Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd is clean-cut and back with vengeance, as he kills his former self in his latest music video “Starboy” featuring Daft Punk.
The music video, released on Sept. 28, begins with a disguised figure sitting across from The Weeknd — his hands and feet bound with zip ties. The figure makes its way over to the singer, forcing a bag over his head and suffocating him to death. The viewers can see his futile struggle, which ultimately ends in stillness, as he falls to the side of the chair, his lifeless face toward the camera.
As the figure walks away, it lifts the mask concealing its face to unveil a new version of the formerly strangled The Weeknd, marking the end of a stylistic era for the artist.
According to Genius.com, lyricism from “Starboy” flaunts the materialistic ideology of some mainstream rappers and singers, making mention to the $1.2 million McLaren P1 that The Weeknd owns.
In a way, the single transitions listeners into the self-christened King of The Fall’s second coming.
🍂⌛️
— Abel Tesfaye (@theweeknd) September 15, 2016
The lyric, “I come alive in the fall time,” hints back to when The Weeknd first dropped the song an hour before the first day of fall for those in North America.
i come alive in the fall time pic.twitter.com/NHeVl3Q7Nn
— Abel Tesfaye (@theweeknd) September 21, 2016
The Weeknd creates an atmosphere of rage toward the image that he had become by smashing awards, framed records and seemingly-expensive crystal chandeliers. In his lyrics, “look what you’ve done, I’m a motherf—ing starboy,” The Weeknd throws blame to what could be himself — or those that surrounded him on his journey to fame — for the old “Weeknd” that dominated the alternative R&B scene.
“Starboy” is currently positioned at No. 40 on the Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and No. 69 on iTunes top 100 songs chart.
