Did The Weeknd and Daft Punk's collaboration yield impressive results?
As previously reported, Daft Punk and The Weeknd worked together on new music and the song, 'Starboy,' recently became available. Was the collaboration a success?
The Weeknd arrives at the Oscars in Los Angeles in 2016.
Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP
Music acts The Weeknd and Daft Punk have revealed their collaboration, a song titled “Starboy” that shares a name with The Weeknd’s upcoming album.
It had previously been reported that singer The Weeknd and the group Daft Punk were working together on music. The Weeknd’s newest album is set to be released on Nov. 25 and will be his first work since the 2015 Grammy-winning album “Beauty Behind the Madness.” (The album won the award for best urban contemporary album and was also nominated for album of the year, while The Weeknd’s song “Earned It” won the Grammy Award for best R&B performance that same year.)
Meanwhile, Daft Punk’s last album was the 2013 work “Random Access Memories,” which won the Grammy Award for album of the year and best dance/electronica album, among other awards. Their song “Get Lucky” won the record of the year Grammy Award.
Some critics were intrigued by the idea of the collaboration when the possibility came to light. “It’s fun to think about how Daft Punk and the Weeknd might sound together,” Stereogum writer Tom Breihan wrote at the time.
And now reviewers seem impressed by the team-up between the two music acts. (Music fans are obviously interested as well; “Starboy” is currently at number three on the iTunes top songs chart.)
“It turns out that the helmeted Frenchmen are a perfect foil for The Weeknd's syrupy vocals,” MTV writer Sasha Geffen wrote of the new song, also noting that the song “seems to embrace the idea of transformation more than most other Weeknd tracks we’ve heard before.”
Spin writer Brian Josephs was also impressed and felt that the song reminded him of music by The Weeknd that he’d heard before. “Fortunately Daft Punk decided not to push their more recent brand of disco-chic onto the Weeknd,” Mr. Josephs wrote of the new song. “’Starboy’ showcases production flair as moody, after-hours-ready instrumentals couch a catchy drum line.”