When you sell yourself as a man of mystery, there needs to be more than the coked-out girls in “False Alarm” slapped onto a beat that sounds like it belongs in the chaotic “ White Rabbit ” episode of “Misfits” - a much better usage of videography than The Weeknd’s pathetic attempt in his short film “ Mania ”, featuring songs from the album. Perhaps instead of creating new sounds, The Weeknd should have created new content.
Slower songs like “Reminder,” which is reminiscent of his past albums, should have drawn old fans in, but rather feel like stale deadweight - overusing the same trite themes of philophobia and rise to fame for the umpteenth time. It doesn’t make sense to play in an overly saturated pool with half the talent when he’s already winning plaques as is.įans wanted to see growth, not confusion, but maybe he’s too jaded to give anything more. The fame he mentions in “Starboy” came from his mysterious, intimate tracks from House of Balloons and Beauty Behind the Madness. Given that his live performances almost mirror - if not supersede - his albums, it’s clear that his vocal talent is beyond impressive, and he has already proven that he’s capable of climbing the charts while maintaining his originality. In fact, many of the autotune-heavy songs on Starboy, such as “Sidewalks,” would sound infinitely better stripped down. Though artists like Chief Keef and T-Pain - the latter of whom can also sing surprisingly well - use autotune as a signature, The Weeknd has no reason to do so. “Party Monster” should be an advertisement for GarageBand, not a studio-produced track.īut what’s most confusing is why a man with a voice like honey needs any digital help to begin with. An artist once grouped with the likes of Frank Ocean and Miguel now attempts to take a seat next to rappers like Future - who’s featured on a throwaway track, “All I Know.” But while Future’s autotuned tracks sound cohesive, The Weeknd constantly fights against the beat, creating clamor instead of rhythm. Something in the lab malfunctioned, and instead of gold, we got a rusty mess that even Kendrick Lamar couldn’t save through his feature on “Sidewalks.” 10 tracks too long, Starboy bids farewell to The Weeknd’s best selling point (his sensuality) as he throws himself into a murky arena of pop despite R&B’s current growing success. Though innovation is key in the music industry, The Weeknd’s S tarboy is an experiment gone awry.
But rather than heading off into the elusive darkness he’s known for, The Weeknd falls off the edge and drags us down with him. Somewhere amid the 18 tracks, we lose The Weeknd, and The Weeknd loses us. By trying to fix something that wasn’t broken, The Weeknd, real name Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, breaks it all with Starboy - our hearts, our ears and his soul.