'Ordinary Life' he calls to the heavens in search of a halo, yet is declined because of his destructive lifestyle.
All in all in Starboy we see a shift from the cocaine ridden, crooning melodies of 'High for This' or 'Loft Music' to an almost suicidal note from the artist himself. As his vocals continue to enchant audiences, the artist seems to be spiraling. Whether or not this battered honesty is received by the audience is for the listener to decide.
