The Weeknd's Album Title Has An Odd Meaning

It’s a banner day in the life of The Weeknd fans, because after the singer, songwriter, and record producer cleared out his Instagram account of all pictures, he came back in a big way with a picture and post announcing his new album, Starboy. In addition to the title, The Weeknd also released key album art, including a shot of the singer with a completely new hairdo. But more than wanting to know what propelled the star to cut his infamous hair, what I really want to know is what does The Weeknd’s STARBOY album title mean? This sounds like a title with some definite meaning behind it.

According to Urban Dictionary, the term “starboy” refers to a man, who enjoys the company of more than one woman at a time. In other words, a playboy, a womanizer, or, as my mother would say, a real Casanova. But, as suggestive as this term and title might be, judging by The Weeknd’s personal life, it seems to me to be a reference to his alter ego, not his actual way of living. In other words, The Weeknd is not — at least not literally — an actual Starboy as defined by Urban Dictionary.

In the September issue of Glamour, Bella Hadid opened up about her relationship with Abel Tesfaye — the real man behind The Weeknd — making clear that she is dating the man, not his superstar alter ego. In the interview, Hadid said that she’s “proud of The Weeknd and the music he makes,” but clarifies that she “really love[s] Abel.” Considering that Tesfaye is, in real life, a one-woman kind of man, I think this album title is definitely referring to his superstar alter ego, not the actual way he chooses to live his life.

But Tesfaye isn’t the only star to use the term so publicly. Nigerian superstar Wizkid has also used the name since 2013, when he launched Starboy Entertainment. But it seems like there are no hard feelings about The Weeknd using the name. In a recent Twitter post, Wizkid supported Tesfaye’s use of the name for his new album, saying that “Everybody a Star!”

I don’t know about that, judging from the true definition of the word, but I definitely can get behind these stars supporting each other.