Say what you want about The Weeknd, but he is an incredibly hardworking, prolific artist. The R&B singer-songwriter recently released his third studio album this past weekend after much anticipation (and extensive promotion). The Weeknd claims that his influences for Starboy were The Smiths, Prince, Talking Heads, Bad Brains, and DeBarge – quite an eclectic combination of 1980’s artists to influence a 2016 R&B album, showing the exciting future that is in store for the genre. Upon first listen, the album seemed to be slightly scattered in terms of genre, something that seems to be a trend this year. Are the aforementioned influences clearly heard in the album? Here and there……