Starboy – The Weeknd
Rate: 4/5

2016 was a great year for music, but one album really grasped my attention: Starboy by The Weeknd. After being truly disappointed by Kiss Land and Beauty Behind the Madness, Starboy has officially become my favorite album of the year.

The Weeknd released Trilogy in 2012, making it one of my favorite albums in my life, and created a new genre of music for me. After having listened to the two albums released after Trilogy, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Starboy.

I felt tremendous excitement while listening to this album. A lot of the songs have a ’70s/’80s disco dance feel because Daft Punk had collaborated with him. Artists such as Lana Del Rey, Kendrick Lamar and Future made appearances on this album too.

Songs like “I Feel It Coming,” “False Alarm,” “Rockin’” and “A Lonely Night” have uplifting dance beats that can make anyone want to jump on a table and dance. It isn’t all dancing and fun, though. “True Colors” reminds us a little of Trilogy with the soft, slow music.

The Weeknd then gets personal in “Ordinary Life.” He explains how he is fighting the addictions and pressures of being famous. Most of the lyrics are explicit in detail, making references to drugs and sex.

The song “Sidewalks,” featuring Kendrick Lamar and Daniel Wilson, is the heaviest when it comes to lyrics. The two artists use sidewalks as a metaphor to show how they came from low-income, poverty stricken dangerous areas to fame and fortune. It’s raw. It’s real. It was well put together.

Though some people say this album was too different from previous ones, the fourth track, “Reminder” shows how people are focused only on the stagnation rather than the progression of music. Although plenty of people did not appreciate his choice to change his content, I felt that it was well thought out and refreshing.

Rachel Reyes can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_news on Twitter.