The Weeknd has just shared the title and cover for his next album — the follow-up to 2013’s Beauty Behind the Madness — on social media platforms. It’s called Starboy, and the cover sees a blue-lit Abel Tesfaye very intensely holding his downcast (and, as Twitter has emphatically noticed, de-hairdo-ed) head, while staring towards the camera, with the added intensity of an immense cross around his neck and a saturated red backdrop. Aka, this:
As Entertainment Weekly points out, the executive VP of The Weeknd’s label recently confirmed that he was working in collaboration with Daft Punk; whether or not the two projects are at all related remains to be seen.
In speaking with Vman earlier this month, Tesfaye noted some of the influences of the album:
There are new inspirations on this album. The production feels aggressive but still sexy. The Smiths, Bad Brains, Talking Heads, Prince, and DeBarge play roles. We wrote it all in Los Angeles. I think it’ll be the best-sounding album I’ve ever done. It’s hard to label the sound because, when I first came out, nobody would label it R&B. I just want to keep pushing the envelope without it feeling forced.
Presumably, given the following Tweet, the album will be out this fall: