Starboy
| The Weeknd
Starboy
Starboy is the third studio album by Canadian singer The Weeknd. It was released on November 25, 2016, by XO and Republic Records. The album features guest appearances from Daft Punk, Lana Del Rey, Kendrick Lamar and Future. It was supported by six singles: "Starboy", "I Feel It Coming", "Party Monster", "Reminder", "Rockin'" and "Die for You". - Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
Show All-
Pitchfork
With Beauty Behind the Madness, Abel Tesfaye achieved pop stardom without compromising his vision. On its uninspired follow-up, Starboy, he seems to lose sight of that vision almost entirely.
-
Rolling Stone
The Weeknd’s ‘Starboy’ Treads Murky Water in Innovative R&B Era
-
Independent
A diverse album that lurches between genres and time periods
-
The Guardian
The musically omnivorous Abel Tesfaye has mainstream stardom in his sights with this overlong but persuasive album
-
Spill Magazine
There may be a few dull moments in the 18 tracks he spent trying to do everything. Yet, Tesfaye set out to show the world how versatile and talented he can be.
-
NME
There’s a lot to love about Abél Tesfaye’s latest opus – but its length dilutes its strengths
-
Consequence of Sound
Abel Tesfaye has the pop structures down, but doesn't deliver as many idiosyncrasies as he used to
-
Clash Magazine
It may showcase a cleaner sound, both in lyrical content and production, but its value for money at eighteen tracks comes at the cost of coherence.
-
Pretty Much Amazing
On his new album, Abel Tesfaye attempts to duplicate past success by moving deeper into a clean, well-lighted space
-
SPIN
The Weeknd’s Starboy Offers the Same Old Lechery Between Great Pop Singles
-
Entertainment Weekly
Starboy proves that life at the top isn’t as interesting as how he got there.
-
The Hoya
With the album, Tesfaye sets out to emphasize that the pop culture icon he has become is not the identity he desires and traces his attempts to deviate from this image.
-
Journal Star
The Weeknd is a true 'Starboy'
-
Earmilk
Starboy is a body of work that anyone can appreciate.
-
Hot New Hip Hop
The Weeknd finally sheds his "mysterious" image and makes his best project in five years.
-
Slant Magazine
Perhaps no songwriter working today so uncomfortably blends an innate pop sensibility with a bottomless appetite for making utterly joyless, consistently mopey music as the Weeknd, né Abél Tesfaye.
-
Irish Examiner
Push past The Weeknd’s stylised self-hate, and Starboy is a gorgeous pop epic.
-
The New York Times
‘Starboy’ Places the Weeknd on the Sunny Side of Debauchery
-
Journal Sentimental
The Weeknd soars on 'Starboy'.
-
The Northern Quota
Starboy is The Weeknd at the high of his power and nothing can seem to stop him.
-
Side Spin
Starboy may not all be bad, but it certainly gets very boring, or at least, extremely tedious.
-
Black Squirrel
The most immediately noticeable thing about Starboy, the third studio album from Toronto’s eminent alt-R&B lothario The Weeknd, is that Abél Tesfaye has no interest in dwelling on the past.
-
News.com.au
Starboy is also an in- real-time document of decompressing from instant fame.
-
The Intern
Long but captivating.
-
Odyssey
Overall, I really enjoy and appreciate Starboy as a cohesive work.
-
Stereoboard
‘Starboy’ is a sizeable body of work that works hard to justify its lengthy running time.
-
Daily Gamecock
Stocked with retro style, laid back vibes and, as always, a party mindset, the 18-track album fulfills fans’ eager expectations after being led on with several track leaks and teasers, including the short film "Mania."
-
The Atlantic
The singer’s first post-breakout album is even slicker and more ’80s-indebted than his last—though also strangely conflicted.
-
DIY
Tesfaye continues to sound as if he has no idea what it is that he wants to do.
-
The Times
Starboy, announced as a homage to David Bowie, sounds a lot like Michael Jackson and does its best to make the Weeknd’s decadent vision palatable for the mainstream.
-
Lemonade Magazine
It is filled with down-tempo beats, R&B flare, heavy bass and echoing vocal distortions.
-
Beat Mash Magazine
The Weeknd is undoubtedly one of the most successful singers of his generation, since he released his debut album "Kiss Land" in 2013 has managed to perfectly combine his musical experimentation with a look at the great pubic and his new album " Starboy " is another good example of this.
-
Pulse
Just one year after he catapulted into the ranks of top pop stars, The Weeknd has returned with a sprawling new album in which his silky voice goes into steamier territory.
-
RedTV
The Weeknd’s latest offering called Starboy is the best album of 2016. It is an 18 track mission statement proclaiming that he is at the top of his game.
-
Busterz Magazine
For his long-time fans, "Starboy" may not seem like his best work.
-
Yr Album
With Starboy, he seems to have plateaued
-
Mic
Starboy literally brings together talents who have helped shape the Weeknd's sound at every stage.
-
Soul in Stereo
Despite massive success and tons of acclaim, it seems as if The Weeknd is at a career crossroads.
-
Vox Magazine
Starboy doesn't live up to what I hoped it would be. It seems uninspired and overproduced at times.
-
Howl & Echoes
Starboy is straight up pop. Starboy is good. It’s different. It’s not great, but it’s not bad.
-
USM Free Press
Starboy offers fresh style and incredible variety.
-
Vinyl Me, Please
Starboy is the portrait of a Weeknd in flux: it’s maximal, experimental, and compatible with any playlist.
-
The Urban Buzz
When’s it’s all said and done I think what makes Starboy an incredible album is how rich it is in hits.
-
Fansided
On Starboy, The Weeknd mixes together new and old sounds with other elements from various genres and artists while staying true to his unique vision.
-
Kanye To The
And in the words of JT (Lebron) Abel did it. Everybody be quiet. Goodnight.
-
Drowned in Sound
Starboy is fine, it’s grand and it will do, and it really should be so much more.
-
Cryptic Rock
Making leaps and bounds in the world of Alternative R&B, The Weeknd know just exactly what he is doing when it comes to music.
-
The Skinny
No matter how hard he tries to convince us otherwise on Starboy, Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, has lost his edge in his pursuit of super stardom.
-
We got this covered
What results is an album that takes you on a ride from beginning to end – and when you think it’s about to slow down, it only picks back up again.
-
Legion Magazine
There seems to be a change in the air. Not being so reliant on his style of work that made him explode, this might be the new era of The Weeknd.
-
Las Vegas Weekly
The Weeknd has a knack for weaving through musical genres while maintaining his signature reverb-y, bittersweet style.
-
Spinditty
Though it’s debatable whether or not ‘Starboy’ surpasses its Grammy award-winning predecessor ‘Beauty Behind The Madness’, 'Starboy' proves that the Canadian is getting better at squeezing the most from his maverick creativity.
-
Vulture Hound
But as it stands Starboy is a bloated release from an artist who should know better by now.
-
CUB Magazine
The Weeknd’s third album Starboy marks his transformation from the mysterious singer who anonymously posted his mixtapes online to a mainstream star.
-
Forge Music
He delivers a complicated, indulgent album like Starboy and everyone seems to swing in every opinionated direction.
-
The Edge
Starboy isn't a quiet affair, but neither is it actually that good.
-
Relentless Beats
Starboy’s standout tunes include the ones that directly examine his unlikely rise and its cultural implications
-
Music Feeds
As a Weeknd pop album, Starboy is hooky, and hypnotic, enough. But Tesfaye seems peculiarly aimless. The risk is that he will sacrifice the neoteric for ubiquity.
-
Slate
The Weeknd’s sure-to-be-blockbuster new album suggests it’s time for his self-destructive persona to finally kill itself off.
-
Moonrise
It exemplifies mainstream music in its production and its themes.
-
Renowned for Sound
The album’s biggest flaw is its length. There isn’t really a weak track on the record, and there’s enough variety that each song feels fresh, but at 68 minutes, the album really starts to drag in its final stretch.
-
The Hornet
Whether or not you are a fan of The Weeknd’s new album”Starboy,” you have to step back and appreciate what he has done in the music industry, as well as his change from today’s rap and R&B.
-
Richer Sounds
This is without a doubt another smash from The Weeknd.
-
Cultured Ventures
Starboy is a record that deals with the gory effects of fame with The Weeknd’s dark take on RnB fused with auto tune and pop to make it radio friendly.
-
The VLM
The Toronto-born singer was, in all fairness, up against it. RnB has been pushed forward by the likes of Anderson Paak, Bryson Tiller and Beyoncé. The mediocrity of Star Boy and its fillers was never going to stand up to the likes of ‘Malibu’ and its consistency in direction and quality.
-
The Reel Deal
All in all, I thought that this endeavor by the Weeknd was futile, much too dominated by a desire to achieve more radio singles.
-
The Fresh Committee
In spite of a dope, nostalgic pop track here and there, Starboy ultimately disappoints.
-
The Panther
The overall album serves as moderate Pop and R&B perfection.
-
Entertainment Times
Starboy is the third studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter The Weekend, which continues in the vein his previous two have; a litany of over indulging in wanton partying and the after effects of debauchery.
-
Syrup Jamz
Starboy is awesome and I love the overall sound. It was put together really well. Abel did a great job putting the songs in the right order.
-
Spark Sunderland
And what an album it is. Packed with disco vibes, The Weeknd’s third studio album provides a different sound to his predecessor, known as ‘XO’ and shows his maturity throughout the 18 tracks.
-
The Courier
The stories Abel tells on this album are certainly worth hearing past the title track, and the evolution of his sound is seriously impressive. Don’t sleep on this one!
-
The National
Starboy is the right timing for The Weeknd.
-
Gulf News Music
Silky and steamy.
Rate This Album and Leave Your Comments