"Starboy" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd featuring the French electronic duo Daft Punk.

[1][2] The artists wrote and produced the song with Doc McKinney and Henry "Cirkut" Walter, with Jason "DaHeala" Quenneville receiving additional credits.

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.

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).

[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.

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.

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.

[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.

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".

[28] 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 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.

[33] The Weeknd performed "Starboy" for the first time on the season 42 premiere of Saturday Night Live, along with "False Alarm" on October 1, 2016.