"Starboy" topped the charts in countries such as Canada, France, Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden, as well as the US Billboard Hot 100, where it became the Weeknd's third chart-topper, and Daft Punk's only chart-topper. The music video for the song was directed by frequent collaborator Grant Singer, who directed the Weeknd's previous music videos for his previous chart-toppers "Can't Feel My Face" and "The Hills". In the music video, the Weeknd is shown trying to destroy evidence of his previous self, including his own awards from his past album, Beauty Behind the Madness. The video has been described as the Weeknd's attempt to murder his former personality.
On November 11, 2016, a remix produced by Kygo was released, which was later included on the deluxe version of the album, released in March 2023.
Background and release
In March 2016, the Weeknd hinted at an upcoming project, stating that a "chapter" was done, referring to his second studio album, Beauty Behind the Madness (2015). He started to record new material in May 2016, inviting Mark Guiducci of Vogue to Conway Recording Studios, revealing the involvement of the same team who produced his debut mixtape, House of Balloons (2011).[4] The executive vice president for Republic Records revealed on July 15 that the Weeknd and the French electronic duo Daft Punk were set to have a session two days from then.[5]
The Weeknd teased a collaboration with the duo in August 2016, posting an image of two robot figurines atop a speaker.[6] On September 20, the Weeknd blanked his Instagram page, after posting multiple cryptic tweets.[7] On September 21, he announced Starboy, his third studio album.[8] A few hours later, he released the title track, featuring Daft Punk, as the album's lead single.[9]
Development and composition
Before recording together, the Weeknd wanted to get closer to Daft Punk for a long time, having first met one half of the duo, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, at a Los Angeles party. He told Variety's Jem Aswad:
I just wanted to get into the studio with them — I didn’t even care if we made music, I just wanted to be friends. I met Guy-Man first, out partying in L.A., and I actually partied with him more than I worked with him. He’d would (sic) tell me, with loud music playing over drinks, how much he liked my work.[10]
At a Paris recording studio, the Weeknd was presented with one of the duo's draft instrumentals, which became "I Feel It Coming". Between takes, he repeatedly heard a drum loop, later finding out that it was the drum beat for "Starboy" on Homem-Christo's phone. The song was written in 30 minutes,[11] and was finished with "I Feel It Coming" in a span of 4 days.[10]
"Starboy" was written by the Weeknd, Thomas Bangalter, Homem-Christo, Doc McKinney, Cirkut, and DaHeala. It was produced by Daft Punk, and co-produced by McKinney, the Weeknd, and Cirkut. The track was recorded at Gang Studio in Paris, France, and Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, and engineered by Florian Lagatta, McKinney, Cirkut, and Josh Smith. It was mixed at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach by Serban Ghenea, with John Hanes serving as mixing engineer. The track was mastered by Tom Coyne and Aya Merrill at Sterling Sound, New York City.[12] The sheet music for "Starboy", shows a composition of A minor at a tempo of 94 beats per minute, while the vocals range from A4-A5.[13]
Critical reception
The song received critical acclaim. Mehan Jayasuriya of Pitchfork said that the song "glides like a sleek, high-performance car".[14] Christopher Bohlsen of Renowned for Sound said, "Melding The Weeknd's dark R&B with Daft Punk's nu-disco sound, the track elegantly rides the fine line between dance and hip-hop, the two genres Starboy oscillates between."[15]Christopher Hooton of The Independent wrote, "A statement of intent and the record-breaking first single off the LP. There are no hi-hats to be found but instead an undulating, 80s-inspired pattern of popping drums over the smash-clap of a snare. It's pop-y but with an edge to it. Driving music, a car stalking through LA, the tyres slurring over the asphalt."[16]
Billboard ranked "Starboy" at number four on their "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" list: "Centric pop with frayed edges has been the M.O. for The Weeknd ever since he first signed on to the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack, and "Starboy" proves the culmination and likely end of that formula. With Daft Punk in tow to provide sighing background vocals and occasionally drift the song's production dangerously close to out of frame, the spellbinding night-drive assumes Abel Tesfaye's new alternate identity with the confidence of a star big enough to dictate his own nicknames: Even the opening lines ("I'm tryna put you in the worst mood, ah / P1 cleaner than your church shoes, ah") barely bother setting the scene, since you remember where the movie last left off. "Starboy" might not have been titled to serve as a Ziggy Stardust tribute, but it reflects how, like Bowie, Tesfaye understands the importance of constant evolution in both his music and his image."[17]Yardbarker named it as one of the best songs of 2016: "It's catchy, and The Weeknd's unique singing style matches perfectly with Daft Punk's house-music-tinged beats."[18]
Commercial performance
The song reached number one in Canada, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Norway, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States, while also going top five in various countries, including reaching number two in both Australia and Ireland and number three in Germany. The single debuted at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, opening at number 22 on the Digital Songs chart with 28,000 downloads with only one day of charting and at number 37 on the Radio Songs chart with 36 million of audience, following its first full week of airplay. It became the Weeknd's third highest debut on the chart and Daft Punk's second top 40 entry.[19] The following week, "Starboy" jumped 37 positions to reach number three, becoming the Weeknd's fifth top 10 single and Daft Punk's second. Additionally, "Starboy" made the biggest jump into the Hot 100's top five since Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" leapt from number 53 to number one in June 2015.[20] It sold 88,000 copies in its second week,[21] and 92,000 in its third week.[20]
After remaining in the number two spot for eight non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100—behind The Chainsmokers' "Closer" for five weeks and Rae Sremmurd's "Black Beatles" for an additional three weeks—"Starboy" reached the top of the chart on the week of January 7, 2017, becoming The Weeknd's third and Daft Punk's first number one on the Hot 100.[22] "Starboy" additionally topped the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where it became the Weeknd's fourth number one single and Daft Punk's first.[21] On April 5, 2022, the song was certified 11× Platinum by the RIAA, denoting sales of 11 million units.[23]
In New Zealand, the single debuted at number five, which was followed by two consecutive weeks at number 2 before moving to number one on the chart for the week of October 24, 2016. This marks the Weeknd's second number one single, as well as Daft Punk's first number one single in the country.[24] In the UK, the single entered at number 3 for the week of October 6, 2016. The following week, it climbed up to number 2, held off by James Arthur's "Say You Won't Let Go". The next week, it was pushed to number 3 by "Closer" by The Chainsmokers before spending four weeks at number 4. Three weeks later, it flew from number 8 to number 3, due to the release of the album. That week, it also managed to reach a new peak of number 2 on the UK Streaming Chart (originally it had only peaked at number 3). It spent two weeks at number 3 before falling again, ultimately spending 15 consecutive weeks in the top ten.
Music video
Background and development
The song and video feature the Weeknd's personal McLaren P1, which he drives at the end of the video.[25]
The music video for the song was directed by frequent collaborator Grant Singer, who directed the Weeknd's previous music videos for "Can't Feel My Face" and "The Hills". It was released through the singer's official Vevo account on September 28, 2016, on YouTube, along with an accompanying poster which Rolling Stone described as "pulp-horror-inspired".[26] The video has been described as the singer's attempt to kill his former/old persona, perhaps signaling he is reinventing himself with this new album,[27] by suffocating himself, clipping his old hairstyle, and crushing his glass-framed platinum records.[25]
Several cars owned by the Weeknd are mentioned in the song's lyrics and featured in the video, including the Lamborghini Aventador SV Roadster which he sings in his second verse: "Pull off in that Roadster SV/ Pockets overweight, getting hefty," a Bentley Mulsanne: "The competition, I don't wanna listen/ I'm in the blue Mulsanne bumping New Edition," and the McLaren P1: "I'm trying to put you in the worst mood/ P1 cleaner than your church shoes".[25]Billboard approached John Paolo Canton, McLaren Automotive's director of public relations, in order to find out the owner of the car, as their website stated "Even the world's biggest carmaker couldn't afford product placement like this, let alone a boutique British brand".[25] Canton later confirmed that the car did belong to the Weeknd.[25]
In 3 weeks, the video had 100 million views. The video had 500 million views in 3 months. As of February 2024, the video has over 2.3 billion views on YouTube, taking it into the top 70 most viewed YouTube videos, Outviewing another of the Weeknd's US number one hits, "The Hills", which is his second video above the 1 billion view milestone.[28]
Synopsis
In the video, a man in a black ski mask and diamond-encrusted cross is sitting across from the Weeknd, who is zip tied to the chair. The figure then kills the Weeknd by asphyxiating him with a plastic bag. The figure is revealed to be the Starboy incarnation of the Weeknd—his other self represented his Beauty Behind the Madness era. He then walks through a house full of awards that he's received, as well as a portrait of Daft Punk, who collaborated on the song, and a panther. He comes upon a large glowing pink neon cross, which he grabs and uses to destroy various evidence and history of his older self, including numerous trophies, posters and a crystal chandelier, before setting fire to the closet, eventually destroying the entire house later.[29] Walking through the garage, he passes several luxury automobiles, deciding on a McLaren P1 and drives off with a cat in the passenger seat, which transforms into a panther, as he rides off on Mulholland Drive. The video features product placement from clothing company PUMA.
Kat Bein of Billboard commented that the music video is "equally moody".[31] A writer from Slate magazine drew comparison of the video to Michael Jackson's "Black or White" video, which he has been compared to frequently for his musical style. The bleak focus on celebrity and transformation, as well as the morphing of the cat into a black panther, were some of the aesthetics that resembles Jackson's video.[32]
The video was nominated for Best Video at the 2016 MTV Europe Music Awards a day before its release, leaving many observers to wonder whether it was included based on merit or instead as a result of The Weeknd's popularity at the channel.[33]
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 51,52. týden 2016 in the date selector. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 47. týden 2016 in the date selector. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 48. týden 2016 in the date selector. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201640 into search. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
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