Despite his criticism of the hollowness of fame, the magazine-like album cover seems to suggest he is embracing his new epitaph вЂStarboyвЂ™. There is a new sense of freedom and added funk to this album, with a more care-free and open AbГ©l. The Weeknd lists off luxury sports cars in вЂ StarboyвЂ™ but material wealth and fame are not fulfilling enough and he points the blame at the commercial audience вЂLook what youвЂ™ve done, IвЂ™m a motherfuckinвЂ™ starboyвЂ™ for this empty and hollow fame.

The вЂnewвЂ™ Weeknd uses a neon red cross to break his awards and platinum discs on his wall from The Beauty Behind The Madness, and seems to revel in the destruction, dancing on the broken glass of the awards. The music video opens with the вЂnewвЂ™ Weeknd suffocating the вЂoldвЂ™ eccentric-haired Weeknd in a plastic bag in a bid to kill his old self. The album begins with the title track вЂ StarboyвЂ™, a collaboration with Daft Punk, that sets off the more electronic sound of the album. The Weeknd seems to have distanced himself from his distinctly darker sound, and instead Starboy can be seen as the WeekndвЂ™s evolution to a more futuristic and electronic sound with perhaps more autotune in some songs like вЂParty MonsterвЂ™ and вЂSidewalksвЂ™ than I would have liked. The mixtapes transported the listener into a psychedelic world with a strong dark and moody tone, and Tesfaye created a new genre of music that was emulated by other artists. I first listened to the Weeknd, real name AbГ©l Tesfaye, after his mixtapes House of Balloons and Thursday were out, later followed by Echoes of Silence. The WeekndвЂ™s signature dark tone is maintained in this album, though with a distinctly more electronic and pop sound. But in Starboy, the Weeknd removes himself from his past, moving to a new persona, the вЂStarboyвЂ™ вЂ“ a slang term for celebrity. The WeekndвЂ™s uncomfortable relationship with fame is explored in this album where he mourns the loss of his former self, similar to his previous album The Beauty Behind The Madness. The WeekndвЂ™s third album Starboy marks his transformation from the mysterious singer who anonymously posted his mixtapes online to a mainstream star.

The weeknd starboy album